In the year since the last issue of this journal, the youth of the BLTN Next Generation Leadership Network (NextGen)—funded in large part by Middlebury’s Kathryn Wasserman Davis Collaborative Conflict Transformation—have been busy and focused. This year included three large-scale cross-site visits and several other interactive events. 

End of Year NextGen slides created by the Youth Advisory Board. View slides in a larger format here.

Cross-Site Visits

In July, youth from nine BLTN NextGen sites, along with a Washington DC cohort, gathered on the Bread Loaf Vermont campus in a testament to the power of youth voice. Through cooperative activities, presentations, panel discussions, outdoor events, and a film showcase by youth from What’s the Story?: The Young Filmmakers’ Social Action Team, young people worked in the spirit of Middlebury’s Conflict Transformation initiative, learning and collaborating across difference. 

Youth from Vermont; Chelsea, MA; Louisville, KY; Washington DC; Aiken, SC; and Santa Fe, NM, presented films to an audience of approximately 100 Bread Loaf students, faculty, staff, and local community members. Filmmakers shared their perspectives as creators, researchers, and advocates for change. (See the 2024 films premiered on the What’s the Story? YouTube Channel and learn about this summer’s WTS film showcase.)

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In November, NextGen-Louisville invited guests from across the network to learn about their city and schools and to share insights into making schools and communities more just and equitable. Youth from three Louisville high schools (Atherton, Fern Creek, and Jeffersontown) welcomed peers from Aiken, SC; La Casa Roja (Rock Point, Navajo Nation); and Santa Fe Indian School for the three-day event November 7-9. To get to know the city and some of its roots, participants visited the Muhammad Ali Center, the Louisville Zoo, the Speed Art Museum, the Churchill Downs Museum, and the Louisville Slugger Museum and Factory. We were welcomed to Fern Creek High School by Brent Peters (MA ’16), who recounted the “Navajo-Kentuckians” collaborations, and who encouraged everyone present to pursue their questions with passion. Heather Jones, Site Mentor for NextGen – Louisville, offered a reflection that says plenty about the culture of NextGen: “After having the good fortune of visiting other NextGen sites and learning of their cultures, it was an honor to host a gathering in Louisville to share with those who have been so welcoming to us. It is always amazing to watch students from different regions and backgrounds find that they have so much in common! Their commitment to create positive change bridges states, cultures, and generations.”

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In March, the Atlanta site hosted a three-day gathering attended by youth and mentors from Santa Fe Indian School, La Casa Roja (Navajo), and Aiken (SC). Atlanta Site Mentor and These Halls Can Talk Director, Shalesa Brewer (MA ’22) commented on the event: 

“On March 15, 2025, These Halls Can Talk celebrated its 10th anniversary with ‘Past Forward: An Intergenerational Community Event.’ This event, which was intentionally designed to focus on community building—a value that is so important right now—gave not only students and graduates of Booker T. Washington High School, but also members of the BLTN NextGen network a unique and unforgettable opportunity to develop and strengthen community bonds by fostering meaningful connections between different age groups and cultures. 

These Halls Can Talk, through the ‘Past Forward’ event, was proud to be able to offer techniques of community building by encouraging intergenerational and cross-cultural dialogue and enriching the overall community fabric by celebrating shared histories and creating new connections.” 

In addition to the “Past Forward” event, the NextGen crew visited the Martin Luther King Jr. Historical Center, Ebenezer Baptist Church, Herndon Museum, and the historic Booker T. Washington High School. 

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May brought a visit from Sharon, Vermont, youth and mentors to Santa Fe Indian School. Planned as a learning event for What’s the Story? youth, this visit allowed young people from two NextGen sites to not only share practice for filmmaking and research, but also to foster cultural and geographic learning. SFIS mentor Susan Miera described the visit from the host perspective: “NextGen students helped host visitors and welcomed them with Pueblo feasts and teachings about ceremonial ways. They explained that food is at the center of every ceremony because it fosters community and understanding among diverse communities. Students were able to visit San Ildefonso Pueblo for their feast day, viewing traditional dances in the plaza and visiting two households for traditional Pueblo foods. Vermont students were treated to Pueblo tacos and traditional orange dessert, were shown how fry bread was made by Pueblo elders, and were blessed in a Native language by two of our NextGen students.”

And from Hailey Elles, Sharon, Vermont mentor: “In addition to attending presentations at the SFIS senior honors symposium, students participated in an all-day filmmaking workshop and supported their peers as they presented their finished films to a wider audience. The crew also got the chance to visit Bandelier National Monument with its over 3,000 year-old cave dwellings as well as the famed modern art installation Meow Wolf. Additionally, they ate lots of spicy food, toured downtown Santa Fe, and spent a morning at the Museum of Indian Arts and Culture.”

“It was really cool,” said Vermont 9th grader Lyla, “to see how they live versus how we live, like the different styles of food, and building structures.”

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Online Events

While cross-site visits continue to be the lifeblood of NextGen, they’re not the only way the group comes together. The Youth Advisory Board (which meets monthly to write together and share information about local social action) planned two network-wide writing events this year. 

The first, titled “Faces of Janus: Looking Back and Forward”, got us grounded for the new year and featured NextGen alumna Gladdys Jiminian along with current YAB Chair Tien Hoang as guest artists.

Then in April, Youth Advisory Board met with author, filmmaker, and artist Maham Khwaja for a writing workshop. Khwaja read from The Home We Make, her children’s book (recently featured on NPR) which narrates the story of a Pakistani migrant family. She then led youth in a workshop focusing on incorporating sensory details into writing. Khwaja also gave instructions for an accompanying art activity.

NextGen youth were fortunate to be joined by Mohsin Tejani (MA ’01) and 17 Pakistani peers associated with The School of Writing in Karachi. Participants shared creative pieces centering around the idea that when we engage our senses and imaginations, home is something we can take with us when we’re displaced or traveling.

Author Maham Khwaja (bottom left) visits with NextGen and School of Writing youth to give a reading and writing workshop.