Layla founded and spearheaded Next Generation London, an incubator and curated community of young professionals and entrepreneurs who start, launch and scale ideas to raise funds and advocate for registered charities as well as offer pro-bono consulting and advisory.

Below you can read more about Next Gen’s projects which have raised £7.5mn+ / $9mn+ and engaged 10k+ young professionals to support Unicef, Choose Love, and The Center for Mind-Body Medicine.

As the Founder of Next Gen, Layla was fundamental in starting, operationally scaling, building teams and developing partnerships to deliver the outcomes of these campaigns, events and initiatives.

Philanthropy

Projects founded by Next Gen include

#CookForIran

#CookForIran unites communities to inspire conscious, positive action for Iran through food, a language all people understand and love. The global campaign supports the long-term freedom & wellbeing of all Iranians by raising awareness of the humanitarian crisis and funds for The Center for Mind-Body Medicine’s Iran Initiative. Similar to #CookForSyria and #CookForUkraine, this campaign is built around culture, food and community.

The Center for Mind-Body Medicine (CMBM) is a 501(c)3 devoted to helping communities around the world develop the tools they need to heal population-wide trauma. CMBM was founded by Harvard-educated psychiatrist Dr. James Gordan in 1991. He is a clinical professor at Georgetown Medical School and was chair of the White House Commission on Complementary and Alternative Medicine Policy (under Presidents Clinton and G.W. Bush). Together with the communities they support, CMBM co-creates in-person and online programs that teach practical tools of self-care and mind-body skills alongside a small group experience that fosters mutual support. Trainees practice a range of evidence-based self-care techniques that promote physiological and psychological balance, enhance self-awareness and compassion, and enable the skilful use of this approach with others. Dr Noshene Ranjbar and Shahine Tavakoli lead the Iran initiative.

#CookForUkraine

A conversation among friends that transformed into an award-winning global campaign increasing awareness and raising critical funds to aid children who have been displaced by the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Ukraine by launching Supper Clubs, Bake sales and forming 300+ restaurant partnerships - where dinners are hosted and donations are collected at point of sale. The campaign has reacher over 11k people and raised over £1.5mn for Unicef and Choose Love.

Homemade for Unicef

Homemade was launched as a global fundraising initiative bringing people together around a shared love of food. With online cooking classes taught by some of the world’s most celebrated chefs, Homemade offered an opportunity to sharpen your culinary skills and join a virtual community from the comfort of your own home - all while supporting UNICEF’s largest ever appeal, protecting children affected by coronavirus.

Chefs included, Didier Elena, Eric Rippert, Athena Calderone, Akrame Benallal, Aranud Faye, Imad Alarnab, Eden Grinshpan, Sanne Vloet, and Alex Hill.

#CookForSyria

A supper club that transformed into a global movement and Recipe Book, #CookForSyria was an international fundraising initiative with an aim to preserve and celebrate Syrian culture amid one of the largest humanitarian crises of our time and raise money to help Unicef protect Syrian children. 
Winner of the prominent Observer Food Monthly Awards “Best Ethical Food Project”.

  • 50+ top restaurants & cafes

  • 100+ donated recipes & posts

  • 200+ supper clubs and bake sales

  • 10,000+ specials served

  • 35,000+ books sold

  • £1mn+ raised

Beyond Borders

NEXTGen London created 'Beyond Borders' - a weeklong exhibition culminating in an auction, with pre-bidding online powered by Paddle8, all in aid of UNICEF UK’s Children of Syria Emergency Appeal.

The exhibition was hosted in collaboration with Blain|Southern, one of London’s foremost contemporary art galleries, and brought together a global community of contemporary artists.

‘Beyond Borders’ raised over £80,000 and engaged more than 1,000 people – for weeks after the team had requests to buy paintings!

Migrate

A book and exhibition presenting photography exploring global migration through instant analogue film donated by Polaroid Originals. 

Wordsby

A book of poetry exploring the refugee crisis through writing and spoken-word events.

Next Generation has also organised private dinners, musical performances with globally renowned musicians, a music and art festival, series of talks, panel discussions and other private philanthropic events.