A Report on TRANSFORM Gathering 3.0

GATHERING 3.0 2026 PROGRAMME REPORT

TRACING CHANGE BUILDING FUTURES

Acknowledgments TRANSFORM: Engaging Young People for Social Change is supported through the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC). Project Number: 895-2024-1003. © McGill University, 2026

Recommended citation: Gratton, G. (2026). TRANSFORM Gathering 3.0 Report. Participatory Cultures Lab.

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GATHERING 3.0

Engaging with Young People for Social Change A SSHRC-funded global partnership that positions young people as leaders, innovators, and critical thinkers in advancing gender transformation and social justice.

Working across a number of countries including Argentina, Canada, Malawi, Mali, Mexico, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Tanzania and South Africa, TRANSFORM uses participatory visual and arts-based methods—from photovoice to performance to zine-making—to explore how gender norms are challenged and reimagined in practice.

Through Youth-to-Youth (Y2Y) spaces, it connects local interventions with global dialogues and intergenerational collaboration. Grounded in feminist, decolonial, and intersectional approaches, TRANSFORM amplifies youth voices to disrupt gender norms and influence gender transformative practices across concerns such as gender violence and climate justice.

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GATHERING 3.0

Table of Contents Acknowledgments

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TRANSFORM

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Gathering 3.0: Tracing Change Building Futures

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Schedule

05-06

Presenters

07-08

Presentations

09-22

Labs & Learnings

09-12

Introducting Youth-Led Advocacy & Policy

13-15

Slipping in a Story from Down Under

16-18

Stories of Most Significant Change

19-22

Activities and Discussions Activity 1: Stories of Change What Are We Learning and Who Needs to Know?

Activity 2: Knowledge Sharing Board What’s on the Horizon

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GATHERING 3.0

TRACING CHANGE BUILDING FUTURES June 15, 2026

9:30 AM - 12:30 PM (EDT)

Gathering 3.0 brought together TRANSFORM researchers and partners into dialogue with powerful youth-generated insights emerging from the TRANSFORM Learning Committee, Youth Studying Change Lab (March/April 2026) and Radical Methods Lab (December 2025).

This 3-hour virtual session was designed to move beyond listening—towards collective interpretation, dialogue, and actionable thinking to support the trajectory of youth-led advocacy work in TRANSFORM. This session was hosted by the Participatory Cultures Lab (PCL).

Based in Montreal, Canada, the PCL is organized around the stury and use of visual and other participatory approaches to research and social action, and involves the work of collaborators and research students engaged in the study of participatory research.

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GATHERING 3.0

SCHEDULE 9:30-9:40 AM

WELCOME & FRAMING GATHERING 3.0

Claudia Mitchell & Twisha Singh (McGill University)

9:4009:55 AM

LABS & LEARNINGS - Overview of Radical Methods Lab and Youth Studying Change Lab

Claudia Mitchell & Lisa Starr (University of Lethbridge)

09:5510:10 AM

INTRODUCING YOUTH-LED ADVOCACY & POLICY Nora Fyles introduced the potential of youth-led policy advocacy and activism. Lisa Starr asked how TRANSFORM might support and amplify the efforts of young activists and introduced the Youth Advocacy & Policy Lab.

Nora Fyles & Lisa Starr

10:1010:25 AM

SLIPPING IN A STORY FROM DOWN UNDER Max Schleser presented the project Post-Binary Futures, which engaged with youth in discussions, creative writing, and cellphilming to explore the question of gender utopia.

10:1510:30 AM

10:3011:00 AM

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STORIES OF MOST SIGNIFICANT CHANGE We heard from story-collectors in Bauchi, Nigeria who presented their most significant stories of most significant change from their recent community activities.

ACTIVITY 1: STORIES OF CHANGE - Group Discussion What different kinds of change-making are young people engaged in?

What barriers show up?

What seem to support youth as they try to make change?

In our work, how can we support youth?

Max Schleser (Swinburne University of Technology)

Anne Cockcroft (McGill University) & Bauchi Team

Facilitated Breakout Groups

GATHERING 3.0

SCHEDULE 11:0011:30 AM

REPORT BACK: STORIES OF CHANGE Representatives from each break-out group gave their 5-minute report-back to the larger meeting. Together we’ll mapped what works to support young people in influencing change.

Facilitated by Relebohile Moletsane (University of the Witwatersrand)

11:3011:40 AM

WHAT ARE WE LEARNING AND WHO NEEDS TO KNOW? What’s currently being generated within TRANSFORM.

Claudia Mitchell (McGill University)

ACTIVITY 2: KNOWLEDGE SHARING BOARD We considered how we to be more intentional in carrying learnings beyond the project in ways that might influence practice, policy, and communities. We discussed: 11:4012:10 PM

WHO should have access to learnings from TRANSFORM WHAT knowledge outputs might be most valuable to share, and; HOW we can mobilize knowledge sharing through different methods and media?

AND, Do YOU have an output to share with the team?

Group Activity on collaborative digital whiteboard

12:1012:15 PM

WHAT’S ON THE HORIZON A look at what’s coming up in TRANSFORM

12:1512:25 PM

OPEN MIC A moment to open the floor for any ideas or input on any topic. Promote an event, activity, publication, toot your own horn or raise an issue!

Open to all

CLOSING

Claudia Mitchell & Co-Directors

12:2512:30 PM

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Claudia Mitchell (McGill University)

GATHERING 3.0

PRESENTERS Claudia Mitchell A Distinguished James McGill Professor, directs McGill’s Institute for Human Development and the Participatory Cultures Lab. She co-directs TRANSFORM. Her research centers on participatory visual methods in gender equity and anti-violence work.

Twisha Singh Twisha is a Research Associate at McGill University and a lecturer specializing in Gender and Sexuality Studies. A historian with expertise in modern South Asia, she is a researcher on TRANSFORM at McGill’s Participatory Cultures Lab and teaches at the IGSF (McGill) and Simone de Beauvoir Institute (Concordia), focusing on feminist performance, queer histories, and gender transformation.

Lisa Starr Lisa is Dean of Education at the University of Lethbridge and CoDirector of TRANSFORM. A former Department Chair at McGill and past President of CASWE, she has taught across Canada, Asia, and the Middle East. Her SSHRC-funded research explores participatory visual methods to address gender-based violence and reimagine pedagogy.

Nora Fyles Former director of the UN Girls’ Education Initiative (UNGEI), Ms. Fyles has worked for multilateral organizations, NGOs, educational institutions and government ministries in Central America, Asia and Africa with a focus on education and gender issues. Ms. Fyles is currently a gender and education consultant based in Ottawa, Canada.

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GATHERING 3.0

PRESENTERS Anne Cockcroft Anne Cockcroft is a Professor in McGill’s Department of Family Medicine and a co-investigator with TRANSFORM. Her research addresses gender-based violence in southern Africa and Pakistan, with current work in Botswana on violence and suicide among youth, including LGBTQ+ communities.

Bauchi Team Bilkisu Ibrahim, Suleiman Abdullahi, Nafisa Muhammad Muminat, and Tijjani Mohd Sidi are four youth leaders engaged with TRANSFORM who are working as story-collectors and researchers in Bauchi, Nigeria. Their work focuses on improving Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health (ASRH) in Bauchi.

Max Schlesser Schleser is Associate Professor in Film and Television at Swinburne University and a researcher at CTMT. An awardwinning filmmaker and founder of MINA, he specializes in cinematic VR, smartphone filmmaking, and transmedia storytelling. His work bridges communities through mobile media, with films screened globally.

Relebohile Moletsane The FALF-Wits-NRF Chair in Gender-based Violence & Femicide at the University of the Witwatersrand, co-directs TRANSFORM. Her work focuses on teacher development and addressing sexual violence in South African rural communities. She co-led the SSHRC-funded Networks for Change project and co-edited Ethical Practice in Participatory Visual Research.

TRACING CHANGE BUILDING FUTURES

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GATHERING 3.0

PRESENTATIONS

LABS & LEARNINGS Claudia Mitchell and Lisa Starr Following opening remarks and introductions from the attendees of Gathering 3.0, Claudia Mitchell and Lisa Starr reported back on two TRANSFORM initiatives—the Radical Methods Lab (December 2025) and the Youth Studying Change Lab (March/April 2026). The term ‘lab’ refers to ways of supporting youth through training, leadership and co-research activities of TRANSFORM. The Radical Methods Lab focused on building methodological capacity and introducing participatory visual and arts-based approaches, while the Youth Studying Change Lab provided a space for young people to apply these methods in documenting, analyzing, and acting on processes of gender and social transformation within their own communities.

The subsequent reflections to these labs brought to the surface critical themes—from skills acquisition and shifts in gender roles beyond the domestic sphere to broader questions of governance, participation, and structural change. Youth are proposing new work inspired by the labs. Gathering 3.0 overviewed how youth have been training in participatory-visual approaches and research on gender and social transformation and was an opportunity to move towards collective interpretation, dialogue, and actionable thinking grounded in youth generated insights.

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GATHERING 3.0

PRESENTATIONS

The Radical Methods Lab (RML) The Radical Methods Lab was held in December 2025 as a digital space where youth, who had previously engaged with participatory visual methods during other TRANSFORM activities, gave training to graduate students, early career researchers, and community organizers in exploring youth-led engagement with participatory visual research methods and gender transformation.

In brief, the duration of the lab was 3 days, with 4-hour sessions each day. There were 14 facilitators from Malawi, Mexico, Nigeria, Sierra Leone & South Africa providing training to 64-70 trainees per day. The methods selected were photovoice, cellphilming, political embroidery and visual ethics.

YOUNG LEADERS/FACILITATORS INVOLVED IN RML

Tuka (Teekay) Sikhakhane Sbusiso Mahlinza (Queeng Sburh) Hlathikhulu, south africa

uthingo Network, south africa

Blessing Azhime Moses Khalid Muhammad Adam Jos, Nigeria

Jos, Nigeria

Brenda Ojinaga Zapata UNAM, MEXICO

Ellah Tambalaweko Bintu Dumbuya

Lilongwe, Malawi

Rejoice Nesho

Shafatu Adamu

Jos, Nigeria

Jos, Nigeria

Asma'u Abdulhakeem Bauchi, Nigeria

SIERRA LEONE

Khamis Muhammad Chadi Bauchi, Nigeria

Abdulai Sahid Tencoid Conteh Jr. SIERRA LEONE

Muhammad Haruna Nafisah Muminat Muhammad Bauchi, Nigeria Bauchi, Nigeria

The goals for the RML were to advance researcher, student, and practitioner understandings of youth-led participatory GT-VAM, provide targeted training on youth leadership and PVM to a cohort of new scholars, equip youth leaders with essential skills to drive gender-transformative action, and build a supportive network connecting youth leaders, scholars, and community practitioners 10

GATHERING 3.0

PRESENTATIONS

YOUTH RECOMMENDATIONS COMING OUT OF THE RML ...

INVEST IN YOUTH-LED PLATFORMS Expand access to participatory tools in rural and marginalized communities.

FORMALIZE MENTORSHIP STRUCTURES Pair youth leaders with trained mentors to support facilitation and sustainability.

STRENGTHEN RESEARCH-TO-ACTION PATHWAYS Design explicit dissemination and advocacy routes from the outset of activities.

SUPPORT ONGOING LEARNING Develop structured learning series and cross-site networks FUND YOUTH LEADERSHIP ROLES Recognize and compensate youth facilitation as legitimate leadership labour.

The youth studying change lab (ysc) The Youth Studying Change Lab was a youth-centred lab in collaboration with OXFAM that supported training in feminist evaluation tools and creative approches to studying change within community research. ​Young people organised and facilitated activities where they observed, documented, and reflected on “change” as it is unfolding in their communities. It took place in March and April 2026.

In brief, the lab consisted of 2 training days with young people from Mali, Mexico, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, South Africa & Tanzania. Youth then applied their leanings in their communities using a choice of methods, including; photovoice, drawing, political embroidery, and guided conversations. The final step to the lab were group reflection sessions where youth shared fieldnotes, discussed data analysis and shared what they learned.

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GATHERING 3.0

PRESENTATIONS

YOUTH IDENTIFIED WHAT’S MOST IMPORTANT TO THEM THROUGH YSCL...

CREATING SPACE FOR DIALOGUE Having access to regular, safe, and structured meetings STRENGTHENING COMMUNITY-BASED ADVOCACY Visibility, legitimacy, and influence in their community and networks.

EXPANDING CREATIVE & PARTICIPATORY METHODS Desire to expand methods and reach wider audiences BUILDING LONG TERM SUPPORT STRUCTURES Sustained and reliable support rather than short‑term projects.

CENTERING EMOTIONAL AND MENTAL WELLBEING Acknowledging the influence of trauma, stigma, and silence shape everyday life.

Youth are proposing new work inspired by the labs including social media messaging, community dialogues and marches, filmmaking, podcasts, oral history and storytelling events, public artworks, policy dialogue, ongoing workshops with peers, digital hubs, and community exhibitions.

A common thread between the labs is that young people want action, want to connect in their communities, and want their voices heard.

TRACING CHANGE BUILDING FUTURES

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GATHERING 3.0

PRESENTATIONS

INTRODUCING YOUTH-LED ADVOCACY & POLICY Nora Fyles and Lisa Starr Nora Fyles, on the advisory board for TRANSFORM, is a gender and education consultant. Based on her work with Malawi youth leaders, Nora presented key findings from two leaders regarding youth led advocacy and policy. She highlighted the importance of accessible youth policy information dissemination using young people’s own words and ideas.

“The greatest accountability tool that young people can use is to keep making noise. We shouldn’t stop until we’ve seen a change, because when we’re quiet, then the government might also get comfortable.” Malawi youth activist

Ellah’s findings: Policy advocacy is a powerful tool for youth “Demanding accountability of duty bearers Using our voices to ensure the needs and interests of young people are understood Influencing policy makers to improve in how they implement programs & policies; how they allocate resources based on the policies that are in place Pushing against exclusion”

Ellah Tambalaweko is a young leader from Malawi who has participated in TRANSFORM events including the Youth Summit, the Youth United traveling photovoice exhibition, and the Radical Methods Lab. She stresses the importance of accountability toward what duty bearers have already promised, the importance of youth using their voices, work with policy makers, and pushing against institutional exclusion by improving youth’s relationship with political institutions and by making youth policy advocacy teams work inclusively.

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GATHERING 3.0

PRESENTATIONS

Mervis’ findings: Strategies for influencing change “Understanding promises: rules and policies - youth need to be aware – they need to know what they want to change Collecting evidence: listen, understand realities and experience Building partnerships and bridges. Join forces – you can’t go on your own Creating ways to dialogue with policy actors at all levels: who do you need to discuss with? Who is against you?

Preparing youth to engage: don’t just react!”

Mervis Nyungwe is a young leader from Malawi. Her findings come from her experience as a community-based policy advocacy expert and activist. She works at the community level.

Youth leaders as experts Ellah and another young leader named Baraka joined Nora Fyles at the Participatory Cultures Lab in Montreal, Canada to share their knowledge on policy dialogue. Their analysis and expertise were very comprehensive and sophisticated, demonstrating the importance of utilizing in house expertise and knowledge moving forward.

This insight leads to current work in developing a youth-led policy advocacy lab where young people are recognized as knowledge holders. The following section of the presentation was given by Lisa Starr and detailed what the next lab will look like.

Youth-Led Policy Advocacy Lab Building on the Youth Studying Change Lab and leading to the policy forum at the second Transnational Youth Summit, policy work at TRANSFORM is going from understanding and documenting change to creating change. Moving forward the lab model will: Recognize young people as knowledge producers and change-makers Create opportunities for meaningful participation in decision-making Strengthen accountability between communities, institutions, and policymakers Ensure that youth led policy advocacy reflect lived realities and local priorities Build leadership, civic engagement, and collective action for youth 14

GATHERING 3.0

PRESENTATIONS

Youth-Led Policy Advocacy Lab

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1 PATHWAYS TO POLICY THROUGH COMMUNITY MAPPING

3 STRATEGIES FOR POLICY DIALOGUE

POLICY FORUM WITH POLICY MAKERS

Building youth capacity for policy dialogue, participatory leadership, and gendertransformative advocacy, while centering youth knowledge and lived experience, the Lab will support young people to: “What is Policy?” — Community Mapping from Lived Experience Explore policy beyond legislation — as rules, practices, and systems shaping everyday life.

Map policy in daily spaces — schools, digital spaces, families, healthcare, and communities.

Use arts-based methods — drawing, storytelling, mapping, and dialogue to identify where policy is visible, absent, contested, or experienced.

Strategies for ‘Policy Dialogue’ Develop strategies for policy dialogue — through youth-festos, audio stories, action briefs, zines, posters, and video/audio stories.

Shape advocacy messages — turning youth experiences into clear policy narratives and recommendations.

Use storytelling for change — as a tool for dialogue, reflection, advocacy, and social transformation.

Policy Forum with policy makers at the Summit Community-Mapped Priorities for Change: Youth present key issues, insights, and recommendations emerging from community mapping for gendertransformative change.

Policy Dialogue Forum: Youth engage directly with policymakers, educators, researchers, community organizations, and youth networks.

Youth led policy advocacy: Youth share their work on policy through digital exhibitions, creative platforms, posters, audio capsules, and dialogue spaces.

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GATHERING 3.0

PRESENTATIONS

SLIPPING IN A STORY FROM DOWN UNDER Max Schleser The project, Post-Binary Futures, was conducted in Melbourne, Australia as part of TRANSFORM. The project was guided by the following aims: Understand and showcase how young people experience, envision, and enact gender transformation.

Facilitate a series of workshops, facilitating youth-led interventions focused on nurturing future minded thinking through creative practice.

The Swinburne University Research Team (Dr. Max Schleser, Dr. Julia Prendergast, and Dr. Sal Clark) also side several Research Assistants (Clancy Tate, Sarah Giles, and Xavier Mills), worked as allies with a university community of 12 trans, non-binary, and gender queer youth. The youth engaged in prompted discussion, creative writing, and cellphilming, and had the space to engage with themes that connected most to them.

WORKSHOP 1: Post-Binary Futures: Young People and the Undoing of Gender Youth were prompted with the question:

“What does gender utopia look like to you?”

“The opportunity I’d be granted in a gender-binary-less society is one of freedom of selfexpression. And I mean true freedom. Not just getting to choose the world’s adjectival modifiers that I want applied to me that day.” (Liz, Participant 1)

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“Moving beyond binary structures, to me, connot be separated from social and cultural scaffoling that maintains its existence. Patriarchy, and with it, colonialism and capitalism, would need to dissolve in a post-binary world.”

(Dante, Participant 4).

GATHERING 3.0

PRESENTATIONS The question brought youth into a world shaped by collective hopes and visions for a more inclusive future.

“In a post-binary world, I think that medical care would be better. Better care for the individual bodies we have, rather than applying a system to everyone and trying to fit them in that.” (Rozalina, Participant 2)

“Creative outlets allow us to explore ourselves and our own limits, fiction allows us to explore our world and what can exist within or beyong it, if we just consider the implication and possibilities that comes from our imaginations” (Mikoto, Participant 6)

“Critical thinking generates art and art generates critical thinking.” - Max Schleser Workshop 2: Creative Writing as a form of Future-Minded Thinking “The clock strikes 3.

I have conceded to believe that I am free As I sear your name on the clear-cut veneer/bottles Filled with remedies made only by me” (Creative Writing extract. Dante Harper, Participant 4) “You decided on your own what makes up a man. You form a papier mache of identity, holding a passport or legal status as if it truly made up a person. You sop up outdated and inaccurate prints and plaster it to form a body. He tells you to call him he, and that these papers are not a mirror of him, but you decided that your truth is his lie.”

(Ares, Participant 3).

“Lace curtains billow like lungs. Their thin membranes bulging into the lounge room full of dusty air blown in from across the dying paddocks. Mum sometimes ties them down, the curtains. Knotting their bellies.”

(Sarah, Participant 5).

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GATHERING 3.0

PRESENTATIONS

Workshop 3 and 4: Cellphilm as a Visual Representation of Gender Futures

The youth created cellphilms on a diverse set of themes including gender-based violence faced by trans people, the emotionality of creative work, a personal reflection how one’s hair can represent growth and transformation, the relationship between cosplay and gender transformation, the emotions of anger, as well as family memories through archival footage.

The group has just wrapped their cellphilm screening, getting together to share what they have created over the last couple of months. The Melbourne Writing Festival has been interested in screening the cellphilms and their may be future screenings on campus for pride week and sociology week!

TRACING CHANGE BUILDING FUTURES

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GATHERING 3.0

PRESENTATIONS

STORIES OF MOST SIGNIFICANT CHANGE: BAUCHI STORY-COLLECTORS Bauchi Team and Anne Cockcroft A team of youth leaders in Bauchi implemented the Youth Studying Change component of TRANSFORM, with their own methodological angle through Stories of Most Significant Change. The youth acted as story-collectors and interviewed locals to share personal acccounts of change, focusing on improving Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health (ASRH) in Bauchi. Bilkisu Ibrahim, Suleiman Abdullahi, Nafisa Muhammad Muminat and Tijani Mohd Sidi were the four youth story-collector representatives of the Bauchi Team, presenting their work at the Gathering with the off-camera support of Khalid Hassan and Hadiza Mudi.

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GATHERING 3.0

PRESENTATIONS

The Most Significant Change Technique (MSC) Explores changes from the perspective of the participants or intended beneficiaires of the program or service.

Does not ask “does the intervention work?” Instead, Works to understand how things change and when do they change.

Includes both expected and unexpected changes.

Focuses on changes experienced by the participants of the survey Reflects on how participating in the survey also contributes to change.

What Took Place

The story-collectors participated in a refresher training with a guide on how to conduct the Most Significant Change technique, with specific instructions and prompts if neededfor engaging with the participants.

The participants interviewed were from both Bauchi town (12 participants, male and female) and Toro LGA (24 participants, 12 female and 12 male) for a total of 36 participants.

The story-collectors wrote the stories alongside the participants as they shared, guiding the participants with prompts if needed. The story-collectors then read back the stories to the participants to make sure that it had been written down correctly. The stories were then translated from Hausa to English. The story collectos and senior team discussed and selected most significant MSC stories in each category. The next step will be to conduct a thematic analysis of all 36 stories collected.

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GATHERING 3.0

PRESENTATIONS

Bauchi Team’s experience of collecting the stories Collecting stories from storytellers in communities is full of challenges. People may find it difficult to share sensitive experiences. Suleiman emphasized the importance as a story collector of being friendly, open and able to share personal stories to make the participant more comfortable. Being confident is another aspect of collecting the story and creating a sense of ease and comfort for the participants.

Nafisa shared her practice of starting with a smile and a joke to break the ice, giving her own version of the kind of story she is looking to hear to allow the participant to relax and relate to the interviewer. Nafisa also shared an important point surrounding the identification of the story of most significant change–depending on the personality of the storyteller, the participant may give random stories that do not pertain to the theme. It is therefore important as a story collector to bring back the focus. Other participants may become emotional when sharing, in this case, giving time for the storyteller to breathe and pause is helpful. As a story collector one needs to be very focused, calm and patient, and have good listening skills in order to get relevant data from a storyteller.

Overall Bauchi team emphasized care, relationality, and relationality as key practice for story collecting.

EXTRACTS FROM SELECTED STORIES OF CHANGE Redemption When I was 15, a close friend of my stepfather sexually abused me. I told my stepfather, but nothing was done….

In the survey questionnaire, I saw questions about sexual abuse. When we reached the self-administered questions about abuse, some adolescents became very serious… I understood I was not the only one who had been abused…

I began educating my sisters and friends to be careful and to report any abuse to community leaders, even if their parents are unwilling to act.

- Female participant aged 22yr

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GATHERING 3.0

PRESENTATIONS Knowledge is the Key My parents died when I was 10 years old. I became an Almajiri and had a rough life. After marriage to two wives, I was not faithful. I did not respect my wives, there was no communication in my family.

The survey training and experience changed everything. My supervisor advised me. This reset my brain; I trained myself as a man. I learned the value of being respectful, faithful, and loving to your partner. I learned from working in a team, helping and sharing with one another.

I am now faithful to my family. I stopped flirting, running around, and being disrespectful to women. I feel loved and valued.

- Male participant aged 35yr From Anger to Peace

I had serious anger issues…I would lash out physically at adolescents...I fell out with a friend because I beat her son.

The survey taught me patience, resilience, teamwork, how to interact with people, and share perspectives. I realised I needed to change.

I learned to control my anger, and worked on relating better with people. I apologized to my friend.

I am proud of myself to be able to relate with people peacefully.

- Female participant aged 24 yr

Home Restored

Physical violence was a daily reality in my home. I fought with my husband.

We used abusive words and become violent in front of our children. My children began to imitate this behaviour In the survey, I saw violence in many households: shouting, beating, abusive words. One woman was very angry. I saw myself in her. I thought: "This must stop, and the change must begin with me.” I changed my attitude. I became more tolerant and patient with my husband and children. Now, even when my children misbehave, I respond with gentleness rather than anger.

- Female participant aged 32yr

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GATHERING 3.0

ACTIVITIES AND DISCUSSIONS

ACTIVITY 1: Stories of Change In breakout groups, participants of Gathering 3.0 discussed Stories of Change–looking at how they have witnessed young people’s capacity to make change in their own work and experience. The questions asked to each group were: What kinds of change-making are young people engaged in?

What barriers show up?

What seems to support youth as they try to make change?

In our work, how can we support youth?

A notetaker for each group was assigned and posted their notes on the collective whiteboard. Participants could also add their own notes to the collective board.

Each group designated one representative to share with the wider group on what was discussed.

CLICK HERE FOR WHITE BOARD LINK

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GATHERING 3.0

ACTIVITIES AND DISCUSSIONS

REPORT BACK GROUP 1: April Mandrona, Umaira Ansari, Ganiyu Ibikunle, Abdulaye Abou Coulibali, Monica Shank Lauwo Whiteboard Notes: South Africa: Young women created a local protocol to address and eradicate forced and early marriage but faced challenges in directly engaging with community leaders due to tradition and customs.

Northern Nigeria: Youth aged 10–19 worked on sexual and reproductive health, focusing on improving knowledge and access to health facilities. They produced cellphilms as part of their advocacy.

Tanzania: A multilingual book-making project involved girls aged 10–12, with workshops for teachers and community members. The project also worked with displaced youth through arts-based interventions. A key challenge was ensuring youth representation and avoiding the imposition of stories.

Jos, Nigeria: The Radical Methods Lab focused on gender inequality, gender abuse, and drug abuse. Youth created their own community engagement initiatives, including advocacy through exhibitions and podcasts.

April Mandrona’s Contribution to the Report Back: The group highlighted a lack of visibility for young people and younger youth, who are often seen as less knowledgeable than older youth.

There was a clear focus on identifying what change is needed and what it looks like, with a strong emphasis on addressing various forms of violence, including physical, discursive, political, and gender-based violence.

Youth are actively speaking out and identifying who needs to listen, taking direct action in their communities.

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GATHERING 3.0

ACTIVITIES AND DISCUSSIONS

GROUP 2: Candace Amarante, Linda Liebenberg, Marian Murray, Bauchi Team Whiteboard Notes: Storyteller Collectors as Agents of Change: Focus on navigating barriers to avoid retraumatizing participants in storytelling.

Strengths-Based Research: Emphasis on finding stories of strength and resources to push back against deficit/problem-based research.

Youth Focus on Longevity and Sustainability: Youth demonstrate a deep understanding of their communities and are mindful of gender issues.

TRANSFORM Project’s Unique Leadership Opportunities for Youth: Youth shared that they had never experienced anything like TRANSFORM, where they were given the freedom to speak openly. The project’s trickle-down power structure, which gives youth power, has enabled these outcomes.

Linda Liebenberg’s Contribution to the Report Back: The Bauchi team’s most significant change technique is an effective approach to gathering stories while being trauma-informed.

Highlighted Angelo Bernard’s work in Eskasoni, Canada, where a campaign addressing sexual and gender-based violence used traditional cultural teachings to help men unlearn toxic masculinity.

Emphasized that publications should be used as ammunition for communities, not just for researchers’ CVs. Noted the importance of giving youth leadership opportunities and creating safe spaces where they can speak openly.

Stressed youth’s demands for longevity and sustainability, rather than short-term political gains.

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GATHERING 3.0

ACTIVITIES AND DISCUSSIONS

GROUP 3: Nkonzo Mkhize, Claude Cheta, Claudia Mitchell, Sarah Flicker, Geetanjali Gill Whiteboard Notes: Sarah (Theatre Program in Toronto): Involved in a theatre program for 10 years in a conservative Muslim community in Toronto, focusing on sex education.

Noted the intergenerational transfer of power and leadership, with alumni now leading the program.

Youth in the program have become therapists, nurses, and social workers in their community.

Observed shifts in relationships as young men mentor younger boys to challenge toxic masculinity.

Claude (Right to Play): Used photovoice to influence policy changes, such as securing funding for infrastructure.

Highlighted infrastructure limitations as a major challenge, especially for children with disabilities who want to play sports.

Addressed parents’ concerns by involving coaches and community leaders to facilitate dialogue.

Geetanjali (Right to Play, Sierra Leone): For many youth in Sierra Leone, this was the first time they were included in conversations about change.

Youth who received TRANSFORM training transitioned from hesitant storytellers to confident leaders, running workshops and photovoice activities.

Emphasized the need to galvanize youth voices to impact policymakers and government officials.

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GATHERING 3.0

ACTIVITIES AND DISCUSSIONS

GROUP 3: Nkonzo Mkhize, Claude Cheta, Claudia Mitchell, Sarah Flicker, Geetanjali Gill

Nkonzo Mkhize’s Contribution to the Report Back: Discussed the impact of intergenerational partnerships in long-term programs, enabling open discussions Noted the influence of toxic masculinity and patriarchal norms (e.g., Andrew Tate) but highlighted how older generations helped younger men move away from these ideals.

Described how arts-based projects lead to visible personal growth while political change may be less obvious.

Shared insights from Right to Play’s project with disabled girls, emphasizing the importance of: Supporting coaches Addressing parents’ concerns Involving the community Identified parents as a major barrier and stressed the need for human-centered conversations to address their concerns.

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GROUP 4: Catherine Vanner, Samuel Felipe Montenegro Roa, Kaylan Schwarz, Rosa Valentina Costilla Pietro Whiteboard Notes: Graciela (Mexico): Embroidery circles create safe, intergenerational spaces but are dismissed in academic contexts as “feminist” or “just pretty.”

Challenges include older men targeting male participants, but there is a growing recognition of political embroidery as a tool to address femicides and genderbased violence in Mexico.

Kaylan (Canada): Discussed youth participatory data analysis, where researchers shared preliminary findings with youth to allow them to confirm, challenge, or refine the data.

Youth pushed back on findings, emphasizing tensions and disagreements in the data, leading to dedicated sections in final outputs to reflect their perspectives.

Valentina (Colombia): Described how strikes and knitting groups create youth community spaces in public universities.

These groups use art and dialogue to engage with gender-based violence and inequalities, despite efforts by institutions to diminish these movements.

Catherine: Shared challenges of incorporating youth voices in NGOs, including a case where youth proposed a youth advocate on a board but were ultimately sidelined.

Highlighted the difficulty of explaining to youth that their voices were not prioritized.

Sam (Colombia): As a student ambassador, Sam visited Indigenous high school students facing barriers to attending university.

Simply sharing information about university pathways helped students envision new futures and consider opportunities they hadn’t before.

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GROUP 4: Catherine Vanner, Samuel Felipe Montenegro Roa, Kaylan Schwarz, Rosa Valentina Costilla Pietro

Group Discussion Themes: What kinds of change-making are young people engaged in?

Youth are creating stories of change and making it a reality.

Art as a medium for change (e.g., embroidery circles, knitting groups, and murals).

Politicized art is used to shift perceptions and beliefs when systemic change is out of reach.

Youth create spaces for dialogue and learning, such as knitting groups and embroidery circles, which foster safe environments and community engagement.

Change can be as simple as sharing knowledge to open conversations.

What barriers show up?

Difficulty in getting institutions and decision-makers to listen to youth voices and implement their ideas.

Art is often dismissed as “feminist” or “just pretty,” minimizing its power to drive change.

Youth voices are sometimes ignored or dismissed by governments and institutions, even after being asked to contribute.

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DISCUSSION The final discussion brought into focus the next steps for TRANSFORM work, working from participatory visual methods and personal storytelling to systemic change, policy advocacy, and sustainability. The conversation underscored that while youth-led initiatives have already demonstrated the power of intergenerational collaboration, art, and community-based storytelling to foster personal growth and local change, the next critical step is to translate these personal transformations into broader, institutional shifts.

As the facilitator for the discussion, Relebohile Moletsane’s reflections captured this transition, emphasizing the importance of both amplifying youth voices while recognizing their expertise, and the need for older generations to create safe spaces, not to lead, but to facilitate and step back when necessary. This balance is essential for ensuring that youth not only feel heard but are also empowered to drive change.

Nkonzo Mkhize’s emphasized the importance of supporting communities to make change systematic. This requires addressing structural barriers, such as infrastructure limitations that prevent youth from participating in sports or accessing health services, as Claude Cheta highlighted. It also demands political education and literacy for youth, as Claudia Mitchell pointed out, equipping them with the skills to navigate and challenge systems that often exclude them.

Yazgulu Sezgin’s insights from her work with youth advisory councils reinforced this need. Youth are asking for more than participation; they want sustainability, skills development, and regular engagement with stakeholders and policymakers.

They want to be part of structural working groups and partnerships that bridge the gap between grassroots activism and institutional decision-making. Nora Fyles’ reflection on her work in Malawi added another layer: poverty and economic empowerment are often the root causes of issues like sexual and reproductive health. For change to be meaningful, it must address systemic inequities, whether through vocational training, economic opportunities, or policy reform.

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DISCUSSION Anne Cockcroft’s point about local advocacy was a reminder that change doesn’t always require grand gestures or national platforms. Sometimes, it begins in schools, communities, and workplaces, where youth can use tools like cellphilms to spark conversations and challenge norms. This aligns with Nora Fyles’ observation that employment opportunities are critical in preventing youth from engaging in transactional relationships, demonstrating how economic empowerment is intertwined with social change.

Finally, Linda Liebenberg’s called on the need to de-mystify political systems.

Policy change isn’t confined to government offices; it happens in households, schools, and workplaces, where everyone can drive transformation. By demystifying how systems work, TRANSFORM can equip youth with the tools to navigate and influence them.

The TRANSFORM project has already proven that youth are knowledgeable, capable, and ready to lead. Now, the focus must shift to equipping them with the skills, opportunities, and partnerships needed to turn their personal and community-level changes into sustainable, systematic, and policy-driven impact.

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WHAT ARE WE LEARNING AND WHO NEEDS TO KNOW? Claudia Mitchell

BOOKS

Claudia introduced the idea of audience to the discussions in this section of the presentation. After highlighting the incredible outputs of TRANSFORM members over the last years (around 10 books, 25-30 book chapters published or in press, 20 or more journal articles, around 40 conference papers, several toolkits, etc.) Claudia emphasized moving beyond accounting for how much is being published toward focusing on thinking about how to get the word out to those who needs to know this work.

Young people want to work with researchers to get the word out. They are interested in coauthoring and writing/producing their own texts. Young people also want to be remunerated for their work. Accessing funds to do so and creating guidelines for other researchers to do this work is also important.

Many policy makers emphasizing needing clear evidence in order to make changes. How can researchers develop and communicate evidence more effectively?

This discussion lead into the second activity, which was a brainstorm of ways to carry learning to wider communities.

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ACTIVITY 2: Knowledge Sharing Board The final activity consisted of a collaborative knowledge sharing board where each participant could add a note to the collective whiteboard and co-create knowledge focused on expanding the reach and impact of knowledge sharing. The activity asked: “How can we be more intentional in carrying learning beyond the project in ways that might influence practice, policy, and communities?”

To organize responses, participants posted their note/answer under 4 broad categories: WHO are we trying to reach? New audiences?

WHAT knowledge outputs might be most valuable to share?

HOW can we mobilize knowledge sharing through different methods and media?

Do YOU have ideas for outputs? An existing output to share?

CLICK HERE FOR WHITE BOARD LINK

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DISCUSSION Mobilizing knowledge for impact A key theme that came up on the whiteboard is participation and agency, particularly among youth. There was a strong interest in involving young people not just as recipients of knowledge but as active contributors, whether through co-authoring texts, creating their own media (like zines or podcasts), or leading discussions.

Compensation for their work was repeated as essential, reflecting a commitment to ethical practices and fair recognition of their contributions. This aligns with the broader challenge of making research accessible and actionable, especially for policymakers who need clear evidence to drive change.

The brainstorm also emphasized creative and collaborative formats, such as toolkits, photo books, exhibitions, and open workshops, to break down barriers and make knowledge more engaging and relevant. Social media and cross-platform content were suggested as ways to broaden reach, while partnerships with local media outlets and community leaders can help tailor messaging to specific contexts. The idea of “preaching to the choir” was presented as a means of engaging with energized advocates already present in communities in order to mobilize.

At its heart, the discussion was about transforming how knowledge is shared: from a one-way transmission to a collaborative, inclusive process that empowers communities to shape and own the narratives that affect them. The outputs proposed, whether toolkits, podcasts, or interactive art, are tools not just for dissemination but for fostering dialogue, building capacity, and driving collective action. The focus on vulnerable communities and marginalized voices ensures that the knowledge shared is not only accessible but also rooted in the lived experiences of those it seeks to serve.

The core goal is to move beyond traditional academic outputs and engage diverse audiences, including local stakeholders, feminist-led and youth-led organizations, community leaders, teachers, parents, and vulnerable communities, in meaningful ways.

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WHAT’S ON THE HORIZON Transnational Summit 2.0 Gender transformation: virtual conference learning series 5 Youth-led policy & advocacy seminars

Before closing off the session with an opportunity for last comments and annoucements, Claudia Mitchell gave an overview on what are the next events associated with TRANSFORM, moving forward with youth policy advocacy.

There will be the next second Transnational Youth Summit in November of 2026 which will bridge participatory visual methods with policy dialogue. There will be a virtual conference on Gender Transformation. There is also the fifth learning series scheduled, which is an online webinar hosted by TRANSFORM researchers and key stakeholders, as well as youth-led policy & advocacy seminars.

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