Obama is bringing his youth leadership training program to the United States

Former President Barack Obama is expected to announce the new program Thursday during a two-day democracy forum in New York City that the foundation is co-hosting.

The Obama Foundation’s Leaders United States program is a six-month leadership development program for aspiring leaders between the ages of 24 and 45. The program will serve more than 100 US executives in its first year. Participants are selected through a competitive application process.

In a speech prepared for Thursday’s forum, Obama cited “continued high interest” in the foundation’s programs as the reason for the expansion.

“The creativity, determination and passion of these leaders are already making an impact – in the form of lives saved, environments restored, children educated,” he says. “They create new models for clean energy production and poverty reduction. It’s remarkable and inspiring – and a little humbling as I certainly wasn’t that influential at her age.

“And the good news is that we’re just scratching the surface of what this next generation is capable of,” Obama said.

The Obama Foundation’s Leaders program has worked with more than 700 people in Africa, Asia-Pacific and Europe since its launch in 2018 after Obama, a Democrat, left the White House after two terms as president The Foundation.

Valerie Jarrett, a longtime Obama adviser, said the US extension of the Leaders program is a “continuation of our efforts to advance it by helping the next generation.”

The foundation, in partnership with Columbia University and the University of Chicago, is hosting its first-ever Democracy Forum in New York on Thursday and Friday. Democracy thinkers, leaders, and activists from around the world will discuss how to advance and strengthen democracy in the United States and abroad.

Obama is scheduled to conclude the first day of the forum with a speech and discussion with a group of foundation leaders.