Obama announces young leaders' summit: 'Democracy is a job for all of us'

After staying out of the fray for much of Donald Trump’s presidency, Barack Obama is going back to where it all began.

The former president announced plans on Wednesday to host a summit of young leaders in Chicago, designed to boost civic engagement and expand opportunities for young people both in the US and abroad.
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Obama unveiled the two-day Obama Foundation Summit, which will also feature Michelle Obama, in a video message that drew upon familiar themes of enacting change from the outside.

“We want to lift up the amazing work that organizers, inventors, artists, entrepreneurs, journalists and others are doing,” Obama said while speaking directly to the camera. “And if we do it right, together we’ll show the world that each of us has a role to play in our civic life.”

The summit will be hosted by the Obama Foundation in the former president’s hometown at the end of October. The foundation also announced a two-year fellowship program focused on training and development for “civic innovators”.

Although there is no mention of the current occupant of the White House, keeping consistent with Obama’s reluctance since leaving office in January to criticize Trump by name, the former president gave a nod to the political climate in a written statement.

“Democracy is a job for all of us. What are you going to do about it?” Obama wrote in an email to the foundation’s supporters. “I’ve never been more certain that we’ll rise to the occasion – together.”

“When I left office in January, I asked of you the same thing I asked when you took a chance on me back in 2008,” he added. “I asked you to believe – not in my ability to bring about change, but in yours.”

Obama has kept a low profile since handing Trump the keys to the White House, choosing to weigh in on a handful of issues. The former president issued statements on Trump’s travel ban, withdrawal from the Paris climate agreement and, most recently, his successor’s decision to tear up protections for roughly 800,000 young undocumented immigrants known as Dreamers.

Obama’s most political comments thus far came as Republicans attempted to dismantle the Affordable Care Act, which remains his signature legislative accomplishment and has expanded access to healthcare to nearly 22 million Americans. While accepting the John F Kennedy Library Foundation’s Profile in Courage award in May, Obama implored lawmakers to have the “courage to champion the vulnerable and the sick and the infirm”.

David Simas, the CEO of the Obama Foundation, said the summit announced on Wednesday was the result of nine months of soliciting feedback from people across the country and all over the world “to identify barriers to civic participation”.

“From leaders who are already making an impact, to people who are interested in becoming more involved, but don’t know where to start, our goal is to make our programs accessible to anyone, anywhere, with any background or level of experience,” Simas said.

“This is only the beginning – our programs will grow as we continue to listen and learn.”