Auma Obama, Chairman and founder of the Sauti Kuu Foundation in Kenya, and half-sister of U.S. President Barack Obama, spoke for the youth of Africa during her speech during the session Education, Training, and Skills: How to Develop the Skills Necessary to Stimulate Africa’s Economies. In a passionate speech, she said “think globally, act locally”. She underlined the necessity for local engagement in order to change a culture of passivity and despair to one of self-empowerment and achievement.

Dr Obama also emphasized the need to return to basics. True security is about securing the basic needs in life, such as education, food and shelter, and the youth of Kenya and Africa face enormous challenges in securing those necessities. “We need to stop thinking and seeing Africa as a whole. We must start in our streets, in our homes and assess the needs and problems there. If we can solve these issues, we can settle any problem”. Security is about securing the dreams of today’s youth, making sure they do not feel cheated or without perspectives.