Community Tourism Prep Sessions

Learn how to get the most out of the increase in South Side tourism when the Obama Presidential Center opens in June.

A rendering of the Obama Presidential Center Museum South Courtyard Lower Level

We’re excited to welcome South Side residents and business owners to join us for a series of FREE monthly ONLINE workshops on how to benefit from the increased tourism to our neighborhoods expected when the Obama Presidential Center opens in June. 

These workshops offer practical tools, business resources, and training for our neighbors to capitalize on the increased foot traffic and visitor spending expected in our communities. This series is hosted in partnership with the Emerald South Economic Development Collaborative and the local business service organizations and chambers of commerce.

These sessions are for you if you are a resident of the South Side, the owner of a business on the South Side, a manager of a business on the South Side or a franchisee of a business on the South Side.

Below are our upcoming online workshops:

  • Airbnb Academy

    • Wednesday, February 18 at 12 PM CT 

    • Hosted in partnership with Airbnb, this session will empower residents with a pathway to entrepreneurship by becoming hosts and receiving introductory information on the Airbnb platform, hosting best practices, and how to get started.

  • Google Optimization for Small Business

    • Wednesday, March 18 at 9:30 AM CT 

    • Join to learn how to optimize your small business’s Google Business Profile presence and review generation to maximize foot traffic.

More sessions to come!

Things to know:

  • Each session will cover a different topic, aimed at individuals or small businesses.

  • The sessions are free to attend. 

  • We will not be rewarding contracts nor is attendance a guarantee of future business or collaboration. 

  • More than one person from a business or residence can register to attend. 

  • The sessions will be conducted in English.

Register now for the workshops!

Sign up below to receive email reminders for each unique online session. We’ll also alert you when new workshops have been scheduled, so you can plan to attend future sessions that interest you. --- To facilitate your registration and participation in the event, we need to share your name and email address, as needed, with the following third-party service providers that are facilitating this event for the Foundation: community organizations, workshop facilitators, and small business support groups. If you do not want such information shared by the Foundation with such third parties, do not register attendee for or attend the event. Check the box below to explicitly consent to this sharing of information. I confirm that I am at least 18 years of age or older, that I have carefully read the BELOW event terms and conditions, fully understand their contents, voluntarily agree to them, and realize that the event terms and conditions will bind me, attendee, and each of the foregoing’s heirs and personal representatives. If I am registering on behalf of attendee, I acknowledge that I have authority to act for the attendee on their behalf. If the attendee is under 18 years of age, I acknowledge that I am the parent/legal guardian of the attendee.

Current sessions I am interested in:

Event Terms and Conditions. To attend this event, attendee (or if the attendee is under 18 years of age, attendee’s parent or legal guardian) must acknowledge and agree to the following event terms and conditions of The Barack Obama Foundation (the “Foundation”). If you are completing this registration on behalf of another individual, you warrant that you have delivered to the attendee copies of these event terms and conditions and that attendee has reviewed and accepted the terms thereof.

  1. Submitting this registration form does not guarantee attendance at the event. All registrations are subject to approval by the Foundation and the Foundation reserves the right to decline participation, including cases where the potential attendee does not meet the event’s attendance policy requirement or violates our community conduct standards.

  2. The Foundation has the right to modify the event programming at any time, for any reason, and without advance notice. 

  3. The Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization registered in the United States. As such, the Foundation is a non-partisan, non-political organization, and by applicable law, the Foundation is prohibited from engaging in political campaign intervention, and significantly restricted in lobbying. Given the Foundation’s status, attendee will comply with the Foundation’s 501(c)(3) guidelines (regarding compliance with Section 501(c)(3) of the United States Internal Revenue Code) found at obama.org/charity-law-compliance (Opens in a new tab).

  4. Attendee will abide by the Foundation’s event code of conduct found at https://obama.org/event-policies/ and by all of the rules and regulations established by any event host platform, venue or accommodations. Attendee will comply with all applicable law and regulations in the country/state/municipality in which the event is being held and will not engage in any unlawful conduct. 

  5. The information collected in the registration form will be used by the Foundation to facilitate attendee’s attendance at the event as described in this form and in accordance with our Privacy Statement (Opens in a new tab). Before registering for the event, we kindly request that you review our Privacy Statement (Opens in a new tab). By clicking the box below, you provide your consent to the collection, use, and disclosure of attendee’s personal data by the Foundation as described herein and in our Privacy Statement (Opens in a new tab), and if attendee is outside the United States, you agree to the transfer of attendee’s personal data to and subsequent processing within the United States. If you have questions about the Foundation’s privacy statement or practices, please contact publicengagement@obama.org (Opens in a new tab) and reference the name of the event for which you are registering. The Foundation’s Privacy Statement can be found at https://obama.org/privacy-statement/.