The Obama Foundation Leaders Program aims to inspire, empower, and connect regional cohorts of changemakers to accelerate positive and lasting change in their communities throughout their region, and across our world.
These emerging leaders from around the world forge societies and communities rooted in shared values, where all people belong, participate, and thrive.
In this post, we will highlight the details of the Obama Foundation Scholars Program, its details, requirements, benefits, and step-by-step application guide
The Obama Foundation Leaders program launched in Africa in 2018, expanded to Asia Pacific in 2019, inaugurated in Europe in 2020, and kicked off in the United States in 2023.
We recognize the power that lies in bringing together diverse cohorts of Leaders from many regions of the world, each with their own approach and focus and a commitment to joining a global network of changemakers.
Inspired by President Obama’s leadership approach, the Leaders program engages participants in the challenges, opportunities, and skills of making positive change.
Supported by full group sessions, small group discussions, and individualized leadership coaching, participants define a values-based foundation for sustained leadership, cultivate relationships with others to catalyze more inclusive, lasting change, and prepare to engage with issues at the systems level.
Please be sure that you meet ALL of the following eligibility criteria:
Based in Region: You currently reside in one of the following eligible nations or territories in the region in which you are applying:
Please note that residents of South Asian countries are not eligible for this particular program. The Obama Foundation expects to offer leadership programs for South Asian countries in the future.
Citizenship/Residency: You must meet one of the criteria below for the region in which you are applying:
Geographic Focus: 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.
Leadership Experience: You can demonstrate at least three years of relevant experience in your issue area.
Age: You will be between 24 and 45 years old on July 15, 2025.
Language Proficiency: You are professionally proficient in English (spoken and written).
Political Campaigns: You will not be engaging in an electoral campaign for political office between February 1 and July 15, 2025.
For an average of 8-12 hours per month, the program will bring together cohorts of leaders from across the regions. Participants (known as “Obama Leaders” or “Leaders”) will take part in weekly sessions that include:
Upon completion of the program, Obama Leaders will become part of the Obama Foundation’s Leadership Network.
Duration
As described above, we aim to assemble a Leaders cohort from a pool of candidates with a range of backgrounds, identities, and experience levels. We take all of these into consideration when deciding upon who is invited to become a Leader.
Our ideal candidates have these characteristics:
We have learned over the years that while many candidates may possess most or all of these attributes, because of capacity limitations, we can’t enroll everyone who applies to this highly competitive program. Therefore, we try to curate a deliberate mix of participants whose perspectives and experiences will complement each other.
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