Ruba Samain

Research and Program Development Senior Manager / Acting Deputy Director for Research and Program Development at the Queen Rania Foundation

Ruba Samain is the Research and Program Development Senior Manager / Acting Deputy Director for Research and Program Development at the Queen Rania Foundation. Her work involves leading on and ensuring the strategic alignment of programs to achieve QRF’s vision and mission. She has over 10 years of experience in the education sector, with a focus on early childhood education in recent years.

Her experience ranges from working on the national human resource development strategy, designing and implementing programs, and managing research efforts e.g. a national survey on parental practices with a focus on barriers analysis.

Ruba has a MSc in Global Governance and Ethics from UCL-London and a BA in Media and Cultural Studies from Kingston University- London.

Nawaf Mansour Al-Aqeel

Secretary General of Educational Affairs at the Jordanian Ministry of Education

Nawaf Mansour Al-Aqeel, the Secretary General of Educational Affairs at the Jordanian Ministry of Education has over 25 years of thorough experience in the field of Education. He has obtained his bachelor's degree in Arabic language and Literature from the University of Jordan in 1995 .Later on, he got his Masters and Doctorate of curricula and teaching pedagogy from the same university in 2016.

Mr.Al-Aqeel started his life as a teacher of Arabic Language at 1996 He has also served as a school principal, a head of the examination division and a Managing Director of Examinations and Tests at the Ministry of Education and he became the Secretary General in 2019. As the SG of educational affairs, Mr.Al-Aqeel works closely with the field directorates, teachers, students and their parents and the local community people. He is always responsive to all comments, complaints and inquires received throughout different channels at the Ministry or even the media.

During Covid-19 pandemic, Mr.Al-Aqeel worked hard with the relevant directorates at the Ministry to overcome the sequences of the schools closure. Darsak platform was developed as the main channel for distance- learning and it supported the linkage between teachers and their students. With his extensive experience in the field of education, Mr.Al-Aqeel contributed significantly to holding the Tawjihi exams during this pandemic. For the first time, the questions of exams were designed as multiple –choice ones and were corrected and scanned automatically.

Lubna Afaneh

National Curriculum Trainer at Emirates National Schools

Miss Lubna Afaneh, National Curriculum Trainer at Emirates National Schools with more than 20 years of experience in the training and education field. Always striving to develop and improve her skills with the latest teaching methodologies to make the Arabic Language lesson the most favorable session to the students’ hearts.

Eng. Farah Al-Azab

Senior Project Manager at Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives (MBRGI)

Eng. Farah Al-Azab is an experienced project management professional, currently serving as Senior Project Manager at Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives (MBRGI). She provides comprehensive humanitarian aid related to education and social frameworks, while also spearheading the development of an innovative digital education program for the Digital School and Madrasa initiative. Her efforts have positively impacted students in different countries worldwide.

Saeed Al-Mujadada

Master of Mathematics Curricula and Teaching Methods

Head of the Primary Grades Department at the Ministry of Education in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Head of the Ministry of Education team to coordinate with the World Bank to prepare a strategy to improve learning Arabic language skills for primary grade students

Director of the Teacher Motivation Initiative to Work in Schools with Low Educational Performance

He participated in a number of educational researches and provided a number of training courses in the field of student assessment and teaching strategies

Ameena Taleb Al Jaberi

Head of National Curriculum

Ameena Al Jaberi is a PhD student and working for the Head of National Curriculum at Emirates National Schools.

Ameena is a specialist in Curriculum design and online instruction. She is passionate about pedagogical engineering, especially all what is related to Arabic language teaching and learning. She has designed several innovative educational programs related to Arabic language such as: ENS advanced Arabic Language Curriculum, Khutwati Literacy Curriculum, I Read Everyday Program, Preparing Future Writers Program, and Itqan Arabic Language Intervention Program.

Ameena is also a certified trainer for many educational programs, such as: Kagan Cooperative Learning and the Organization of the International Baccalaureate, in addition, that she is a certified trainer and representer for the Concept Based Curriculum.

Karima Almazroui

Adviser to the Chancellor of Mohammed bin Zayed University for Humanities

Dr. Karima Almazroui is currently the adviser to the chancellor of Mohammed bin Zayed University for Humanities, formerly was as an acting Executive Director of School Education and Policy Sector, and as an Adviser to the Director General of the Abu Dhabi Education Council. Almazroui has a profound experience in higher education institutions through serving in two Board of Trustees for the Emirates College of Advanced Education, and Mohammed V University. Her previous experience included curriculum management, design, teacher training, and assessment. Her experience translated into the development of multiple national curricula and training programs. She served as an Associate Professor at the College of Education at the University of the Emirates chairing the early childhood program. Dr. Almazroui has over 30 published articles, and four books, two of which are taught at the university.

Hanada Taha Thomure

Endowed Professor of Arabic Language at Zayed University

Hanada Taha Thomure is the Endowed Professor of Arabic Language at Zayed University, UAE. She previously was the associate dean and later acting dean of Bahrain Teachers’ College. Professor Taha Thomure designed the first system for leveling Arabic texts currently used by regional and international publishers to level their Arabic children’s books. She developed the Arabic language arts standards currently used by more than 200,000 students. She is the senior author for Pearson’s Arabic language Arts K-9, curriculum BilArabi. She reviewed the national Arabic curricula for Morocco, KSA, Jordan, UAE, and Bahrain and has been an adviser for Arab Thought Foundation, Queen Rania Foundation, Scholastic, USAID, UNICEF, UAE prime minister’s office and World Bank. Professor Taha Thomure’s research is in the field of Arabic language teaching and learning, oral reading fluency, Arabic children’s literature and Arabic teacher preparation and curriculum design.

Ferid Belhaj

World Bank Vice President for Middle East and North Africa

Ferid Belhaj took up the position of World Bank Vice President for Middle East and North Africa on July 1, 2018. Prior to this, he served as the Chief of Staff of the President of the World Bank Group for 15 months.

From 2012 to 2017, Mr. Belhaj was World Bank Director for the Middle East, in charge of work programs in Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Iraq and Iran, based in Beirut, Lebanon. In this capacity, he led the Bank’s engagement on the Syrian refugee crisis and its impact on the region, including the creation of new financing instruments to help countries hosting forcibly displaced people; the ramping up of the Bank drive towards the reconstruction and recovery of Iraq during and after the ISIS invasion and the scaling up of the Bank's commitments to Lebanon and Jordan.

Before taking up his Mashreq assignment, Mr. Belhaj served as World Bank Director for the Pacific Department (2009-2012), where he developed a regional strategy that scaled up Bank engagement in small and fragile states, and tripled lending operations of the International Development Agency, one of the five institutions under the umbrella of the World Bank Group that provides interest-free loans and grants for Low-Income Countries.

From 2007 to 2010, Mr. Belhaj was the World Bank’s Special Representative to the United Nations (UN) in New York, where he engaged with various UN agencies on a range of programs, mainly climate change, the Millennium Development Goals, fragile and post-conflict states and the global financial and food crises.

He also served as World Bank Country Manager for Morocco (2002-2007), where he developed a new and multifaceted dialogue with one of the best performing Middle-Income countries.

A Tunisian national, Mr. Belhaj joined the Bank in 1996 as Senior Counsel in the Legal Department, managing a number of legal and judicial reform projects. He also served as Bank Counsel for countries, including Egypt, Morocco, Iran, Algeria and Thailand. From 1992 to 1996, was the Deputy Chief of Mission of the Tunisian Embassy to the United States of America. Between 1988 and 1992 Mr. Belhaj served as the Legal Adviser to the Permanent Mission of Tunisia to the UN.

Mr. Belhaj joined the Tunisian Foreign Service in 1986, and took on the task of Special Assistant to the Minister of Foreign Affairs.

Andreas Blom

Manager at the World Bank's Education Global Practice

Andreas is a Manager at the World Bank's Education Global Practice, with responsibility for the education support to 19 countries in the Middle East and North Africa. He leads a unit of 30 education specialists and economists who assist the region's governments with policy advice, financing and technical assistance to improve education and human development. He is passioned about poverty reduction and improvements of wellbeing through education.

The unit supervises an investment portfolio of US$2 billion into the education sector in that region. The work focuses on expansion and quality of Early Childhood Education, mastery of early literacy and numeracy, effective and motivated teachers and principals, teaching of 21st century skills combined with learning assessment reforms, adaption of education technology, and job-readiness of graduates of vocational and tertiary education.

A Danish national, Andreas joined the Bank in 2003 as Education Economist in the Latin American and Caribbean region, where he contributed to student financing institutions which over time has financed over a million students in Colombia, Mexico and Chile. He has since worked in India, Pakistan, and Afghanistan on better access and employment outcomes for youth attending vocational and higher education. He helped the implementation of reading programs in Madagascar and Uganda. Andreas also advised Southern African countries on job and university readiness of secondary education graduates. Further, he was a team leader of the Africa Centers of Excellence projects that supported over 50 higher education centers in critical areas for Africa’s development. Centers that increased enrollment of over 5,000 PhD students and 25,000 master students into more than 90 internationally accredited programs. He authored several global, regional, and national studies on the quality of education, learning effective policies, 21st century skills, higher education, and science, technology and innovation. He holds an MA in development economics from the University of Aarhus, Denmark.

Jaime Saavedra

Global Director, Education, World Bank

Saavedra leads the Education Global Practice at the World Bank. He rejoined the Bank from the Government of Peru, where he served as Minister of Education from 2013 through 2016. Throughout his career, Saavedra has led groundbreaking work in the areas of poverty and inequality, employment and labor markets, the economics of education, and monitoring and evaluation systems. He has held positions at several international organizations, including the Inter-American Development Bank, Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, International Labour Organization, and the National Council of Labor in Peru. He has also held teaching and research positions in academia and has published extensively. Prior to assuming his role as Minister for Education of Peru, he had a ten-year career at the World Bank where, most recently, he served as Director for Poverty Reduction and Equity as well as Acting Vice President, Poverty Reduction & Economic Management Network. Saavedra holds a Ph.D in economics from Columbia University and a Bachelor's degree in economics from the Catholic University of Peru. Twitter: @JaimeSaavedra22

Dr. Naifa Mohammed S. Asiri

Head of the Arabic Language Department/Girls, General Directorate of Educational Supervision, Ministry of Education.

Member of the Cooperation Committee with the World Bank, and a member of a number of committees concerned with reading and its tests in public education, prepared and ruled a number of portfolios for reading comprehension skills, participated in the review of the courses of (My Beautiful Language), participated in the correction of international tests (PIRLS / PISA), and presented many courses and meetings aimed at improving supervisory and teaching practices.

She is interested in literary writing and has published articles, she studied master's and doctorate in linguistics and modern criticism, from Imam Muhammad bin Saud Islamic University.

Dr. Khalaf Al Mufleh

Dr. Khalaf Al Mufleh has served as an active advocate for students’ learning, and an enthusiastic supporter to agencies that work to develop Arabic Language teaching and learning in the digital era. He is passionate about building positive and supportive structures and cultures for Arabic language teachers in schools.

Dr Khalaf has served in multitude positions in education for over 30 years. He has taught from early grades up to colleges. He has participated as lead author for many educational development projects in education in both Jordan and Saudi Arabia.

Ruba Samain

Research and Program Development Senior Manager / Acting Deputy Director for Research and Program Development at the Queen Rania Foundation

Ruba Samain is the Research and Program Development Senior Manager / Acting Deputy Director for Research and Program Development at the Queen Rania Foundation. Her work involves leading on and ensuring the strategic alignment of programs to achieve QRF’s vision and mission. She has over 10 years of experience in the education sector, with a focus on early childhood education in recent years.

Her experience ranges from working on the national human resource development strategy, designing and implementing programs, and managing research efforts e.g. a national survey on parental practices with a focus on barriers analysis.

Ruba has a MSc in Global Governance and Ethics from UCL-London and a BA in Media and Cultural Studies from Kingston University- London.

Taghreed Najjar

With a portfolio spanning 4 decades, Taghreed Najjar is a multifaceted author who writes picture books, middle grade and young adult books. Her picture books have become classics that are read and enjoyed by generations. While her YA novels have found great success in addressing difficult subjects reflecting political and cultural realities in the region. She won the " Jordanian State Award for Children Literature" (2021)

On the regional level she is a several-time winner and short listee of the Etisalat Award for Arabic Children’s Literature. Her most recent award, YA book of the year (2019) was for her title Whose Doll is This?

She is a nominee for the Astrid Lindgren award and a 2020 nominee for the Hans Anderson Award.

Several of Najjar’s books have been recommended by The "White Ravens" and several have been translated to different languages including English, Italian, Swedish, Danish, French and Turkish.

Taghreed Najjar is also the founder of "Al Salwa Publishing House" (1996) that focuses on books for children and young adults.

Mrs. Dakmara-Ana Georgescu

Dakmara-Ana Georgescu in April 2012 joined the UNESCO Office in Beirut, Regional Bureau of Education for the Arab States, as Programme Specialist in charge with Curriculum, Teachers and Higher Education. She is currently coordinating the Office’s Regional Programmes for Learning/Curriculum and Teachers, while contributing also to different Education in Crisis programmes and projects. Before she had coordinated the Technical Assistance for curriculum development of UNESCO’s International Bureau of Education (UNESCO IBE, in Geneva, Switzerland, 2003-2012).

She graduated 1982 the History and Philosophy School of Bucharest University, majoring in Philosophy. In 2017 she received her Doctoral Degree in Philosophy (University Babes-Bolyai/Romania) with a Thesis on “Philosophical Paradigms of Education. Current Approaches to Learning”.

She had worked first as a secondary school teacher and since 1990 as a senior researcher in the Curriculum Department of the Romanian Institute for Educational Sciences. From December 1997 to December 2000 she served as the Advisor to the Minister (primary and secondary education reform) within the Romanian Ministry of National Education.

In the nineties and early 2000 she has contributed also to several long-term processes of systemic curriculum reforms in Eastern Europe under the auspices of international organizations such as UNICEF, UNESCO, the Council of Europe, and the World Bank.

She is the author of numerous textbooks and other teaching aids in the realm of education for democratic citizenship (EDC), HRE and Global Citizenship Education (GCE). Her works also include articles and books on philosophy teaching; educational reform policies; curriculum processes and products (with a focus on emphasizing Learning to Live Together, competency development for life and work, and Gender Equality); and on issues of intercultural and political education.

Anna-Boni

Senior education specialist in the World Bank’s Education Global Practice

Anna is a senior education specialist in the World Bank’s Education Global Practice. Her work supports a number of educational projects across the Middle East and Africa. She currently works on and leads a wide range of education projects, technical assistance and capacity building initiatives in education system reform, foundational skills, pedagogy, school leadership, teacher professional learning, school effectiveness, curriculum reform, education evaluation and improvement. She has extensive educational knowledge and experience gained from working for over thirty years with children, young people and adults across various Ministries of Education in the UK, Europe, Africa and South Asia..

Anna holds degrees from the Universities of Edinburgh, Glasgow and Strathclyde. She is a member of the Conference Organizing Committee.

Ruba Samain

Research and Program Development Senior Manager / Acting Deputy Director for Research and Program Development at the Queen Rania Foundation

Ruba Samain is the Research and Program Development Senior Manager / Acting Deputy Director for Research and Program Development at the Queen Rania Foundation. Her work involves leading on and ensuring the strategic alignment of programs to achieve QRF’s vision and mission. She has over 10 years of experience in the education sector, with a focus on early childhood education in recent years.

Her experience ranges from working on the national human resource development strategy, designing and implementing programs, and managing research efforts e.g. a national survey on parental practices with a focus on barriers analysis.

Ruba has a MSc in Global Governance and Ethics from UCL-London and a BA in Media and Cultural Studies from Kingston University- London.

Dr. Bochra Kaddoura

Dr. Bochra Kaddoura is a highly experienced Early Childhood specialist and Child Rights Advocate with over 30 years of experience. Currently, she is the Early Childhood Education /Nurseries improvement advisor for Sharjah Private Education Authority, and has served as an advisor to national and international organizations, providing expert guidance on ECED national agendas, parenting and achieving Sustainable Development Goal 4.2. Dr. Kaddoura is an active member of various esteemed organizations and has authored numerous articles and reports in the field of early childhood education.

Eman Alyousuf

Creative Director for the Arabic program at the Emirates Literature Foundation

Eman Alyousuf works as a cultural consultant for several cultural entities as well as a creative director for the Arabic program at the Emirates Literature Foundation – Emirates Airlines Festival of Literature. She is also an Emirati award winning publisher author with a degree in cultural Diplomacy and masters in knowledge management.

She is the first Emirati to be chosen for the international writers’ program in the United States of America in 2018 and won the Fulbright scholarship to teach Arabic to university students in western Kentucky university in the United States of America for the Academic year 2020/2021.

She published 7 books, three novels and three collections of short stories and a book on Emirati women authors.

She started a cultural diplomacy podcast called “seven” and wrote the first feminist Emirati short movie “Ghafa” that was screened in Dubai film festival in 2017.

Maitha AlKhayat

Maitha AlKhayat is an Emirati mother of five children and an international children’s author and illustrator. She published more than 170 publications, some translated into English, Turkish and Italian. She delights children with her quirky yet cultural stories through interactive storytelling and workshops. Her award winning books are “My Own Special Way” and “Turn Off The Lights”. Her illustrations of “Father’s Date Palm Trees” was shortlisted for best picture book at Zayed Book Award 2020. Maitha enjoys traveling, cooking and even writing children’s TV shows like Iftah Ya Simsim, Sesame Street and Hamdoon; Emirati animation..

Elisabeth Sedmik

Economist at the Education Global Practice of the World Bank

Elisabeth Sedmik is an Economist at the Education Global Practice of the World Bank, with a regional focus on the Middle East & North Africa. She currently coordinates the education program in Iraq, and also leads education interventions and research in Lebanon. She works on and leads a wide range of education projects, technical assistance and capacity building, including on education service delivery in conflict affected areas, education financing, student assessments, curriculum reform, skills, and education sector governance. Prior to joining the World Bank in 2015, Elisabeth worked for Procter & Gamble and the World Health Organization. Elisabeth holds degrees from the University of Cambridge and Columbia University.

Haitham Taha

Prof. Haitham Taha: Researcher in the field of learning disabilities, reading psychology and cognitive skills. His main research interest is in investigating the basic cognitive and neurocognitive processes in reading among typical and disabled native Arab readers. His main neurocognitive research has been performed in the Edmond J. Safra Brain Research Centre for the Study of Learning Disabilities at University of Haifa. In addition, he established the Reading and Cognitive Lab at Sakhnin College in Israel (An Arab College). Currently, Prof. Taha occupying the position of chair for graduated studies in learning disabilities and a dean of the department of the graduate studies in education at Sakhnin College in Israel. In addition, he holds a position of associate professor in the Western Galilee Academic College in Israel.

Prof. Taha published different scientific publications in peer-refereed scientific journals with focus on reading in Arabic from cognitive, neurocognitive, and developmental points of view. In additions he serves as a reviewer for different scientific journals which are focusing on reading and literacy research and serves as member of the editorial board of the Annals of Dyslexia journal. Beside to his research activities, Prof. Taha has a clinical specialization in diagnosis learning disorders and disabilities while he is the professional director of the College of Sakhnin centre for diagnosis of and treatment of learning and developmental disabilities.

Nadia J. Taibah

Professor of Special Education Chair of Special Education Department Dar Al-Hekma University

She got a doctorate degree in special education at the University of Washington, USA, in 2006 and worked as assistant professor at King Abdulaziz University until 2016. Currently, she is the chair of special education department at Dar Al-Hekma University. She is certified licensed as trainer of thinking based learning from the National Center for Teaching Thinking. She occupied many administrative and research positions such as the head of the academic committee at Child Center in King Abdulaziz University, scientific advisor for both, King Salman Center for Disabilities Research and Australian Council of Educational Research. She works currently as a part-time educational consultant at the World Bank in several projects to support literacy education within the kingdom and in the Arabic region. She has many publications and presentations in conferences nationally and internationally. Her previous research project was standardization of battery for diagnosing reading and related-reading skills in Saudi Arabia.

Hiba Hammoud

Quality Teaching and Learning Manager, Ana Aqra Association

Hiba follows-up on the quality of teaching and learning all over the programs implemented by Ana Aqra Association. She oversees the training and coaching activities and works directly with trainers, coaches and project/program managers to facilitate the implementation and the training content and coaching tools development. Hiba represents Ana Aqra inside and outside Lebanon in training and coaching services provided to different stakeholders. Before joining Ana Aqra in 2014, Hiba had trained for four years on emergency medical courses after receiving her TOT certificate from the American Heart Association (AHA) in Dubai. She received the literacy coaching intervention course from the Colombia University Teachers College “Reading and Writing Project”. Hiba holds a diploma in Science Education from the American University of Beirut (AUB). She received her Master’s courses in Educational Psychology from AUB where she is currently pursuing a Master’s Degree in Educational Administration and Policy Studies and is preparing for the thesis.

Nedjma Koval-Saifi

Development Practitioner and Founder of Integrated International

Nedjma Koval-Saifi is a development practitioner and founder of Integrated International, a Research, Monitoring, Evaluation and learning-specialized firm, working to maximize the impact of development programs throughout the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. With a passion for seeking solutions that can leapfrog development challenges, and a focus on increased utilization of data to influence policy, program design and improved development outcomes, Nedjma specializes in testing models of Arabic literacy. Her work has been published and showcased in fora such as the Annual Grand Challenge Meeting 2017, UNESCO Mobile Learning Week 2018, and CIES Conference 2019. Based in MENA, Nedjma Koval-Saifi is an active advocate of the research agenda of the Global South. Nedjma is currently completing her PhD in Development Economics from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University, where she also earned a Masters in Development Economics from Tufts University, and holds a Bachelors of Arts in Economics from George Washington University. She is a board member of the Fulbright Commission in Jordan, the Abdel Hamid Shoman Foundation, Microfund for Women, and the Steering Committee Member at Ministry of Education – Jordan for Evidence-Based Decision-Making for Policy.

Rima AlKurdi

Founder of the Jana Reading Platform for Learning and Teaching the Arabic language

Dr. Rima Zuhair Al-Kurdi, the founder of the Jana Reading Platform for learning and teaching the Arabic language, holds a master's degree in Arabic Literature and Criticism, and a Ph.D. in Arabic language, specifically in Literacy, both with honor degree, currently works in the schools of (KAUST). She is also a literacy coach and WSL with International Baccalaureate Organization. She is an author in children literature, critique and researcher. She is a member of the General Union of Arab Writers and Writers, and a member of the Asian, African and Latin American Writers Union. She wrote more than 250 books, she also for the “Sesame street” T.V show for children, the second season.

Dr. Rima trained writers and educators with regional and international institutions to develop education in Jordan, Morocco and Saudi Arabia. She was honored by ALECSO in Tunisia and the European Youth Organization for Sustainable Projects in Bosnia, she received a number of regional and international awards for Jana Reading platform, such as the Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Award for the best initiative in teaching Arabic language 2017, and the World award Summit from the United Nations in Vienna 2020.

Jane Courtney

Prior to working in Jordan, Jane was Head of an Education Department in London South Bank University for five years where she supported and taught on bachelor, masters and doctorate degree programmes in Education. Jane was involved with national university groups advocating for policy change in teacher education.

From 2001- 2003 Jane worked in Cambodia full time, initially as a volunteer and then with the World Bank. She became involved with improving teaching and learning in basic education. When returning to the UK she started working in universities in teacher education departments, whilst continuing to lead and support large scale teacher development programmes focused on mathematics education and Khmer literacy in Cambodia. Jane also supported a number of other education projects in different countries in Asia and the Middle-East.

Jane was a teacher in four inner London primary schools for a period of 12 years before moving to Cambodia.

Jane’s research specialisms are focused on comparative education policy and practice, culture and pedagogy.

Nizar Habash

Professor of Computer Science at New York University Abu Dhabi (NYUAD)

Nizar Habash is a Professor of Computer Science at New York University Abu Dhabi (NYUAD). He is also the director of the Computational Approaches to Modeling Language (CAMeL) Lab. Professor Habash specializes in natural language processing and computational linguistics. Before joining NYUAD in 2014, he was a research scientist at Columbia University's Center for Computational Learning Systems. He received his PhD in Computer Science from the University of Maryland College Park in 2003. He has two bachelors degrees, one in Computer Engineering and one in Linguistics and Languages. His research includes extensive work on machine translation, morphological analysis, and computational modeling of Arabic and its dialects. Professor Habash has been a principal investigator or co-investigator on over 25 research grants. And he has over 250 publications including a book entitled "Introduction to Arabic Natural Language Processing". His website is www.nizarhabash.com 

John Collins

Regional Education Advisor for the USAID Middle East Regional Platform

Dr. John Collins is the Regional Education Advisor for the USAID Middle East Regional Platform. He currently supports USAID Education programs in Syria, Yemen, Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt, Morocco, and the West Bank and Gaza. He previously was the Director of USAID Yemen’s Education Office, and the Deputy Director of USAID Cambodia Office of Public Health and Education. Prior to Cambodia, he served as the Basic Education Team Lead and Deputy Office Director in Afghanistan, the Deputy Director in the Office of Education in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and began his work with USAID in the Republic of Malawi. He has extensive experience in working with Ministries of Education to strengthen national systems in early grade literacy and numeracy, non-formal education, education in crisis and conflict, and marginalized groups, including children with disabilities. He has served as the Chair of the Donor coordination groups and been the coordinating Agency for the Global Partnership for Education in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Afghanistan, and Syria. Prior to his work with USAID he worked as a consultant and researcher in Senegal and Uganda, was the Managing Editor for the Comparative Education Review, a Research Associate & Outreach Coordinator for the Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship Program, and a lecturer at Penn State University College of Education. He has a dual title Ph.D. in Educational Theory and Policy and Comparative and International Education from the Pennsylvania State University and a M.Ed in Comparative and International Development Education from Brigham Young University. He is originally from California.

Sami Rahmouni

General Educational Inspector, Curriculum Engineering Expert, Professor "Agregé" of Arabic Language, Literature and Civilization, lecturer at the Bahrain Teacher College

Sami Rahmouni is the General Educational Inspector, Curriculum Engineering Expert, Professor "Agregé" of Arabic Language, Literature and Civilization, lecturer at the Bahrain Teacher College. He previously served as a specialist in Arabic language curricula at the Bahraini MOE. Contributed to the evaluation of Arabic language curricula and textbooks in various Arab countries such as Morocco, Kuwait and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Have diverse research contributions in literature, criticism and Arabic language learning.

Intisar Ambusaidi

Director General, The Specialised Institute for Professional Training of Teachers Ministry of Education Muscat, Oman

Intisar Ambusaidi is a Director General at the Specialised Institute for Professional Training of Teachers at the Ministry of Education, Oman, whose work is focused on planning and delivering professional development programs for teachers and school leaders at the national level. She has extensive experience in supervision, curriculum development, learning assessment, and professional development. Her recent activities include providing in-person and online training for novice and experienced teachers, school leaders, and supervisors.

Intisar has developed strategic plan to improve the supervision and teaching practices and performances at the national level. She led leaders of leaders at the central level including subject section heads, chief supervisors, and senior supervisors, and more than 1,600 senior and regional supervisors. She presented data-based action plans to the minister of education and undersecretaries on how to improve teachers’ performance and students’ learning.

Besides working with in-service teachers, Intisar enjoys teaching pre-service teachers and be part of their personal and professional development trajectories. She has taught pre-service teachers teaching methods, action research and school clinical practice courses at Sultan Qaboos University. Her research is rooted in curriculum design and implementation, constructivist and sociocultural perspectives on curriculum development, reform-oriented curriculum and instruction, inquiry-based science learning, influence of teachers’ beliefs and pedagogical content knowledge on curriculum implementation, learning assessments, teacher education, comparative and international education.

Amira Kazem

Senior Operations Officer with the Education Global Practice and the Education Focal Point

Amira Kazem is a Senior Operations Officer with the Education Global Practice and the Education focal point in the Cairo Office. She has been engaged in human development since 1998 when she joined the Bank’s Cairo Office as a human development economist. Initially, she provided in-country supervision to Egypt’s Social Fund for Development.

Amira has the privilege of supporting education projects with a scope covering skills development, basic and tertiary education since 2002. She has extensively been involved with skills development, especially in Egypt and Jordan. Subsequently, she got involved in Yemen where she worked on the higher education and basic education projects. She also has extensive experience in conflict countries, as she worked on education projects in Iraq. Prior to joining the Bank, she worked as an Economist/Management Consultant with different local and international organizations – Egypt’s Economic Research Forum, and EC-Funded projects. She holds a DBA from Maastricht School of Management (2003 the Netherlands), an M.A. in Economics (1995), and a B.Sc. (1991) in Computer Science, with a minor in Economics from the American University in Cairo.

Issam Abousleiman

Country Director of the GCC, The World Bank

Issam Abousleiman has been the Country Director of the GCC since August 1st, 2018.

Mr. Abousleiman, a Lebanese national, joined the Bank in 1989. His most recent assignment was Country Manager of Colombia in the Latin America and Caribbean Region. Having started his career at the World Bank in the Loans Department, he has since held various positions across the institution, including Head of Financial Advisory and Banking at the World Bank Treasury and Principal Investment Officer in the Banking & Debt Management Department. His regional expertise includes Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America and the Middle East regions.

Mr. Abousleiman is a graduate of the Harvard University Executive Management program, and holds an MBA in finance and investment from George Washington University, as well as an MBA in management from the American University of Beirut. He is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA).

Eman Al-Huraibi

Education and Literacy Consultant with the World Bank Group

Eman Al-Huraibi, Education and Literacy Consultant with the World Bank Group, Eman is working as team member to develop a document that enhances Arabic language skills in the early grades as well as a Arabic screening tool in Saudi Arabia, she has been working with the World Bank since 2018 on the implementation of the SEGRA tool in Saudi Arabia.

Eman certified with a master's degree in learning disabilities in early childhood, she participated as a speaker n the first developmental disorders conference in Saudi Arabia organized by the Ministry of Health to enhance awarness in learning disabilities disorders.

Eman has received two scholarships from Saudi universities for her excellence and has unique practical experience in managing more than 300 scholarships for gifted students in Saudi Arabia, Sudan and Kenya, and participated to get an accreditation of the first social value report in the middle east from the social value UK.

Eman has an interest in Arabic calligraphy, content creation, and she believes that every child has the right to equal educational opportunities..