2017.2017.2017.2017.

Welcome to the Obama Summit

2017.

Welcome to the Obama Summit

2017.

Welcome to the Obama Summit

2017.

Welcome to the Obama Summit

2017.

Welcome to the Obama Summit

2017.

Welcome to the Obama Summit

2017.

Welcome to the Obama Summit

2017.

Welcome to the Obama Summit

2017.

hi, everyone!

Welcome to the second day of the

Obama foundation Summit!

We're thrilled to have you all

tuning in.

I hope you have really enjoyed

the main stage events.

A reminder, we're here to

inspire, empower and connect the

next generation of leaders.

You're critical to that.

We hope you stay in touch with

the Obama Foundation as we go

forward.

As part of this, we'll get into

some conversation with great

leaders and hear their

perspectives with civic

engagement and the work we can

do together.

First up, we have a writer,

award winning film maker and

activist.

Welcome.

Thank you so much.

Thank you for being here.

Thank you.

I want to start by first letting

our viewers know that you have

done really important,

innovative work in France when

it comes to addressing issues of

race, gender and religion.

I would love to hear from you

your view of civic engagement,

how do you think about what that

is and how has that informed

your approach to addressing

these issues?

Thank you for allowing me to

share my views.

First thing, I think that it is

important for every citizen to

think about himself or herself

as someone important.

As someone that can have a voice

and that can be part of the

global conversation.

I started my organization

because I was tired of hearing

people speaking about me as a

woman, as a French woman of

color without having me on the

set.

I decided with my organization

to tackle every day racism,

especially statements authored

by public personalities.

You mention that we try to be

innovative, we created a

ceremony, an award ceremony that

would reward the worst racist

sentences offered by public

personalities.

It was a way to use humor and to

work with comedians and at the

same time raise awareness on the

fact that when you hear the

media, public despair, you hear

much racist statements and you

feel there is nothing that you

can do about that.

Having that ceremony was a way

to be vocal in that.

Wow.

Thank you.

Thank you for your work!

Thank you for sharing it.

You're welcome.

I'm curious, you mentioned you

created this organization, the

indivisibles, I'm curious as a

young woman, as you were

recognizing the need in this

space what inspired you to

create an organization as

opposed to joining others, other

organizations in this space?

Just tell us a bit about that

process of creating that.

Because I had the feeling that

the other organizations were

doing a great job, but they

weren' really working on the

specific topics of prejudices

that I was concerned about.

Actually I was inspired by

another woman, another European

woman, I watched a dock ministry

on -- a documentary on a black

German, she said you cantic

German and black at the same

time, you can do this and be

black at the same time.

I contacted her, she -- we just

spoke and she said you should

gather with your friends and

start something.

That was all.

We were only six at the

beginning.

I had never, ever would have

known that it would be that big

in France.

Wow!

Thank you.

Last question for you.

Just tell me a little by the

about -- we're in day two of the

Summit.

What are you taking away?

What have you enjoyed and

inspired you?

The first thing I enjoy a lot is

the energy.

Everybody is enthusiastic, we

have people from all around the

world.

Wherever I turn around, I just

jump into someone that's

amazing, that's doing an amazing

job in his or her city or his or

her country.

That's something I really want

to bring back to my country.

It is inspiring.

I have the feeling that I can

connect with everyone here to

work back in my country.

Wonderful.

A final question.

What advice do you have folks

watching, perhaps what you have

said about questions of

identity, making a difference in

your community, perhaps really

resinate butt not but not sure o

get started.

What would you share about the

first steps to take.

Everyone has to learn that power

is in our hands.

We can do whatever we want to do

as long as we believe that we're

fighting for the right cause.

You know, I had no idea about

where I would go with my

organization but we were

convinced we were doing the

right thing.

That's the feeling I have being

here connecting with people who

are working on causes in other

places.

Wonderful.

Thank you so much for being

here.

Thank you.

We're proud of the work that

you're doing.

Thank you for encouraging me.

Thank you.

Next up, we have another special

guest, this is Joe, he's a

cofounder of RBNB which of

course we know -- many folks

watching right now, they have

taken advantage of the the

service in the past.

Welcome, Joe.

Come on up.

For anyone watching the morning

session, if you're able to

stream that, you know that Joe

joined an exciting, interesting

I think conversation about the

role that business has in

thinking about civic society and

that's really where I would like

to start, Joe, in case folks did

miss that.

We think at the Obama Foundation

a lot about the role that people

have, individuals have as

we're -- we want people to feel

that they have the power to make

a difference in their

communities.

I'm curious with the hat that

you wear as running a business

what do you view the role is for

business and institutions in

terms of creating the type of

civic society we want to have

together.

A great question.

I'm excited to be here.

It was a fascinating panel.

I think to get right into it I

feel like companies in the 21st

century have a responsibility to

go above and beyond the normal

calls of duty of the business,

to actually take whatever the

strengths are, whatever they're

good at and go out in the world

and solve problems and they can

do that through partnerships

with the public sector,

obviously, so I'm thinking right

now specifically of things that

we're good at as a company,

short-term hospitality, creating

trust between strangers and a

global scale through a

technology platform.

It showed up for us, how to

answer the question, how do we

put the roof over the head of

people that need it the most, we

create a pod, open homes,

allowing anyone to house someone

that's been displaced by natural

disaster, political conflict,

and so we host all over the&

world and they're going above

and beyond even hosting a

traveler, saying I want to open

my home to somebody that needs

it.

Wow.

Tell me a little about it, Joe,

you mention on the panel this

morning the story of how airBNB

came about, you had to pay the

rent.

It was the asset, it is key to

understand the assets that you

have in the community

organizing.

I'm curious for a lot of us, you

have an idea, the reality is

that a multibillion dollar

company like AirBNB followed

with an idea and tenacity to

make it real.

It can be hard when we have

ideas floating in and out of the

heads of that can be a -- that

can be a major company, a

powerful way to make a

difference in my community,

change the world.

What advice do you have for

folks that are trying to figure

out how to even begin that

process?

What did you learn from that

experience?

It is funny.

Today is November 1st, 2017, 10

years ago to the date in 2007

was when a rent check was due

that we couldn't pay.

Happy anniversary!

Thank you very much!

It is a lot of reflection of ten

years ago, we had our backs up

against the wall, we quit our

jobs to be entrepreneurs, no

idea what we wanted to do, the

rent is beyond our means and we

have to think of a creative

solution to keep our apartment.