Speakers biographies

Amna is the Manager of Kalimat Foundation, a Sharjah and UAE based nonprofit organization, which aims to provide different Arabic reading material to children in conflict areas, deprived communities and children who have sight deficiencies. In her current role, Amna supervises the development of a global network of partners and beneficiaries, ensures seamless operation and delivery of books to children around the world, and manages sponsorships and government relations programs.

Website: www.kalimatfoundation.ae/en/

Marion is a French graphic designer, illustrator and author for children. For 20 years she has been studying the pop-up technique. She has used it for several books such as Livre de lettres (Thierry Magnier, 1999) and Bruits (2005). Her Op-Up project, an alphabet constructed through movement in space, was published in 2008 in nine countries with the title of ABC3D. The book won several awards such as IBBY Honour list (Switzerland, 2010), Meggendorfer Prize (New York, 2010), Night of the Book Award (2009), The Most Beautiful French Books (2008). She has worked for different publishing houses and magazines such as Le Monde, Libération, Gallimard, Télérama, Bayard, Dada magazine, Centre Pompidou, Seuil, Rouergue, Thierry Magnier. She runs courses and workshops for adults and children on typography and alphabets.

Website: www.marionbataille.com

Denis lives in Moscow, Russia. He graduated from Moscow Paleontological University (2005-2010). Since 2012 he has worked at the Russian State Children’s Library (RSCL), and for the last five years he has been Head of the Cultural Programmes Department. Member of the Hans Christian Andersen Award jury in 2018 and 2020, he is a poet, critic and translator (published translations from English and Spanish). Among Denis’s key responsibilities is management and coordination of large-scale library projects focused on reading promotion among children and teenagers. He is a member of the organization team for IBBY Congress 2020 in Moscow.

Website: www.ibbycongress2020.org

Carole, from South Africa, is currently the Executive Director of PRAESA - the Project for the Study of Alternative Education, an independent research and development unit affiliated with the University of Cape Town. Its off-shoot Nal’ibali applies her groundbreaking research in children’s literacy in multilingual environments in practical settings. She has produced many publications including the creation of 16 Little Hands books for babies in 2014, the first books for babies in all 11 of South Africa’s official languages. Under her leadership, PRAESA received the 2014 IBBY-Asahi Reading Promotion Award and, in 2015, the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award (ALMA) for children’s literature and reading promotion. She was elected to the IBBY Executive Committee in 2016 and is IBBY Vice President for the term 2018-2020.
Website: www.praesa.org.za

Hasmig was born and grew up in Lebanon. She holds a PhD in children’s literature from University Paris 13. She’s in charge of the Arab World at the National Centre for Children’s Literature, a service of the French National Library. She’s also in charge of IBBY France and liaison officer for Europe in the 2018-2020 IBBY Executive Committee. Hasmig collaborates on the Centre’s various publications, works on promoting reading and children’s literature and holds training sessions in France and abroad.
 
Website: cnlj.bnf.fr/ibby_france

Mishti works for Mantra Lingua, a UK publisher, which connects communities through bilingual picture books and award-winning interactive e-books covering 47 languages, including Arabic, Farsi, French, Kurdish- Sorani, Kurdish-Kurmanji, Somali, Spanish, Tigrinya, Turkish, Urdu… with English. Mantra Lindgua works with partners in Norway and Sweden to replace the English text in their books with Norwegian and Swedish respectively, and through Divibib supplies libraries in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Their technologies allow low print runs so it is possible to customise books in languages appropriate for specific needs. Recent initiatives have included bilingual books in Totonac, a Mexican indigenous language, and interactive books in Cherokee for the Cherokee Nation. Engaging, Effective and Educational, Mantra Lingua resources are for multilingual libraries, classrooms and communities.

Website: www.mantralingua.com

Eva studied Comparative Cultural Studies, Communication Studies and Library Science. She started working for the National Centre of Children’s Literature in 2000 and since 2006 has worked for the Flemish Reading Association, Ledereen Leest (Everybody Reads). She is the librarian of a professional library for children’s literature and reading promotion and coordinates a reading advice website for children and young people. In 2002 she joined the Flemish branch of IBBY-Belgium as the liaison officer and in 2015 she became president of the same IBBY-section.
 
Website: www.iedereenleest.be

Pam worked in London in the school library sector and as a university lecturer in children’s literature. She has been the chair of IBBY UK since 2014 and is involved in many international projects to support this work. She is also the chair of the Akili Trust, a small charity that has been working in Kenya since 2008, and is a trustee for Book Aid International. She was the advisory editor of Children’s Literature in a Multiliterate World, published by UCL Institute of Education Press, 2018.
 
Website: www.ibby.org.uk

After studying German Literature and Catholic Theology in Graz and Media Science in Berlin, Sabine was part of the research project on “Austrian Literature in National Socialism” at the KF-University in Graz for seven years. In addition, she worked as a teacher at different schools. She is now the University College Professor of Children’s Literature and Teaching Methodology in German /Literature and Head of the KiJuLit Centre for Research and Didactics of Children’s Literature at University College of Teacher Education in Graz/Styria. She was one of the founders of the Austrian Research Society for Children’s and Youth Literature and is Liaison Officer of IBBY Austria. Her main interests are Children’s Literature, picture books, media and didactics.
 
Website: www.jugendliteratur.at

Leila is an animator at the Moroccan Avicenna Association (Associazione interculturale Avicenna) in Bologna. She teaches Arabic to children and is also a volunteer reader of the Italian Nati per Leggere project, conducting readings and activities in schools in Arabic and Italian.
 
Website: www.facebook.com/pages/category/Education/Associazione-interculturale-Av...

Christine is Emeritus Professor of English at the University of Strasbourg, France. She has taught courses in sociolinguistics, bilingual education and didactics of plurilingualism at the Graduate School of Education of the University of Strasbourg (France) since 1991. From 1975 to 1990, she was a lecturer in Applied Linguistics at the National University of Ireland (Maynooth College) and director of the Language Centre. As a sociolinguist, her research focuses on language in education policies, bi-multilingual education, intercultural education, language awareness, early childhood education, and children’s literature and multiliteracy. Her PhD thesis was entitled Child Bilingualism: a linguistic and sociolinguistic study. Since 2009, Christine has been a visiting professor on the Master in Bilingual Education run by the University Pablo de Olavide (Sevilla, Spain). In 2011-2012, she was a guest professor at the Goethe University of Frankfurt Am Main (Germany). In 2016 she was awarded a distinguished fellowship at ARC (Advanced Research Collaborative) at the Graduate Centre, CUNY (USA).
 
Website: www.christinehelot.u-strasbg.fr

Amaia was born in the Northern Basque Country in 1972. She became a writer and illustrator of children’s and young adult literature in the year 2000, when she published her first illustrated book. The production of children’s literature in Basque showed major gaps at the time. Amaia has taught 3–12 year-olds for 20 years, and children’s literature has always been the basis of this work, with the aim of making her students keen readers and writers. She has published 11 illustrated books to date, and is currently the artistic director of the KIRIBIL art company, as well as an actress and storyteller. She was recently appointed president of the GALTZAGORRI Association, where she takes part in activities intended to promote and develop children’s and young adult literature produced in the Basque language.
 
Website: www.galtzagorri.eus

Barbara is project manager at the Swiss Institute for Children’s and Youth Media SIKJM, Zurich. She has a degree in German Literature and Language, Art History and English Literature. She was a former assistant at the IBBY Secretariat and a librarian at a high school. She has worked at the SIKJM since 2003 in the area of reading promotion with a focus on early education, picture books, and teaching and further education for librarians, early childhood educators and primary school teachers. She is responsible for the two year trainee program and is a Reading Facilitator SIKKIM and for the Bookstart programme. She is a board member of Baobab Books, Basel.
 
Website: www.sikjm.ch

Myriam holds a bachelor’s degree in Psychology and a degree as a Corporate Documentalist. She is currently the coordinator of extracurricular groups, adolescents, and social and cultural centres within the library network of Châlons-en-Champagne, after previously working for the youth sector of the Daniel Rondeau Library at Epernay. She is involved in the acquisition of books for the foreign languages department for children. She has previously worked as a trainer and pedagogical manager for the IRTS (Institute of Social Work) of Reims, in bookstores and in a neighbourhood house. She is a member of the ABF (Association of Librarians of France) of Champagne Ardenne.
 
Website: www.bm.chalonsenchampagne.fr

Giovanna is a librarian. She has worked in public libraries for 18 years and was in a small municipality near Milan until 2009. Since 2011 she has worked for the Nati per Leggere Secretariat. She has specific responsibility for relations with libraries and publishers. She is member of the Italian Libraries Association (Associazione Italiana Biblioteche) and IBBY Italy.
 
Website: www.natiperleggere.it

Aïcha has bachelor degrees in English language and in French as a Foreign Language, and a library assistant diploma obtained at the ABF (Association of Librarians of France) of Champagne Ardenne. After working as an English language teacher in various schools in the Reims academic district, for six years, she held a post of sociocultural facilitator at the social and cultural centre of the Saint Pierre Valley, in Châlons-en-Champagne. She is now a reference librarian for schools for the Châlons-en-Champagne library network. She is also involved in book acquisitions for the language department for adults and children.
 
Website: www.bm.chalonsenchampagne.fr

Enrica is a librarian at the Salaborsa Ragazzi in Bologna (Italy) and is in charge of the development of collections in foreign languages and projects for social inclusion and cultural diversity.
 
Website: www.bibliotecasalaborsa.it/ragazzi/

Elena was born in Bologna (Italy). She studied Classic Literature at the University of Bologna and in 1982 started her career as PR and press officer. She joined BolognaFiere in 1987, first as Special Events manager, then as project manager of the Bologna Children’s Book Fair. She left the company in 2006 to join the University of Bologna Foundation where she directed the Communication Area. Back to BolognaFiere in 2011, in 2014 she was appointed exhibition manager of the Bologna Children’s Book Fair.
 
Website: www.bookfair.bolognafiere.it

Antonella is a librarian at the Salaborsa Ragazzi in Bologna (Italy) and is in charge of the development of collections for children 0-6. She runs training for librarians and teachers on books and reading for 0-6 years and on the promotion of books and reading in multilingual environments.
 
Website: www.bibliotecasalaborsa.it/ragazzi/

Silvija has worked at the National Library of Latvia since 1979. She has acquired the degree of Master of Library and Information Sciences at the University of Latvia. Silvija is now Head of the Children’s Literature Centre. She says her greatest personal achievements are connected with the development and successful implementation of the programme for promoting reading in the whole state and in the Latvian centres abroad. This programme involves about 20,000 children between the ages of 5–18 years, making them active critical readers. This has a positive impact on the processes of writing, translation and publishing of children’s books in the state. From 1997-2003 she was the first President of the Latvian Section of IBBY and is at present the Liaison Officer. She is an author of more than 40 publications in professional journals, and is co-author of many text books.
 
Website: www.facebook.com/IBBYLV/

Mingzhou graduated from the Shanghai International Studies University and worked in the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs. After he left the Ministry he joined CBBY as Deputy Secretary General. He was elected to the IBBY EC from 2008 to 2012 and was the 2012 Chair of the IBBY-Asahi Reading Promotion Award. He served in IBBY EC again in 2014 and as IBBY Vice-President from 2016-18. He was the organizer of the 30th IBBY World Congress held in Macau, China in 2006. Until 2018 Mingzhou was also the General Manager of the CCPPG (Chinese Children’s Press and Publications Group) International division. He is a board director of China Publishers Association and Executive Vice-President of China Children’s Literature Research Society.Migzhou Zhang was elected President of IBBY 2018-2020.
 
Website: www.ccppg.com.cn