From Seed to Sapling: Growing Youth Leadership in Peacebuilding

New Jersey remains one of the most highly segregated education systems for Black and Hispanic youth in the country. To reimagine a more just and equitable education system for all of our students, in 2021, I developed a paid leadership program for students ages 15 - 24 called "Leadership for Educational Liberation (LEL)" in collaboration with multiple stakeholder organizations, including The Inclusion Project at Rutgers University-Newark. The LEL program created a paid opportunity for high school and university students to learn from and engage with one another through restorative circle dialogues and interactive workshops, while more experienced facilitators and program stakeholders shared their knowledge of restorative and transformative justice, Kingian Nonviolence, political advocacy and organization, and communication and storytelling, among other topics, through group discussion and activities. As such, the LEL program prioritized relationships and a sense of community among participants and facilitators alike.

This session will explore the development of the LEL program, and specifically the significance of paying youth to develop their peacebuilding skills and leveraging intergenerational dialogue and skills-sharing to support new generations of peacemakers. Participants will will walk away with a deeper appreciation for creating opportunities for those those of us who have been in the field for some time to invest in our youth with our knowledge, lived experience, and economic resources.

Participants will learn what it can look like to prioritize the voices and experiences of purposefully and strategically marginalized youth, and honor their expertise and lived experience with space, shared power, and financial remuneration.

Participants, particularly self-described "elder" participants, will be inspired to open ourselves up to new ideas and ways of thinking, being, and knowing that comes from intergenerational connections with youth.

About Jessica Laus

Jessica Laus grew up in the great city of Detroit, and is currently pursuing a PhD in Peace and Conflict Studies at the University of Manitoba. She holds a Bachelor of Arts from Wayne State University, a Master of Science from the London School of Economics, and she worked in the field of international diplomacy for well over five years. A practitioner and advocate of restorative practices and nonviolence, she is most proud of her work cultivating youth leadership in New Jersey and Winnipeg.