Jackson among pilot cities for President Obama’s new leadership initiative

JACKSON, Miss. (WLBT) - Jackson, Mississippi has been selected as a pilot city for former President Obama’s newly announced youth leadership initiative.

According to its website, The Change Collective is for “local changemakers” and will empower and enable these changemakers “to bring people together, bridge divides, and solve problems at the community level.”

In a video posted to the Change Collective’s website, President Obama says the initiative is a way to bring emerging leaders from different identities and backgrounds together.

Each city chosen for the initiative will be composed of 25 “emerging leaders.” The inaugural Change Collective class will include 75 leaders across the three pilot cities, which are Chicago, Detroit, and Jackson.

The following are qualities the Change Collective is looking for in a potential “local changemaker”: you have demonstrated your ability to lead in your community and you have a compelling community-based project that you want to take on and tackle through the Change Collective program.

The deadline for submitting a completed application is April 14, 2023.

Finalists will be invited for virtual interviews in April 2023 with Change Collective staff.

WEB EXTRA:

WLBT+ also interviewed Kalisha Dessources Figures, Senior Fellow at Civic Nation who will lead the new initiative’s work.

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