Ronelle King, a Barbadian scholar and Gender Rights Advocate has been listed among 30 students who were selected to participate in an immersion program at either the Columbia University in New York or the University of Chicago for 2023-2024. This program was initiated by former US President Barack Obama, derived from the Obama Foundation, and is, therefore, named the Obama Foundation Scholars program. This year’s program will be the sixth of its kind, gifting future leaders with the opportunity to develop their abilities.
Life In Leggings: Caribbean Alliance Against Gender-Based Violence was founded by King, an intersectional Caribbean feminist and gender rights activist who has won several awards.
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King initiated a successful social media campaign in 2016 with the hashtag #lifeinlggings, which resulted in the development of the clothing line Life in Leggings. The hashtag gave survivors of sexual harassment and gender-based violence the ability to connect with one another, share their stories, and promote the elimination of gender-based violence throughout the Caribbean.
Life in Leggings now offers programs that empower and educate women and girls as well as advocacy and victim support services. The organization’s Pink Parliament Program works with young women and girls to boost their political engagement, and its Redefining Masculinities program engages men and boys to confront patriarchal masculinities and stop male-perpetrated violence against women and girls. Ronelle plans to utilize the Scholars program to investigate the connection between environmental catastrophe and gender-based violence. She also aims to create a program on gender and climate.
The Obama Scholars program, a cornerstone of the Foundation’s efforts to create the next generation of leaders, exposes Scholars to real-world knowledge, abilities, and opportunities that will increase the impact of their work once they return to their home countries. The Scholars will take part in academic, practical, and experiential learning programs created in collaboration with the Obama Foundation by Columbia University and the University of Chicago. By taking part in leadership development activities run by the Foundation, individuals will expand their learning and get individualized assistance as they continue their jobs after graduation.
All Scholars participated in an orientation in Chicago on September 7 to begin their Foundation-led program. The news was made on September 6.
Obama Foundation CEO, Valerie Jarrett, briefly described the program’s purpose by stating, “The Obama Scholars program enables rising changemakers to gain insights into the work of fellow leaders, across issues and geographies, while collaborating to address complex challenges.” She added, “We are eager to welcome the new cohort of Scholars to the Foundation family, where they will join a network of changemakers striving for a stronger, more sustainable, and more inclusive world.”
12 scholars from 12 different nations will be hosted by the Obama Foundation Scholars Program at Columbia University for a nine-month stay at Columbia World Projects. As part of the institution’s diverse curriculum, scholars will endeavor to expand their knowledge and abilities as well as develop new capacities and networks that will hasten their effect on the world. The cohort will take part in weekly lectures, workshops for personal and professional growth, audited homework, and other specially designed programming created in close collaboration with the Foundation.
The Obama Foundation Scholars program is created to inspire, equip, and link upcoming leaders with the resources they require to increase the effectiveness and impact of their work in their local and international communities.
The Obama Foundation Scholars program has sponsored 132 leaders from 59 nations since its launch in 2018, all actively tackling the most critical challenges of the day. Visit obama.org/programs/scholars to learn more about the 2023–2024 cohort.
