Youth Weavers residencies
For the next six months, our team at Transition Network International will be enriched by the vibrant presence of two Youth Weavers-in-Residence. This opportunity comes through an exciting partnership with YouthxYouth (YxY)—a global youth-led, adult-supported movement dedicated to the reimagination and transformation of education for collective liberation.
YxY’s mission is to accelerate the process of young people influencing, designing, and transforming their learning experiences and education systems. Through their programs, they cultivate a new generation of youth leaders who take an active role in redefining what education looks like and how it serves their communities.
What is the YxY Weavership?
The YxY Weavership is a 10-month capacity-building fellowship for youth community organizers who are "weaving" local and global communities in service of educational transformation. Weavers engage in deep learning, storytelling, and collaboration to co-create life-affirming futures in and through education.
The program was developed in partnership with The Weaving Lab, a globally renowned community of practice founded by leading social entrepreneurs committed to systems change. It reflects a deep commitment to reimagining leadership through relationships, care, and community-centered transformation.
Meet Our Weavers-in-Residence
Over the next several months, two Weavers from YxY’s 2025 cohort will be embedded within TNi. These young leaders bring their vision, lived experience, and transformative energy into the heart of our work, supporting mutual learning, community storytelling, and systems transformation.
Renee Campbell from Grenada, West Indies is a vibrant and enthusiastic social innovator. Her love for community, social development and equality fuels her many passions, commitments and future aspirations of diplomacy.
Fátima D. Gigante is a multidisciplinary young professional from Spain, currently living in a small village in northern Portugal, working at the intersection of people and nature — exploring, understanding, and promoting pathways for the conservation, protection, and restoration of nature. She has extensive experience working with young people and women leading in the environmental space, strengthening their skills, knowledge, and leadership to create lasting impact.
I’m honored to serve as their Residency Uplifter. It’s similar to mentoring, but with the understanding that learning moves in both directions. My role is to meet Renee and Fátima where they are, help them spot opportunities to grow, offer guidance when it’s useful, and make space for their ideas and goals to develop. I’m also looking forward to learning from their perspectives and experiences as we work together.
A Shared Commitment to Intergenerational Power-Sharing
This partnership sits within a broader ecosystem of education transformation. Leading up to and during UNGA78, YouthxYouth worked with partners Salzburg Global Seminar and Big Change, alongside many other organizations—to co-author a guide titled 'Uniting Generations and Sharing Power to Transform Education’.
Here are some of the guiding principles for intergenerational collaboration that emerged from this research - and they encourage reading the full report for more best practices in organizing intergenerational convenings:
Looking Ahead
We are honored to be part of this journey with YxY and with Renee and Fátima. Their presence will bring fresh insight and will raise important questions regarding youth in the Transition movement. It will also introduce new creative approaches to how we do our work. We expect their contributions to challenge assumptions and support ongoing learning in Transition around intergenerational learning and change.
Stay tuned for updates on their work with us, and for opportunities to engage with the learning and insights that emerge from this Weavership. And if you'd like to get involved in our exploration of how Transition can support the new generations, send us your thoughts and ideas at youth@transitionnetwork.org.