President Barack Obama started receiving birthday wishes early when the movers and shakers of the Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI) broke out singing “Happy Birthday” just before POTUS began his address at Wednesday’s town hall.

A thousand participants came to the three-day YALI summit in Washington Monday, where in its sixth year, is an initiative to support young African entrepreneurs, activists and public officials who are on the come up.

The Mandela Washington Fellowship, YALI’s flagship program, started two years ago lifting young Africans up via academic courses, leadership training and networking.

Ahead of @POTUS's birthday tomorrow, young leaders sing happy birthday

during the #YALI2016 Town Hall: https://t.co/JXajz0cqXI

— The White House (@WhiteHouse) August 3, 2016

In yesterday’s address, Obama told the crowd of his four trips to the continent—which is more than any other U.S. president.

“Today’s Africa is a place of unprecedented prosperity and opportunities," he tells the crowd.

He also notes how imperative it is for First LadyMichelle Obama and himself to instill and teach their diverse cultural heritage to their daughters Malia and Sasha, including POTUS’ Kenyan heritage.

Last year, Okayafrica had Mandela Washington Fellow, Brian ‘B Flow’ Bwembya, join the editorial team, where he brought great content from Zambia to our site. Obama also took some time during the 2015 town hall to give him a shout-out.

Watch below for the full address, where Obama touches on his work to transform America’s relationship with the continent, how America’s learned from the YALI fellows as much as they learn from their own experiences in the States and more.