Book Launch Circle Back: Stories of Reflection, Connection and Transformation The youth editors were invited to introduce Circle Back: Stories of Reflection, Connection and Transformation. This book is the first publication from Networks 4 Change that brings together the work of Indigenous girls and young women in Canada and South Africa in a single publication. This publication includes beautiful artwork, poetry and prose addressing the main theme of transformation. The book is split between three main sections of transformation, reflection of personal spaces, and connections. These themes are portrayed through the tellings of the women and girls in South Africa and Canada, as well as their artwork and own experiences. Transformation is constantly occurring, yet these past few years have brought more change than ever and with that more transformation on not only the personal level but in the form of social change. Through their stories, we can hear their voices, connect to their experiences, and understand the transformations they hope to see in the future. Bongiwe Maome was with us live but experienced power-cuts, so she joined with audio and played a pre-recorded introductory video. In the video, she explained bringing together youth voices for a book, starting with a newsletter segment that received submissions from youth in the project. Following the newsletter publication, there came the idea of building on these submissions by creating a book. In March, there was a call for youth editors; they would be responsible for gathering material for the book, reviewing submissions, and encouraging participation by making youth more comfortable sharing their work. Bongiwe emphasized the most significant work came from the youth who contributed to the book and how proud all the youth should be for their accomplishments and hard work over the last 7 years.
24