November 2022 — MHCE Newsletter

18 | MHCE - News www.mhce.us NOVEMBER 2022 EDITION
Obama to Announce Expansion of Young Leaders
Program to US
WASHINGTON — An Obama Foundation program that
has trained hundreds of young leaders across Africa, the
Asia-Pacific and Europe is being expanded to include the
United States.
Former President Barack Obama is expected to announce
the new program on Thursday during a two-day democracy
forum the foundation is co-sponsoring in New York City.
The Obama Foundation Leaders United States program is
a six-month leadership development program for emerging
leaders between the ages of 24 and 45. The program will
serve more than 100 leaders from the U.S. in its first
year. Participants will be chosen through a competitive
application process.
In remarks prepared for delivery on Thursday at the forum,
Obama cites "consistently high interest" in the foundation's
programs as a reason for the expansion.
"The creativity, determination and passion of these leaders
are already making an impact — in lives saved, environments
restored, children educated," he says. "They're creating new
models for clean energy generation and poverty alleviation.
It's remarkable and inspiring — and a little humbling, since
I sure wasn't making such an impact at their age.
"And the good news is, we're just scratching the surface of
what this next generation is capable of," Obama says.
The Obama Foundation Leaders program has worked with
more than 700 people in Africa, the Asia-Pacific and Europe
since it was launched in 2018 after Obama, a Democrat,
left the White House following two terms as president,
according to the foundation.
Valerie Jarrett, a longtime Obama adviser, said the U.S.
extension of the leaders program is a "continuation of our
efforts to pay it forward by helping the next generation."
The foundation, in partnership with Columbia University
and the University of Chicago, is holding its first democracy
forum in New York on Thursday and Friday. Democracy
thinkers, leaders and activists from across the globe will
discuss how to advance and strengthen democracy in the
United States and abroad.
Obama is scheduled to close the first day of the forum with
a speech and a conversation with a group of foundation
leaders.