The United States will invest $70 million in education, training and employment programs in Latin America and the Caribbean to help young people succeed in the 21st-century economy.
Speaking with young people in Jamaica April 9, President Obama said he admires the rising generation because of its work ethic and desire for everyone to have equal opportunities for success.
“You’re more interested in the hard work of building prosperity through entrepreneurship, not cronyism or corruption. You’re more eager for progress that comes not by holding down any segment of society, but by holding up the rights of every human being, regardless of what we look like, or how we pray, or who we love,” he said.
“Unlike any other time in our history, the technology at your disposal means that you don’t have to wait for the change that you’re looking for; you have the freedom to create it in your own in powerful and disruptive ways,” he added.
The president announced his Young Leaders of the Americas Initiative (YLAI), which will bring exceptional entrepreneurs and civil society leaders to the United States for training and networking opportunities with U.S. businesses and organizations.
“You’ll get a chance to implement your ideas but now have linkages that give you access to capital and research and all the things you need to mobilize and implement the kinds of things that you’re doing,” Obama said.