Fulbright-Egypt Foreign Languages Conference: Supporting Bilingual Education and Celebrating 20 Years of the FLTA Program
Fulbright-Egypt Foreign Languages Conference: Supporting Bilingual Education and Celebrating 20 Years of the FLTA Program
On June 23, the Binational Fulbright Commission in Egypt (BFCE) hosted the Fulbright-Egypt Foreign Languages Conference: Supporting Bilingual Education and Celebrating 20 Years of the FLTA Program, which featured alumni presentations, keynote speeches and a plenary panel to showcase Fulbright alumni talent and accomplishments. The conference was attended by 218 participants, of which 142 are Fulbright alumni of the Egyptian Student; Egyptian Scholar; Scholar in Residence; Junior Faculty Development Program (JFDP); Hubert H. Humphrey fellowship; Integrated English Language Program (IELP); the U.S. Student and the U.S. Scholar programs. They were joined by ESL educators representing all 28 public universites in Egypt; the 4 national universities: Alamien; Galala; New Mansoura and King Salman; in addition to Al-Azhar University, the American University in Cairo and several private universities. BFCE Executive Director Dr. Maggie Nassif welcomed the guests and expressed the Commission’s gratitude for the partnerships with the prominent academic institutions represented by the audience whose support over 75 years has resulted in training impressive Egyptian and American talent. Dr. Nassif highlighted one of the more recent initiatives where the Commission partnered with members of the Board: Minister Counselor for Public Diplomacy, Mr. Ruben Harutunian, the Regional English Language Office (RELO) team at the U.S. Embassy in Cairo, and Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Egyptian Universities, Dr. Mustafa Rifaat, to support the creation of the newly founded Languages Committee of the Supreme Council of Universities.
Dr. Ola Adel, Co-Chair of the Languages Committee of the Supreme Council of Universities and Vice President of King Salman International University gave the opening keynote, while Fulbright alumna Dr. Karma Sami, Director of the National Center for Translation gave the closing keynote. The plenary session included presentations by the BFCE team and the RELO who shared State Department funded opportunities for English teachers and learners. This was followed by an alumni-led plenary panel titled: “Advancing Language Learning and Empowering Educators across Education Stages.” The session was was moderated by Fulbright Scholar alumnus Dr. Osama Madany, Dean of Faculty of Languages at Pharos University and Member of the Languages Committee of the Supreme Council of Universities. Speakers include: Fulbright FLTA alumna Dr. Amina ElHalawani, Associate Professor at Alexandria University who spoke on “Building Bridges, Crossing Barriers, and Developing Global Classrooms”; Junior Faculty Development Program (JFDP) alumna Dr. Amira ElSayed, Assistant Professor at Ain Shams University who spoke on “Empowering English Teachers in Egypt’s Applied Technology Schools: A Two-Year Professional Development Journey” and Hubert H. Humphrey alumna Dr. Shaimaa Mohamed, EFL Curriculum Expert at the Ministry of Education who spoke on “Enhancing Professional Development for EFL Preparatory Teachers in Egyptian Public Schools to Strengthen EFL Curriculum Implementation”.
Concurrent Sessions
Arabic in Action: Global Perspectives on Teaching Arabic as a Foreign Language
FLTA alumni speakers: Dr. Amr Rabie-Ahmed; Ms. Aya Younes; Ms. Heba Sharaf; Ms. Pensée Atef Ismael and Ms. Sara Magdy M. Mohamed. Fulbright Egyptian Scholar Program alumna Dr. Jehan Farouk served as discussant.
Innovative Pedagogies in Foreign Language Instruction
FLTA alumni speakers: Ms. Hadeer Abd Elnaby Eid, Academic Supervisor at The Pro English Academy; Ms. Hagar ElSayed Seddiek, Instructor at The American University in Cairo; Dr. Mahmoud Refaat, Assistant Professor of English Literature at the Sohag University; Ms. Nermeen Salem, Co-Founder and Director at the Limelight Art School – Rufy’s Films; Ms. Nihal El-Gameel, TAFL Graduate Student atThe American University in Cairo; Ms. Norhan Magdy Hassan Ismail Mohamed, Middle School English Teacher at the Core West College International School and Ms. Ola Bakri, English Instructor. The session was moderated by Fulbright alumna of the Integrated English Language Program (IELP) Dr. Samar Abdel Salam at Ain Shams University and Member of the Languages Committee of the Supreme Council of Universities.
Beyond the Blackboard: AI, Tech, and the Future of Language Assessment
FLTA alumni speakers: Dr. Faten ElKafrawy from Modern Sciences and Arts University; Ms. Lamees Mahmoud SaadEldin Aboelliel from Cairo University; Dr. Nohayer E. Lotfy from the British University in Egypt; Ms. Reem Hafez from the German International University; Ms. Sarah Moussa from the Forsan American School; Ms. Shahenda Hussein, English Instructor and Junior Faculty Development Program (JFDP) alumna from Aswan University Dr. Asmaa Mikdam. Fulbright Egyptian Scholar Program alumna Dr. Ghada Abdel Hafeez, Professor from Minia University and JFDP alumna Dr. Maha Hamed, Associate Professor from Misr International University served as discussants.
Empowering Voices through Language, Culture and Literature
FLTA alumni speakers: Ms. Maha Ahmed ElKinani from Modern American School of Egypt; Ms. Marwa Hosny Abdelmageed from IBO/Europa Schule Neu Kairo; Mr. Muhammad Zakaria Wafa from Dover International School; Ms. Nahed Yousry Mohamed from Students for HOPES; Dr. Samah ElSaid from Mansoura University; Ms. Eman Fathallah from AUC; Ms. Alaa Zaid, Translator and Interpreterand Fulbright Egyptian Scholar Program alumna from Ain Shams University Dr. Mayy ElHayawi. Fulbright Egyptian Scholar Program alumna Dr. Sahar Sobhi Abdel Hakim from Cairo University moderated the session.
