A panel discussion highlighting international perspectives on women in society has been scheduled for Jan. 20 by the State College chapter of the American Association for University Women (AAUW).
It is a virtual presentation from 6 to 7:30 p.m. and will feature four women who are currently visiting the United States as Penn State Humphrey Fellows.
The program is hosted by AAUW State College and co-sponsored with the Penn State Humphrey Fellows, Altrusa International Centre County, the Community Diversity Group, and Soroptimist International of Centre County. The panel discussion will be moderated by AAUW member Charlene Harrison.
Registration information is available by clicking here. Registrants will receive a confirmation email containing details about joining the meeting.
Scheduled to speak about women in their respective countries are Amina Bektache, educational consultant and English as a foreign language teacher at Management Business International Institute in Setif, Algeria; Shahla Davoodi, English teacher and trainer at the Ministry of Education in Iran; Nagwa Elnwishy, researcher and lecturer in the Institute of Biotechnology for Postgraduate Research at Suez Canal University in Egypt; and Vuyokazi Jamieson, head librarian at St. Andrews College in South Africa.
Bektache is responsible for the design and improvement of educational programs, recruitment and supervision of teachers, and the creation of professional development opportunities. She works as a debate trainer with the British Council Algeria within the Young Mediterranean Voices Program. She is interested in the design, implementation and evaluation of educational programs, and teachers’ professional development.
During her Humphrey Fellowship, she aims to exchange expertise with professionals in education and expand her network for future mutual benefits. Bektache is enjoying the diversity of the United States and its extraordinary multicultural lifestyle.
Davoodi has specialized in computer-assisted language learning and also the psychological aspect of language teaching and learning. She has been working as an English teacher in high school for 22 years and was the head of the English department for more than 10 years. During the past five years, she has run many teacher training courses for high school teachers in various fields of Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL), such as assessment for learning and assessment of learning courses, lesson planning, research methods and linguistics.
She is a doctoral candidate in applied linguistics working on her dissertation on teacher training in the immediacy behavior field. She is focused on teaching English as a foreign language, professional development of teachers and teacher training. She intends to broaden her knowledge and experience in English language teaching strategies and research in this field while at Penn State.
Elnwishy also is responsible for developing postgraduate research programs. Elnwishy started her career at Suez Canal University as an assistant researcher in 1999. In 2013 she was appointed at Zewail City of Science and Technology, Egypt. In addition to lecturing in the environmental engineering department, she served as a bio labs manager, academic adviser for the vice chair of academic affairs, then a director of research.
She has master’s degrees in agriculture science and agricultural and fish resources from the United Nations University, and a doctorate in marine biology from Suez Canal University and Lund University. Her research interests are related to the environment and sustainable development. During her Humphrey Fellowship, she plans to sharpen her leadership skills and build a network in several organizations in the U.S. for future mutual benefits.
Jamieson holds a library science degree from Walter Sisulu University, a library and information science hons from the University of Cape Town, and she completed a master of education degree at Rhodes University. Her research topic is “Studying Learners' Engagement around Literacy.” Her Project 21 aims to build reading clubs to elevate the literacy levels of South African youth and adults.
Her interests include eradicating illiteracy, program design and implementation, and nonprofit fundraising. She hopes to team up with key stakeholders in the U.S. who are responsible for literacy projects; learn effective strategies for program design, planning and implementation; and learn how to set up a nonprofit organization and acquire the skills necessary to write fundraising proposals for her projects.