Obama Foundation Leaders Program 2026-2027 – YOA

Deadline: December 12, 2025

Applications for the Obama Foundation Leaders Program 2026-2027 at the moment are open. The Obama Leaders program goals to encourage, empower, and join regional cohorts of changemakers to speed up constructive and lasting change of their communities and all through their area. These rising leaders from all over the world, typically 24-45 years outdated, forge societies and communities rooted in shared values, the place all individuals belong, take part, and thrive.

The Leaders program launched in Africa in 2018 and expanded to Asia Pacific in 2019, Europe in 2020, and the United States in 2023. They acknowledge the ability that lies in bringing collectively numerous cohorts of Leaders from many areas of the world, every with their very own method and focus and a dedication to becoming a member of a world community of changemakers.

Inspired by President Obama’s management method, the Leaders program engages contributors within the challenges, alternatives, and expertise of constructing constructive change. Supported by full group periods, small group discussions, and individualized management teaching, contributors outline a values-based mostly basis for sustained management, domesticate relationships with others to catalyze extra inclusive, lasting change, and put together to interact with points on the methods degree.

Program Types

• Africa: The Obama Foundation Leaders Africa program seeks to construct a rising community of revolutionary and values-based mostly changemakers who will drive constructive change of their communities, the continent, and the world.
• Asia-Pacific: Leaders Asia-Pacific is a non-residential management growth program that seeks to floor rising leaders in a values-based mostly management framework to advance inclusive and lasting change of their communities, within the Asia-Pacific area, and the world over.
• Europe: Leaders Europe is a six-month, digital management growth journey that seeks to encourage, empower, and join rising leaders from throughout Europe. Each Leaders Europe cohort contains as much as 35 contributors yearly.
• United States: The Obama Foundation Leaders USA program is a six-month, non-residential management growth program that seeks to encourage, empower, and join rising leaders throughout the nation.

Eligibility

Changemakers between the ages of 24 and 45 from the Africa, Asia-Pacific, Europe, and United States areas who wish to deepen their management expertise and join with different rising leaders are invited to apply.

• The program at the moment invites people residing in an eligible nation in Africa, Asia-Pacific, Europe, and United States areas.
• You should meet one of many following standards:
  • Citizen of an eligible nation or territory OR
  • Permanent resident of an eligible nation or territory OR
  • Have lived in an eligible nation or territory for a minimum of the final 5 years, no matter citizenship or everlasting residence standing
• Your work is geographically centered on creating constructive change for native communities, an eligible nation or territory, and/or the broader area. You display a powerful dedication to proceed to focus your work within the area.
• You can display a minimum of 3 years of related expertise in your challenge space. 
• You are professionally proficient in English and you’ll be between 24 and 45 years of age on September 1, 2026.
• You will chorus from taking part in an electoral marketing campaign as a candidate for political workplace from the time you might be accepted into this system by means of May 1, 2027. Selection choices are at the moment scheduled to be despatched out in June 2026.
• The Leaders Africa program is at the moment scheduled to start the week of September 1, 2026 and can conclude no later than May 1, 2027, with deliberate breaks all through.
• The Obama Foundation relies within the United States. To take part in this system, you have to be beneath no authorized or regulatory restrictions that will restrict your participation in digital Foundation programming or journey to the U.S. for in-particular person programming (if any).

Application

The application for the 2026-2027 Obama Leaders program is now open. The application closes Friday, December 12, at 12 p.m. United States Central Time (UTC-6).

Click here to apply

For extra info, go to Obama Leaders Program.