The Barack Obama Foundation’s Leaders programs aim to inspire, empower and connect regional cohorts of changemakers to accelerate positive and lasting change in their communities and throughout their region.
During their program experience, these emerging leaders, ages 24 through 45, build a strong community of support founded on a shared commitment to values-based leadership as demonstrated by President and Mrs Obama.
Looking for fully-funded opportunities, install the Youth Opportunities Android or iOS App here.
The Leaders program launched in Africa in 2018, expanded to the Asia Pacific in 2019 and inaugurated a virtual program in Europe in response to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.
Obama Foundation Leaders hail from a wide variety of nations and territories, work across public, private, and nonprofit sectors, and address a full range of social impact issues.
The Leaders program offers practical skill building for social change, leadership coaching, discussion of critical issues, and small group support.
Obama Leaders also participate in various virtual experiences and special events, including one-on-one conversations with experienced mentors in the Foundation’s global network.
Upon completion of the program, Leaders will have gained a deeper understanding of how values-based leadership advances their ability to enact change. They will be inspired to take further action, propelled by new ideas and skills. Most importantly, Leaders will continue to gain a broader continental and global perspective, joining a growing global alumni network of more than 700 active changemakers.
Launched in 2018, the Obama Foundation Leaders program is a six-month, virtual leadership development journey that seeks to inspire, empower, and connect emerging leaders to accelerate positive and lasting change in their communities, in their regions, and across the world. The Foundation operates Leaders programs in three regions internationally: Africa, Asia-Pacific, and Europe.
To date, the program has built a network of more than 700 leaders, hailing from more than 100 nations and territories around the world. These leaders work across various sectors and issue areas and are brought together by a commitment to values-based leadership rooted in the legacy of President and Mrs Obama.
The program will bring together 35 emerging leaders from across each region.
Benefits
Participants (known as “Obama Leaders” or “Leaders”) will take part in weekly sessions that include:
- Practical tools and training for deepening values-based leadership
- Individualized or small-group coaching
- Community groups
- Conversations with thought leaders
- Cultural programming that showcases the richness of diversity in the region
- Curated spaces for deep personal reflection and interpersonal learning with peers
- Each regional program will meet virtually over Zoom an average of four times per month, engaging with trainers, subject matter experts, and their peers to deepen their leadership practice. Each session will last approximately two hours.
- Each regional program will aim to host an in-person convening—public health, safety, and security conditions permitting—as a forum for deeper community-building, learning, and celebration.
- Upon completion of the program, Obama Leaders will become part of the Obama Foundation’s global leadership network—a growing community of changemakers who are advancing tangible solutions to the greatest challenges of our time.
Eligibilities
Please be sure that you meet ALL of the following eligibility criteria:
- You are a citizen of an eligible nation or territory OR
- You are a permanent resident of an eligible nation or territory OR
- You are a refugee or asylum seeker in an eligible nation or territory OR
- You have lived in an eligible nation or territory for at least the last 5 years, regardless of documentation status.
- Your current and future work is geographically focused on creating positive change for your local community, an eligible nation or territory, and/or the broader region in which you are applying.
- You can demonstrate at least three years of relevant experience in your issue area.
- You will be between 24 and 45 years old on July 15, 2023.
- You are professionally proficient in English (spoken and written).
- You will not be engaging in an electoral campaign for political office between February 1 and July 15, 2023.
- You can commit to fully participating in the entire duration of the program between February 1 and July 15, 2023, which will include a three-day in-person convening (public health, safety, and security conditions permitting) in late June or early July and up to 12 hours of live virtual programming per month.
- Participants should have no more than three absences in order to attend the convening and complete the program.
Our ideal candidates have these characteristics:
- Possesses a clear issue of focus and can describe or measure their impact so far
- Holds a leadership position in their change-making work, whether full-time or volunteer
- Demonstrates a deeply ethical, values-based, equitable, and collaborative approach to leadership
- Demonstrates a willingness to learn from and share with other leaders in a group setting
Eligible Regions: Africa: all nations, countries, and territories on the African continent. Asia-Pacific: American Samoa; Australia; Brunei; Cambodia; China; Cook Islands; Federated States of Micronesia; Fiji; French Polynesia; Guam; Hawaii; Hong Kong; Indonesia; Japan; Kiribati; Korea, North (DPRK); Korea, South (ROK); Laos; Malaysia; Marshall Islands; Mongolia; Myanmar; Nauru; New Caledonia; Macao; New Zealand; Niue; Northern Mariana Islands; Palau; Papua New Guinea; Philippines; Pitcairn Islands; Samoa; Singapore; Solomon Islands; Taiwan; Thailand; Timor-Leste; Tokelau; Tonga; Tuvalu; Vanuatu; Vietnam; Wallis and Futuna. Europe: Any of the 46 Council of Europe member states and Kosovo.
Application Process
- To submit an application, create an account and log in.
- At the end of the application, be sure to click on EACH submit button on successive screens!
- Résumé & References: Before you begin, please be sure to have a current English résumé ready to upload. We recommend that your résumé follow these guidelines:No pictures
No information about family/marital status
Maximum of 2 pages
Black font colour and a white background - You will also be asked to submit the name and contact information of two personal or professional references. We may reach out to your references if you advance in the selection process. Please do not ask your references to write letters of recommendation or to reach out to the Obama Foundation. We neither require nor accept letters of recommendation.
- Technical Requirements and Accessibility: The 2023 Leaders program will be virtual. You will need access to a computer with a camera and a reliable internet connection to fully participate in the program. We are able to accommodate certain technical accessibility needs throughout the length of the program. More information will be provided to finalists once invited to become Leaders.
- Commitment to Diversity: At the Obama Foundation, we value one another’s contributions and hold the conviction that diverse backgrounds and divergent points of view will lead us to the best solutions. We welcome Leaders across lines of race, ethnicity, spiritual beliefs, socioeconomic status, gender identity, sexual orientation, political affiliation, and ability.
Looking for fully-funded opportunities, install the Youth Opportunities Android or iOS App here.
Application Deadline: October 21, 2022
Application ClosedOfficial link
