Barack Obama town hall in Delhi: Ex-US president encourages youth to bring social change, fight against discrimination

After a successful special edition at the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit on Friday, former United States president Barack Obama addressed a town hall organised by the Obama Foundation in New Delhi on Friday. He interacted with several youngsters and said that the single most important thing he wants to focus on is training the next generation of leaders. He said that with the largest young population in the world, India holds an important place for him. The former US president addressed nearly 300 young leaders from various parts of the country. Obama Foundation, run by the former president, said that the aim of the event was to “continue the conversation about what it means to be an active citizen and make an impact.” Focus of Obama’s town hall was youth pushing for social change. He said that “there has never been a better time to be a young person than today” and that it was the youth who can push for social change. “Obama believes that countries are strongest when we empower our young people — because ultimately, they’re the ones who will shape our future.” the Obama Foundation said about this town hall, emphasising the leader’s focus on mobilising youth for reforms. [caption id=“attachment_4237423” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  File image of former US president Barack Obama. AP[/caption] “As troubled as the times are, as difficult as the world can seem…The world is a much better place today,” Obama told the young audience. In a bid to inspire them, Obama added that many people who made an impact started out without money, power and other privileges, and some of them were very young. He gave the example of Martin Luther King Jr and the efforts he made to bring about change. Obama said that Martin Luther was barely 25-year-old when he began activism against segregation. “Your efforts matter,” Obama said, while adding that the world has never been healthier. When asked about health care reforms from an Indian perspective, the former US president said that prevention should be the priority. He added that vaccination and nutrition are some of the avenues where India should focus on. “Since we are in Delhi, we must mention clean air as well,” Obama quipped. He also said that the India-US relationship could be a “defining partnership of the 21st century” and charting the course for the future will depend on the youth of the two countries.

While saying that technology can be a force for social good, he said that it can also lead to issues like isolation. He urged the audience to “go out of their comfort zones” and interact with people who had a different opinion.

He further said that people on the other side of any issue must be heard and a compromise must be reached to bring change. “You can’t be a purist if you want to bring change. You will never get a 100 percent of what you want,” he said. He also urged people to work for the betterment of the society, no matter how difficult the task may seem. “Know ahead of time that change is hard, so do not get discouraged. Try to break up your efforts into bite-sized manageable pieces,” Obama advised. When asked by a transgender activist on the steps that the community can take when homosexuality is still not decriminalised in India, Obama said that the they need to “find their voice and make it heard, so they can articulate their views and tell their story.” He asked the activist to speak to groups, who have an intersection with the cause and said that once that happens, it was a matter of applying political pressure and mobilising public opinion. “And this is going to take time,” he added, while saying that change would come only with determination. Obama also acknowledged that it is extremely hard to bring about change in the present political climate because “there is so much noise”. “Conflict, sound bites and tweets get more attention in the media and there is no dialogue,” he said. “There is just a constant contest for attention across social media and airwaves,” he added while saying that constructive debate is losing relevance in social media. Obama also recognised that the challenges for people in the workforce are globalisation and automation. He said that India will keep generating blue-collar and manufacturing jobs, but every country will have a deficit in the percentage of jobs available in the market, especially considering automation. He added that there were numerous ways through which youngsters can work towards bringing reforms and that they must not feel limited by one way of bringing change. “Those small steps of courage, those single steps towards change, will make India and the world a better place,” he concluded.

He said that he will continue to work against inequality and will make sure that women are getting the same opportunities as men. He also vowed to continue to fight against discrimination and racism.

Meanwhile, ahead of the conclave, Obama met Prime Minister Narendra Modi. This is the first meeting between the two leaders after Obama left the White House in January. “It was a pleasure to meet, once again, former president Barack Obama, and learn about the new initiatives being taken forward under his leadership at the Obama Foundation and his perspectives on further strengthening India-US strategic partnership,” Modi tweeted about the meetup.

It was a pleasure to meet, once again, former President @BarackObama, and learn about the new initiatives being taken forward under his leadership at the @ObamaFoundation and his perspectives on further strengthening India-US strategic partnership. pic.twitter.com/fvoGgF6CZM

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) December 1, 2017

On his five-day trip to Asia, Obama is also likely to have meetings with the leaders of China. While this town hall for youngsters has become a signature event that Obama, the rest of his trip may garner particular attention for more political reasons. Given that many foreign countries are still uncertain about US president Donald Trump’s foreign policy, PTI reported that leaders may look to his predecessor to help explain America’s current direction. This year, President Obama has also hosted discussions similar to Friday’s event in New Delhi in Germany, Indonesia, and Brazil.   Watch the complete town hall here:

With inputs from agencies