When a young person returns to a country they left at a young age, several questions are called up. Among them:

• What are the biggest struggles they encounter?
• What are the educational challenges of navigating education in a different language and academic system?
• How can educators and activists support them navigating these struggles?
• And more importantly: How can undocumented youth engage in solidarity practices and collaborate beyond their local spaces and support each other?

These were some of the questions that inspired the conversation that the Center for Multiple Languages and Literacies hosted on February 12th, when self-identified DREAMers from the state of New York had a virtual conversation with members of L@s Otr@s DREAMers, a digital network created by and for young people who have returned to Mexico.

This conversation provided an opportunity for youth from both groups to share their challenges, accomplishments and hopes, and to contextualize through their stories the multiple difficulties that transnational undocumented youth encounter; from navigating a different language, to their access to Higher Education and employment.
The CMLL team is grateful for the DREAMers in both countries who generously shared their stories, and we thank the audience for their participation.

This spring, we are excited to feature work of doctoral students and Teachers College faculty that explore various intersections of language and literacies research. We are focusing on conversation as our mode of engagement, and in that vein have organized gatherings designed to stimulate engagement with topics related to the presenters’ work. To that end, we are thankful to our colleagues who have graciously agreed to provide an artifact from their work as a jumping off point for conversation and collective inquiry. We hope you can join us for any or all of these events. We will be adding one or two additional events, so be sure to check back here for more.

A Dialogue Across Borders: A Conversation with DREAMers
Monday, February 15, 2016
5:00-6:00p
Whittier Hall, Teachers College, Columbia University
1230 Amsterdam Ave, New York, New York 10027 (map here)

Brownbag Conversation Series featuring Prof. Nicholas Limerick (Teachers College)
March, 2016 (exact date, TBD)
12:30 – 2:00p
Room

Brownbag Conversation Series featuring Prof. Detra Price-Dennis (Teachers College)
April 20, 2016
12:30 – 2:00p
Room: TBD