Former US President Barack Obama has announced his inspiring plans for a community campus in Chicago. In a video released on The Obama Foundation’s website, the 56-year-old politician said that The Obama Presidential Center will be “a campus for active citizenship in the heart of Chicago’s South Side.”
“The Center is a work in progress, built in direct partnership with thousands of people who have offered their feedback in-person and online,” he continued, adding that it “will be a living, working campus — an ongoing project where we will shape, together, what it means to be a good citizen in the 21st century.”
The center will consist of a public meeting space called The Forum Building, a plaza for gatherings and public events, bike paths, gardens, a library and an athletics center. There will also be a Museum detailing the history of Chicago, African Americans, the Civil Rights Movement and the Obama’s journey. “It will be a place for all seasons, with winding landscapes, a sledding hill, and quiet spaces to read or reflect,” Obama explained.
Former First Lady Michelle Obama took to Instagram to share her views. “From the very beginning, Barack and I knew the Obama Presidential Center had to be on the South Side. It’s where we met and where our girls were born. It’s home,” she writes. “We’ve been designing the Center as a place that inspires young people and gives them the tools they need to find their voices, then go out and change the world. It will be a place to learn, connect, and have some fun. The South Side will finally have a sledding hill, a vegetable garden like the one we had at the White House, and other attractions for Chicagoans and visitors from around the world to enjoy.”
The center is expected to boost Chicago’s economy by increasing tourism and creating thousands of new jobs. Watch Obama describe his vision in the video below.
Today, we’re taking a big step towards the start of construction of the Obama Presidential Center. Watch @BarackObama share our vision: https://t.co/RLukEX0iRx pic.twitter.com/Iov41mL5aM
— The Obama Foundation (@ObamaFoundation) January 10, 2018
All images from www.obama.org
