Global reach stories

Sameera, a woman with a medium skin tone and black hair, sits on a panel at Harvard University with four others. She sits in the middle and holds a microphone. A sign in the background reads, “Obama Foundation: Ethical and Values-Based Leadership for Global Entreprenuers.” An audience is in front of them.
  • Stories
  • Community Engagement
Obama Leaders Alumni pay it forward, guiding a new generation

These Obama Leaders alumni are giving back, mentoring new cohorts, and proving that leadership doesn’t end—it evolves.

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A visual explanation of The Obama Foundation brand motif featuring lines, color, font, and symbols.
  • Building the Center
  • Education
Building on the past, looking ahead

As the Obama Presidential Center prepares to open its doors in 2026, our brand identity enters a new chapter.

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Obama Leaders and Scholars alumni from across Asia-Pacific who gathered in Bangkok, Thailand to reunite as a community and grow leadership skills.
  • Leaders
  • Asia-Pacific
Asia-Pacific leaders reunite in Bangkok

Leaders from across Asia-Pacific gathered in Bangkok to share insights, grow skills, and foster collaboration within the Obama Leadership Network.

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Dechen, a young Nepali girl with a medium skin tone, draws stars on paper with a yellow case of colored pencils. She is wearing a purple dress, and her chin-length black hair is held with a purple clip.
  • Watch
  • Girls Opportunity Alliance
Dechen’s story

Learn how the Girls Opportunity Alliance helps educate and empower the next generation of Nepali girls.

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A young girl, Mosa, sits at a classroom desk with a laptop branded with “Beyond the Classroom Initiative” and two girls sitting behind her. She wears a gray blouse and has her braided hair tied up with a purple hair-tie
  • Watch
  • Girls Opportunity Alliance
Mosa’s story

Watch how the Girls Opportunity Alliance helps close the gender gap in STEM through digital literacy training for girls.

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Uyen, a young Vietnamese girl with a medium skin tone, poses with a pink bicycle. She is wearing a school uniform with a white collared shirt, navy skirt and pink backpack. Mountains and flower fields are pictured in the background.
  • Watch
  • Girls Opportunity Alliance
Uyen’s story

Learn how the Girls Opportunity Alliance helps address transportation barriers and safety for girls in Vietnam.

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Nimon, a young Kenyan woman, sits at a table with a notebook and pen in hand. She is wearing a black blazer and blouse, with shelves of books pictured behind her.
  • Watch
  • Girls Opportunity Alliance
Nimon’s story

Learn how the Girls Opportunity Alliance helps adolescent girls in Kenya access high-quality education and holistic support.

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Judith Godfrey, a young Tanzanian woman with a dark skin tone, poses in a classroom with her arms crossed. She wears a black dress with blue flowers and has short hair.
  • Watch
  • Girls Opportunity Alliance
Judith’s story

Watch how the Girls Opportunity Alliance supports education access for adolescent girls in Tanzania.

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A group of people with a range of light to dark skin tones pose in front of a banner that reads, “Bring Change Home.”
  • Stories
  • Building the Center
2024 year in review
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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
Ways to embrace pluralism in your daily connections

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

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Michelle Obama sits in an online conversation with a girls’ education leader from Nepal who has dark hair pulled back and is wearing a teal shirt and glasses. The two smile in conversation together.
  • Girls Opportunity Alliance
  • Watch
Mrs. Obama joins the Girls Opportunity Alliance Network for virtual conversation

Watch grassroots leaders from Botswana, Tanzania, Costa Rica, Barbados, and Nepal share their impact empowering girls worldwide with Mrs. Obama.

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Joséphine Goube, a tall woman with a light skin tone and dark hair, smiles as she faces an audience. She is wearing a tan blazer and white top. Behind her is a sign that reads, “Sistech.”
  • Scholars
  • Changemakers
How one Obama Scholar promotes pluralism through her work with refugee women

Hear from Joséphine Goube on how her nonprofit, Sistech, helps foster connections between refugee women and professionals, breaking stereotypes and building mutual understanding

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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.
  • Leaders
  • Equality
Obama Leader on a mission to make clean energy accessible in Croatia

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

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A Black woman wearing a blue sweatshirt and floral leggings holds a yoga pose. She is encircled by a group of adolescent Black girls wearing matching maroon shirts and holding the same pose. They are a range of light to dark skin tones.
  • Girls Opportunity Alliance
  • Youth
Girls Opportunity Alliance provides more than $1 million in support on International Day of the Girl

Learn how the Alliance is joining forces with 26 organizations serving adolescent girls in Chicago and around the world

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Indigenous girls of the Sacred Valley Project work on school activities together at a long table covered in books, worksheets, colorful markers, and other school supplies.
  • Watch
  • Girls Opportunity Alliance
Meet the Girls of Sacred Valley Project

Learn how the Girls Opportunity Alliance supports secondary education for girls in rural Peru.

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Betty, a young woman with a dark skin tone, turns around and poses for the photo while walking down a dirt path. She is wearing a striped yellow shirt, a black backpack, and has dyed pink hair.
  • Watch
  • Girls Opportunity Alliance
Betty’s story

See how the Girls Opportunity Alliance supports STEM education for Kenyan girls with disabilities.

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Brenda, a young Tanzanian girl with a dark skin tone, raises her hand among her classmates. The group is outside and Brenda wears a school uniform with a white collared shirt, striped tie, and sweater. They are all a range of medium to dark skin tones.
  • Watch
  • Girls Opportunity Alliance
Brenda’s story

Learn how the Girls Opportunity Alliance supports community-driven solutions that advance equality and climate justice in Tanzania.

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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.
  • Leaders
  • Changemakers
Obama Leaders join forces across continents to create global opportunities for women

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

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Liza Zaruba, a woman with a light skin tone and long blonde hair, stands in between country flags outside of the United Nations. She rests her hands on her hips and is wearing a white blouse and yellow pants.
  • Voyagers
  • Education
Obama-Chesky Voyager travels from Togo to Geneva to make a difference in health care

Explore Liza Zaruba's Summer Voyage, and learn how she plans to apply her new health care skills back in Chicago.

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A black-and-white headshot of a woman with long dark wavy hair, parted to the side. She wears a floral blouse and dark suit jacket. There are three graphic circles behind her: one teal, one light green and one white..
  • Equality
  • Defending Democracy
Meet the Obama Leader making history for war victims in the Balkans

Hear directly from Adrijana Hanušić Bećirović as she talks about human rights and what the Obama Leadership program has meant to her.

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Michelle Obama addresses the Global Summit on Women's Empowerment in Dubai. Michelle Obama is sitting at a long table surrounded by three other women. The women are speaking to one and other and smiling.
  • Girls Opportunity Alliance
  • Programs
In the News: The Girls Opportunity Alliance

Learn more about how the Girls Opportunity Alliance is working to empower and educate girls around the world

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There are three women on the right side of the image and three women on the left side of the image. In the center of the image, Michelle Obama is hugging a woman and facing the camera. Michelle Obama has curly hair and is wearing several rings. The woman she is hugging is facing opposite the camera – we cannot see her face – she has short curly hair and is wearing a beige sweater and black pants. In the background, several women with a range of light to deep skin tones and ages speak to one another. On the wall of the room is a poster that reads, “Girls Opportunity Alliance.” The poster has a border with short perpendicular lines in pink and light blue with a dark blue background.
  • Girls Opportunity Alliance
  • Equality
Five women we’re celebrating for International Women’s Day

Meet five women making a difference with the help of the Girls Opportunity Alliance

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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
  • Leaders
Highlights from the Leaders conference in Athens

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

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Leah Whitmoyer sorts olives with another woman with a medium skin tone and black hair on an olive farm in Taounate, Morocco. Three others stand in the background.
  • Sustainability
  • Voyagers
Voyager Scholar studies food and water insecurity in the United States

Voyager to tackle food and water insecurity during Summer Voyage

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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
  • Leaders
Meet the Leaders who joined President Obama in Berlin to discuss democracy

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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Mustika Wijaya stands with the Wekeke village chief and religious leader at the site of Solar Chapter’s pump installation. They are surrounded by rocks and construction.
  • Sustainability
  • Scholars
Obama scholar’s invention brings clean water to rural Indonesians

Obama Scholar creates clean water for rural Indonesians

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A landscape scene shows severe damage, with concrete road and bridge structures in massive heaps above a narrow pathway cleared in the rubble. A group of people of varying skin tones are seen at a distance wearing headscarves and assorted clothing near a small bulldozer. A body of brown water is shown on the right with rubble and debris along the shore.
  • Take Action
  • Stories
Take action to help those affected by the earthquake in Türkiye and Syria

A 7.8-magnitude earthquake and its aftershocks hit Türkiye and Syria beginning on Monday, February 6, 2023.

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

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 woman with a medium-deep skin tone and long black and brown hair, is shown in a school classroom holding multiple books.
  • Girls Opportunity Alliance
  • Education
Kiran’s story

Read Kiran’s story from India.

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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
  • Leaders
Thuba’s story

Thuba’s story

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A woman with medium-deep skin, long hair, eye shadow, and red lipstick lightly smiles. She has a camo military shirt on, a belt and jeans on. The setting is a classroom in ok condition.
  • Girls Opportunity Alliance
  • Education
Laxmi’s story

Laxmi’s story

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In this picture a lady with a deep skin tone wearing a teal shirt and a light blue dress with flower patterns is shown sitting on a tree stump.
  • Girls Opportunity Alliance
  • Equality
Rebecca’s story

Rebecca’s story

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In this picture, a man and a woman with a deep skin tone are shown in white lab shirts. The woman faces the camera while the man doesn't.
  • Girls Opportunity Alliance
  • Education
Diana’s story

Watch Diana’s story from Malawi.

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White text that reads "Obama Foundation Democracy Forum" on a mostly blue sunset background.
  • Defending Democracy
  • Equality
The Obama Foundation Democracy Forum

Watch highlights from the first-ever Democracy Forum held in New York City.

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President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama shake hands with Queen Elizabeth.
  • In memoriam
  • Stories
A legacy of tireless, dignified public service

Revisiting President and Mrs. Obama’s moments with Queen Elizabeth II.

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A woman with a neutral skin tone sitting at a desk with a computer in front of her
  • Changemakers
  • Europe
Ukraine stories – Yuliia Sachuk

Disability rights activist and Obama Leader Yuliia Sachuk was in her apartment in Kyiv the night of February 24, when Russia invaded Ukraine.

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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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