The Bush Institute convened partners and stakeholders, congressional staffers and members, and other influencers to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief and the 25 million lives saved by the program.

Additionally, the team released the final two reports in a six-part series on lessons learned from PEPFAR’s success and a report on next steps for reauthorization.

The Bush Institute’s education and opportunity team released “The State of Readiness: Are Texas Students Prepared for Life After High School?” in March with Texas 2036. The report explains that eighth grade Texans are collectively likely to lose out on $104 billion in future earnings – with low-income students bearing $67 billion of that loss – due to lack of knowledge and skills to succeed as they move to the next grade level and eventually the workforce.

The Freedom and Democracy team recently launched The Struggle for Freedom project. The monthly series from Bush Institute Fellow Ellen Bork profiles democracy and human rights activists abroad who risk their freedom and their lives in pursuit of the same values that Americans enjoy.

The George W. Bush Presidential Museum’s special exhibit, Freedom Matters, opened to the public in early March. Tied closely to the work at the Bush Institute, this exhibit showcases the importance of freedom in building peaceful societies, the work of advocates in changing the lives of millions, and the lessons learned from the study of history.