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Leaders Program stories

President Obama sits in a semi circle with Obama Scholars. All are dressed professionally and have a range of light to dark skin tones. Yellow and blue signs are in the background that read, “Obama Foundation Scholars.”
  • Defending Democracy
  • Virtual Event

A 5-step guide to embracing pluralism, fostering connection, and engaging inclusively this holiday season.

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Filip Koprčina, a man with a light skin tone and dark brown hair, poses near a solar panel grid. He is smiling and wearing a red windbreaker jacket.
  • Equality
  • Sustainability

Learn how Filip Koprčina is using blockchain to democratize renewable energy through co-ownership of solar and wind farms.

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2024-2025 Obama Foundation Africa Leaders Njeke Joshua Egbe and Vera Osei-Bonsu are both tackling food insecurity across Africa, but each take a unique approach to combating malnutrition and improving access to healthy food.
  • Africa
  • Programs

This World Food Day, we're shining a spotlight on two Africa Leaders fostering food security in innovative ways.

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This image shows four individuals, each captured in a close-up portrait. The first is a woman with a dark skin tone, wearing a yellow beanie, glasses, and a green sweatshirt with the words "Fresh Afrika." Next is a man with a light skin tone, dark hair, and a broad smile wearing a black hoodie. Next a woman with a light skin tone holds a closed lip smile. She is wearing a blue blazer and white top, with salt and pepper shoulder length hair and is wearing burnt orange lipstick. Last is a man with light skin, brown hair, wearing a black turtleneck and dark jacket, standing outdoors in a setting with snow and mountains in the background.
  • Changemakers
  • Programs

Three of the Obama Foundation's global programs launched new cohorts in 2024. Learn more about these programs and how you can support our Leaders, Scholars, and Voyagers.

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Elpida Kokkota, a woman with a light skin tone, holds a closed lip smile. She has long black hair and is wearing red lipstick, bracelets on both arms, a white shirt, and floral skirt.
  • Changemakers
  • Equality

More than 140,000 women across 155 countries have educational and entrepreneurial opportunities, thanks to the 2023 Obama Leaders.

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Two women and one man pose for a photo. One woman has medium-deep skin tone, and the other two people have deep skin. Two of them wear shirts with the words "Afroclimate.com." They sit on a rock wall in front of dirt and greenery.
  • Changemakers
  • Sustainability

Find out how the 2023 cohort created a non-profit committed to a sustainable future for Africa, one entrepreneur at a time.

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Kori Coleman, a Black woman with a deep skin tone, stands in the middle of a four person string quartet. They are a range of medium to deep skin tones and are holding a viola, violin, and cello. All are wearing shades of brown. Credit: Seed Lynn
  • The Arts
  • Chicago

Ahead of her debut with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, hear how one Obama Leader leverages the power of music to educate, entertain, and heal her community.

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Michelle Obama sits in a circle with women with a range of light to deep skin tones and Michael Strautmanis. Mrs. Obama is wearing a multicolored dress and sits with her legs crossed. A sign in the background reads, “Obama Leadership Network.”
  • Michelle Obama
  • Africa

We marked the fifth anniversary of the Leaders program where it all began.

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Daniel Fairley II, a Black man with a light skin tone smiles at the camera. He has short black hair and glasses. He is wearing a light purple blazer and a dark purple hoodie.
  • Alumni
  • The Obama Administration

Meet an Obama Leader supporting Virginians in need.

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Ryan Pavel, a man with light skin tone, stands smiling in front of a sign that reads "Warrior-Scholar Project."
  • Education
  • USA

Meet 2023 United States Obama Leader Ryan Pavel, veteran, and CEO of Warrior-Scholar Project.

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Ziad Ahmed, a man with a medium skin tone, smiles at the camera. He has black hair and is wearing a red patterned jacket. He is sitting on an apple box. The background is brown.
  • Youth
  • USA

Learn how Ziad Ahmed built a successful company by listening to the next generation.

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Bethany Rivera Molinar, presents a workshop in front of eight others. Their backs are to the camera as they sit around a table. Bethany stands in front of a wall easel pad. She is wearing a Ciudad Nueva shirt and glasses.
  • USA
  • Changemakers

Learn how Bethany Rivera Molinar is transforming her Texas neighborhood through community work.

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Tom Twongyeirwe Junior stands in front of a board room full of Black people or a range of skin tones. He is wearing a blue button up and striped pants. A sign in the background reads, The Universal Coalition of Affirming Africans Uganda.
  • Equality
  • Africa

Progress for LGBTQ+ people in Uganda has been hindered by the current cultural and political landscape.

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The Obama "O" logo surrounded by a blue Greek "key" pattern, also known as a meander, with the words "Athens 2023" beneath it.
  • Event
  • Watch

Get a look inside the week-long leadership and cultural experience.

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On a sunny day, Sejong Youn, a man with a light medium skin tone, stands outside. He has short black hair and is wearing glasses and a denim button down. He has a closed lip smile and his arms are crossed.
  • Sustainability
  • Asia-Pacific

Obama Leader advocates for stronger climate policies

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President Obama sits at a table between two men and women with a range of skin tones and clothing styles. The President’s right arm is extended as he looks away from the camera.
  • Defending Democracy
  • Global Reach

This week in Berlin, Germany, President Obama sat down with 18 alumni of our leadership programs from across Europe for a roundtable conversation about the importance of nurturing democracy.

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Ornella Cosomati sits at a roundtable discussion. One person sits to her right and another in front of her. Their back is to the camera. She is wearing glasses and a black suit.
  • Sustainability
  • Europe

Obama Leader improves sustainability policies in Europe

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Joseph Nguthiru, a Black man with a deep skin tone, smiles at the camera as he holds a biodegradable package wrapper made from water hyacinth. He is wearing a green shirt that reads, “Simply do good.”
  • Sustainability
  • Africa

Obama Foundation Leader transforms aquatic weeds into biodegradable plastic.

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Elpida Kokkota smiles as she stands next to Jame Kalekye Mutambya, a Black woman with a deep skin tone and short hair, and Mercy Musomi, a Black woman with a deep skin tone and short curly hair. Jame holds a peace sign as they stand in front of a booth at a Naroibi cultural market. In the background is art and handmade bags.
  • Education
  • Europe

Find out how Elpida is making a difference for female entrepreneurs in Kenya.

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Ireen Chikatula poses for a photo with 11 teenage students. They have a deep skin tone and some are wearing school uniforms. Ireen Chikatula holds a sign that reads, “Because girls matter!”
  • Equality
  • Africa

Learn how Ireen is improving the livelihood of women and girls in Zambia’s rural communities.

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Emma Minimbi, a woman with a medium deep skin tone, stands behind a podium at the United Nations Development Programme Stakeholders Consultation on Sorcery Accusations Related Violence at Loloata Island. She has a braided bun and is wearing a face mask under her chin. In the background is signage that reads, “Initiated by the European Union and the United Nations and United Nations Development Programme.”
  • Equality
  • Asia-Pacific

See how Emma uses the law and the power of community to help eradicate gender-based violence.

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A large visual of "2022" with blue and green ombre numbers and white background.
  • Stories
  • Programs

As we reflect on this year, we couldn’t be more proud of the work of our global network of leaders who are tackling some of the most vital issues of our time and working together to strengthen their communities and our institutions.

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A young fairly sized women with deep skin, a small high top curly fro, and a small earing on her left ear holds a soccer ball. She is wearing a red addidas shirt, black adidas pants, and pick purple shoes. The setting is a rocky dirt field with short purple cones on the ground. A few deeper toned young girls with young hair to the side cut out by the frame. There is a rusted goal also cut out on the same side behind them.
  • Girls Opportunity Alliance
  • Africa

Thuba’s story

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  • Defending Democracy
  • Europe
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 The camera focuses on a man and woman with medium skin tones as they engage in conversation in a room of people
  • Presidential History
  • Programs

Five years later, a look back at President Obama’s farewell address and the call to action that drives our mission at the Foundation

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In a gray suit and blue tie and a black mask, Rachid Ennassiri, leans to his left with President Obama nearby, leaning to the right. President Obama wears a black mask and has his arms crossed.
  • Sustainability
  • Barack Obama

After delivering remarks during COP26 in Glasgow, President Obama sat down with a group of emerging leaders from around the world who are doing their part to protect the planet. Check out what they discussed.

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President Barack Obama talks with the inaugural class of Obama Scholars during their program kickoff retreat in Chicago, IL on Tuesday August 28, 2018.
  • Barack Obama
  • Watch

On President Obama’s 60th birthday, get to know 60 changemakers in our network who are paving the way for a brighter future

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A group of people wearing mask sit around a table in conversation.
  • Europe
  • Event

To mark the end of our inaugural Leaders Europe program, our 35 Leaders came together to design collaborative projects to support the civic engagement of other emerging leaders across Europe.

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Obama Leader Bhavagaya Bakshi looks to camera with her C the Signs co-founder.
  • Stories
  • Health & Wellbeing

On World Cancer Day, get to know Obama Leader Bhavagaya “Bea” Bakshi, who is working tirelessly to save lives by detecting cancer in its earliest stages.

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Skye and Tim smile in front of a colorful background at the Leaders: Asia-Pacific convening, 2019.
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Stories

The story behind how leaders Skye Riggs and Tim Middlemiss founded Ripple—an organization that empowers young adults in Australia to take action in their communities.

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A group of doctors stand together
  • Africa
  • Changemakers

To mark the close of their program year, Obama Leaders from across the African continent volunteered to design and implement collaborative service projects that positively impacted their local communities.

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President Obama participates in a service project to commemorate Mandela Day with Obama Foundation Leaders in Johannesburg, South Africa
  • Africa
  • Changemakers

We spoke to six of our Nigerian Obama Leaders to learn more about how they've come together to protest brutality and corruption in the Special Anti-Robbery Squad, SARS.

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  • Take Action
  • Michelle Obama

In a candid conversation with Obama Foundation Scholars and Fellows earlier this summer, Mrs. Obama encouraged us all to address racial injustice in our own communities by having hard conversations at our own kitchen tables, in our workplaces, and in our s

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A graphic displays a quote from President Obama that reads: "If there was ever a time in which community mobilization, organization, social networks, trust building, mutual support and aid were necessary now is the time. The whole point of forming the Obama Foundation and looking to build the Obama Presidential Center on the South Side was to foster those kinds of values and to promote that kind of unity and sense of common purpose...I've always believed that government is critical but it is not enough. Change comes from the bottom up."
  • Watch
  • Health & Wellbeing

Take a more detailed look at the Foundation’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

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President Obama participates in a roundtable meeting with local leaders at the Fairmont Chateau Laurier in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, on Friday, May 31, 2019.

Please credit "The Obama Foundation" when posting. The photographs may not be manipulated in any w
  • Watch
  • Global Reach

It’s been a busy week for us at the Foundation! On Tuesday, we hosted a roundtable conversation in Bogotá with President Obama and a small group of Colombian changemakers who are working tirelessly to transform their communities.

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President Obama participates in a roundtable discussion with young leaders in Bogota, Colombia on May 29, 2019. Bogota, Colombia. Credit: The Obama Foundation

Please credit "The Obama Foundation" when posting. The photographs may not be manipulated in any
  • Event
  • Watch

From Cali to Quibdó, Medellín to María la Baja, the 11 emerging leaders President Obama met with yesterday in Bogotá are carrying forward the hard work of change across Colombia.

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An illustration of four people with a range of light to deep skin tones lifting one another up on top of a paper plane. The background is pink.

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