Sharifah Salmah Binti Abdullah
is a dynamic professional with a multifaceted career. She possesses extensive experience in adult education, specialising in leadership and essential soft skills like business acumen, critical thinking, and emotional intelligence. Besides, her background in English as a Second Language (ESL) and training the trainers has provided her with a deep understanding of language education and adult learning. With valuable experience at Microsoft, she played a pivotal role in promoting Microsoft technology for education and public sectors. Holding an International Masters of Adult Education for Social Change from the University of Glasgow, she currently leads Salome.my, a women-led entrepreneurial venture in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Salome.my is committed to creating a sustainable, conscious, purposeful, and unique lifestyle brand, with a strong dedication to giving back to society.
Thi Bogossian
(Ph.D.) is Teaching Fellow in Global Development, University of East Anglia. Thi has an interdisciplinary background (Human Geography, Education, and Sociology) and research interests in issues of education and difference, including migration, ethnicity, race, gender, sexuality, and the natural environment. In addition to teaching experience in higher education, they also have experience teaching Geography in secondary schools and community education settings in Brazil. They have published papers, commentaries, and reviews in journals such as International Studies in Sociology of Education, Postcolonial Directions in Education, and Ethnic and Racial Studies.
Lauren Bouttell
is a post-graduate researcher at the University of East Anglia (UEA) in Norwich. Her PhD thesis explores how adult learning in organisations supporting sanctuary seekers in the UK relates to social transformation. She is an active member of the UNESCO Chair in Adult Literacy and Learning for Social Transformation and the University of Sanctuary groups at UEA. Lauren has worked as an English language teacher, and she currently volunteers with charities supporting sanctuary seekers in Norwich.
Preeti Dagar
is a Lecturer in Education Policy at the School of Education, University of Glasgow. Preeti’s research focuses on skills development, sustainable live
Anyela Nathalie Gomez Deantonio
is a Colombian who currently leads two disability programmes for autistic children in Malta. She is an IMAESC graduate who also has collaborated as a consultant for the UNESCO Lifelong Learning Centre and has international experience in the field of inclusion, including research, the disability sector, family contexts and overall education.
Lidiane Nunes de Castro
is a doctoral candidate in Audiovisual Communication and Advertising at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB) in Spain. She holds a Master’s degree in Adult Education for Social Change (IMAESC), and a Master’s degree in Humanities, Cultures, and Arts from UNIGRANRIO, along with specialization in Cinema and Audiovisual Language from UNESA in Brazil. She also has Bachelor’s degrees in Advertising from UNIGRANRIO and in Cultural Production from UFF in Brazil. She researches the representation of LGBT+ characters in fiction series and conducts other studies in the field of gender and sexuality. She is an active participant in research groups GENI and Nephi-Jor in Brazil, and GRISS in Spain.
Raquel Galeano Gimenez
is an IMAESC graduate (2019–2021) working as an Associate Tutor in the School of Education at the University of Glasgow. She has more than two decades experience as an English and Spanish language educator and has been an active volunteer in the Erasmus Mundus Student and Alumni Association (EMA) since 2020. In 2023, she co-developed the Mindful Mundus Project with three fellow EMA volunteers, creating a mental health and cultural competence project by and for Erasmus Mundus students. Her research interests include adult education, widening participation, social equality, and intercultural language education. Her experience includes work in educational institutions in her native Paraguay, Scotland, and Russia.
Ksenija Joksimović
is a social justice activist and educator working in the field of critical, anti-oppressive education for social transformation. They hold a B.A. in Adult Education, a Master’s degree in Adult Education for Social Change, a postgraduate
Kainat Khurshid
is an Assistant Manager for the Community Engagement Collective at IRD, Pakistan. She holds a Master’s degree in Adult Education for Social Change. Kainat translates research and insights into potential behaviour change communications and innovations. Her work requires her to liaise directly with the communities. Kainat believes in the transformative power of arts. She has developed and implemented arts-based community engagement initiatives to address HIV stigma, vaccine hesitancy, and mental health concerns for various public health programs. If you come across someone passionately talking about the power of performance arts to spark critical conversations, that’s probably her!
Robert Livingston
is an Employability and Entrepreneurship Advisor at the Norwich University of the Arts where he assists students to map their skills, make career plans, and prepare themselves for life after university. His previous work includes English language teaching, lecturing at a vocational medical college, and work in the private employability sector. Robert completed the international Master’s degree in Adult Education for Social Change through the University of Glasgow where he focused his research on how volunteer English teachers learn to teach.
Peter Mayo
is Professor and UNESCO Chair in Global Adult Education, University of Malta. This is his 25th book, only nine of which are edited. Widely published, he is the editor of Brill’s series ‘International Issues in Adult Education’, editor of Convergence: An International Adult Education Journal and founding editor of Postcolonial Directions in Education. He has been inducted into the International Adult Continuing Education Hall of Fame.
Sonia Medel
is an interdisciplinary artist, curator, and scholar. She is currently completing a PhD in Society, Culture, and Politics in Education at the University of British Columbia, whilst also working as a lead on diverse artistic and publishing projects, including her first feature length documentary film, an autobiographical fiction book, and co-choreographic works with women dancers in Europe, the
Yunah Park
is a Lifelong Learning Specialist dedicated to advancing educational opportunities and empowering social minorities. She worked at the UNESCO Regional Bureau for Science and Culture in Europe, where she played a pivotal role in promoting lifelong learning opportunities for all. Yunah earned her Master’s in Adult Education for Social Change from the University of Glasgow, and her Master’s thesis examined the application of UNESCO’s Key Features of Learning Cities by comparing Korea and Finland. Yunah’s journey into the world of lifelong learning has taken her to diverse places, collaborating with governments and non-governmental organizations to achieve SDG 4.3.
Zainab Sa’id Sa’ad
teaches at the Federal University Dutse, Jigawa state, Nigeria. With several academic backgrounds in Islamic Studies (BA Edu, Nigeria), Business Management (MA, Newcastle-upon-Tyne), Education Planning & Administration (MEd, Malaysia), and Adult Education for Social Change (IntM, Scotland), she has multiple interests in developing non-formal adult education programs that address everyday life challenges. She is committed to designing adult learning programs that address and take into consideration contextual factors, better suited and adapted to providing more effective and sustainable solutions to modern challenges of everyday life and living. She is currently a doctoral candidate at the University of Calgary in Alberta, Canada.
Bonnie Slade
is Professor of Adult Education for Social Change at the University of Glasgow. She is interested in how adult education, across a variety of contexts (workplace, higher education, community) can work as a tool for social change and individual empowerment. Her interdisciplinary research draws on adult education, labour studies, migration studies, gender studies and arts-informed research traditions to explore issues related to informal learning, migration, STEM and the labour market. Since 2001 she has presented her research at more than eighty national and international conferences, and has published
Gameli Tordzro
is Artist in Residence of UNESCO Chair in Refugee Integration through Languages and The Arts, and a Research Associate of the Migration for Equality and Development Hub (MIDEQ) at University of Glasgow. He is a Ghanaian poet, multidisciplinary arts practitioner and consultant in music, film, theatre for development, storytelling and fashion. He is the founder of Ha Orchestra and the AdinkraLinks Network. Tordzro publishes the Adinkra Poetry Anthology series. He is a Critics Award for Theatre in Scotland (CATS Awards 2015) winner for Music and Sound for his work on ‘Last Dream (On Earth)’.
Agnieszka Uflewska
holds a Doctor of Philosophy in Education from the University of Glasgow, complemented by advanced degrees in international relations, foreign service, and research methodologies. With a career traversing academia and international cooperation, she is passionately committed to a global shift towards planet-centred, peaceful, collaborative, and sustainable educational approaches. As a mentor and staunch advocate for student growth, she has been empowering an emerging generation of ethical and empathetic Lifelong-Learning professionals in the Age of Artificial Intelligence.
Aisara Yessenova
is a PhD Fellow in Educational Research at the University of Copenhagen. She has a diverse background in Adult Education for Social Change, Multilingual Education, and Teaching English. Aisara has designed and delivered learning programmes related to teacher training in Central Asia, adult ESOL in Glasgow and Malta, and conversational English classes in Estonia. Her research interests include education and migration, language teaching, and sociocultural theories. Aisara is a researcher and educator with experience in language teaching, adult education, and empirical research. Overall, Aisara’s work focuses on understanding the intersection of education, language, and culture, particularly in the context of migration and social change.