I’m a Senior Lecturer in Social Inclusion in the School of Education (University of Glasgow) and I am one of the co-conveners of the Glasgow Refugee Asylum and Migration Network (GRAMNet). I am the Principal Investigator in the Welcoming Languages project and I also led previous collaborations with colleagues based at the Arabic Center of the Islamic University of Gaza. My background is in language teaching and primary education, and my teaching and research focus on linguistic and cultural diversity; culture and arts for peace-building; inclusion of children and young people from refugee and migrant backgrounds; decolonising education; education and sustainability.

I am a Senior Lecturer in the School of Education at the University of Glasgow and I am a Co-Investigator in the Welcoming Languages project. I have expertise in applied linguistics, rhetoric and writing studies, digital literacies, language inclusion and integration, and translingual pedagogy. I have been involved in international projects funded by the British Academy, British Council, and AHRC. My most recent work examines new pedagogies and the transformation of literacies in Virtual Reality environments and through the use of robots as reading companions. My work has appeared in Computers and Composition, Higher Education, Language and Intercultural Communication and International Journal for Disaster Risk Reduction.

I am a Lecturer in Adult Education at the University of Glasgow, Scotland. My research interests focus on language education for adult refugees and migrants, multilingualism, and intercultural education. I have conducted research in several contexts, including Palestine, Lebanon, Ethiopia, Ghana, Italy and Scotland. I also worked as a language teacher and a teacher trainer. I am a member of GRAMNet (Glasgow Refugee Asylum Migration Network) and part of the network’s steering committee.

I am a PhD candidate at Roehampton University, Media, Culture and Language department. I have been teaching languages (English and Arabic) online and face-to-face in the UK, Austria, Turkey, and Palestine in the primary and secondary school sector, as well as in higher education. I am passionate about language learning and teaching, in particular the use of vision and strategies in teaching and learning a foreign language. I am also interested in researching second language motivation, translanguaging, self, and online teaching and learning.

I provide finance and administrative support to the Welcoming Languages project. I also work across several other research projects in the School of Education / College of Social Sciences.

Salam (سلام), I’m Nazmi Al-Masri from Palestine (فلسطين) and I am the international Co-I in the Welcoming Languages project. My bachelor degree was from the Faculty of Art, Birzeit University (Palestine), my Master in applied linguistics was from Salford University (UK) and my PhD in education (TEFL and curriculum development) from the University of Manchester (UK). I have been teaching at the Islamic University of Gaza (IUG) for 28 years during which I have worked as a co-investigator on more than 20 British and EU-funded projects aiming to enhance higher and school education. I also contributed to building the first English Language Curriculum for Palestinian Schools (English for Palestine grades 1-12). My current research interests include language teacher education, curriculum development, using technology in teaching languages, disability- inclusive education, and education for employability and development.

My name is Ola. I’m from Gaza, Palestine, and I’m a teacher and teacher trainer of Arabic as a foreign language. I work as a course developer for the Welcoming Languages Project, and I worked as a course developer for the Palestinian Arabic Online Project. I have a bachelor degree in Teaching Arabic from the Islamic University of Gaza (IUG).  I’m working as an Arabic teacher at a private school, and I teach Arabic for non-native speakers at the IUG’s Arabic Centre. I speak Arabic and English fluently. I also have little knowledge of Turkish. I love reading and meditation.

Hi (Marĥaba مرحبا), my name is Yousef. I’m from Gaza, Palestine, and I’m a course developer for the Welcoming Languages Project and the Palestinian Arabic Online Project. I hold a bachelor degree in English literature from the Islamic University of Gaza (IUG). I work as a part-time lecturer at the University College of Applied Sciences. I also teach Arabic for non-Arabic speakers at the Islamic University of Gaza. I am interested in multilingualism, and online teaching. I speak Arabic, English and some Hebrew. I love reading and drawing.

Marhaba, I am Lubna, from Gaza, Palestine. I’m a course developer for the Welcoming Languages Project. I have a bachelor’s degree in TESOL from the Islamic University of Gaza and a diploma in Teaching Arabic for non-Native Speakers from the Arabic for All Association. I am co-founder of Araby, an educational mobile application to teach Arabic as a second language. I have been teaching Arabic at IUG’s Arabic Center since 2013. I love interacting with people, exchanging new ideas and learning from other cultures. I enjoy meeting new learners and teaching them Arabic. I also love gardening, making desserts and handicrafts.

Hello! My name is Jehad

Hello! My name is Alyaa, the local administrator for the Welcoming Languages Project. I am a problem solver with a background in industrial engineering and experience in project management, data analysis and fundraising. I have worked at the Islamic University of Gaza (IUG) as a teaching assistant, project coordinator and educational quality coordinator. Currently, I’m working at IUG’s Arabic Centre. I love reading, writing, solving puzzles and learning new things.

Laura is the Lead Officer for Glasgow’s English as an Additional Language (EAL) Service and Glasgow’s Dyslexia Support Service. Laura’s background is in Primary and Early Years teaching. Glasgow’s EAL Service works with all bilingual and multilingual children including those who have recently arrived in Glasgow from another country and are new to learning English. It works with school staff across all sectors, to help children and young people to access the curriculum and achieve their potential. The EAL Service is committed to equality and fairness and works with school staff to create learning environments that reflect the cultural and linguistic diversity of the school community.

Alison is UNESCO Chair in Refugee Integration through Languages and the Arts (UNESCO-RILA)at the University of Glasgow and Professor of Languages and Intercultural Studies. She was De Carle Distinguished Visiting Professor at Otago University, Aotearoa New Zealand 2019-2020, Thinker in Residence at the EU Hawke Centre, University of South Australia in 2016, and Visiting Professor at Auckland University of Technology. She was Principal Investigator for AHRC Large Grant ‘Researching Multilingually at the Borders of Language, the body, law and the state’. She s currently PI for the Cultures for Sustainable and Inclusive Peace (CUSP) Network Plus, and co-Director of the South-South Migration Hub. Alison is an Ambassador for the Scottish Refugee Council. She is an academic, activist, educator and published poet.

Iman is an Associate Tutor in the School of Education at the University of Glasgow, where she mainly supervises Master’s dissertations in the MSc Education, Public Policy and Equity programme. Iman’s research interests and expertise lie in the areas of refugee education, equity and teaching pedagogy. Her doctoral research focused on understanding the quality of the educational provision for Syrian refugee children in Turkey. Iman has participated in a range of research projects both for the University of Glasgow and the University of Liverpool.