PART THREE: The Heart of Town - Reflections from Seoul
- Stacie Ledden
- 4 hours ago
- 4 min read
This is part three of three from my reflections on the NEXT Library Satellite Seoul conference. Read parts one and two.
When Peter Jørgensen and I began planning our conference session, we knew we wanted to take a show-it-not-tell-it approach. Audience engagement and participation are essential to how we both do our work, so it felt right to bring that experience to Seoul.
For us, this meant hosting a program for NEXT attendees using strategies for community-building and dialogue just like we would in our libraries. Attendees could then take the parts and pieces that resonated to try in their own libraries, and we’d have time at the end to answer questions about how these might scale to different audiences.
Community House Masil, the conference location, inspired our session’s theme. An old Korean word, masil means town or neighborhood. It can also mean a leisurely stroll or a walk through the neighborhood, popping in to say hello to family or friends. This led to the idea of using small groups to create little neighborhoods within the session.
“The Heart of Town: Designing for Meaningful Engagement” used music, art, movement and dialogue to connect attendees to concepts and each other. We believe the library is the heart of the community, and so we wanted to emulate that beating heart – both figuratively and literally – right there in the session.
Peter led a grounding exercise that had the group clapping and stomping, creating our collective heartbeat. People then had five minutes to design a flag or doll that represented them only using the unconventional materials provided: fabric, yarn and paper straws. They would use these to introduce themselves to their group as a way of infusing some silliness and easing the pressure of meeting new people with different first languages. During introductions, attendees were also prompted to share a characteristic of their home neighborhood, and with 23 countries represented at the conference, those neighborhoods spanned the globe.
Peter and I joined the conversation from the stage by describing our own neighborhoods and libraries – his in Aarhus, Denmark, and mine in Denver, Colorado, U.S.
Small groups were then asked to discuss challenges facing their communities and work together to brainstorm ways the library could help address those challenges. People bond when they problem solve together, and the library is such a natural place for community problem-solving to happen. We hoped to emulate one approach to that here.
It was incredible to see groups share and solve problems together in different languages – using their devices, patience and active listening. You could sense the genuine curiosity people had for each other’s perspectives and stories. Embolden by Design was developed to help do exactly this. And here it was, on full display.
Peter and I met at NEXT in May 2023 and were instant friends. Our shared passions for music, democracy and community building made this easy. In 2025, he was our NEXT staff support for the keynote, “Why We Show Up…,” even joining us on stage to play bass and help lead our finale sing-a-long.
When you find collaborators you sync with so easily, you want to do cool stuff with them. It was 2025 when the dream began… What if we pitched a session in Seoul combining our expertise and experience? Collaborating with a friend this way is a dream come true. It’s fun. You get to share the challenges and the a-ha moments together. It made this experience even more meaningful.
Look, I know I’m a NEXT evangelist. But it’s these friendships that make this particular conference so special. The environment calls for it. Invite innovators from around the world with shared values and a slightly different lens to eat, drink, think, experience together in beautiful spaces and places. Some of my deepest and longest lasting library friendships have emerged from the NEXT community. It’s part of its magic.
Peter and I both believe it’s important to show up authentically and fully just as we expect and ask the participants to do. That means infusing part of ourselves, our hearts, into the session. For me, this was bringing swatches of fabric my family has collected over the last 18 years to use for the introductions. Each swatch has a memory, and now those memories are woven with these new connections. To conclude the session, Peter led the group in song, one of our favorite ways to strengthen community bonds. To level the playing field, he selected a Danish lullaby we all learned and sang together. This was a lullaby Peter sang as a child and to his own children, so it’s near and dear to his heart.
It was an incredibly moving moment.
In a time when our world feels so disconnected, learning from each other, listening to each other, creating and problem solving together, laughing, singing and building memories together feels crucial. It gives us perspective, builds empathy, expands our world view. It’s how we stay grounded as humans.
Just as the library is the heart of town, it’s our hearts that we bring to this work. And that’s truly worth nurturing and celebrating.
NEXT Library 2027 is back in Aarhus, Denmark. Hope to see you there!
Many of the strategies highlighted in this session are also included in the Embolden by Design holistic training experience. Contact us to learn more.
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