I was thrilled to present my books on Radio Television Sénégalaise with TV host Khady Ndiaye on a show called Kenkelibaa. I shared the floor with Abdoulaye Fodé Ndione and Antoinette Correa, two leading publishers engaged in developing reading and access to books in West Africa.
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I was at the Musée des civilisations noires in Dakar for a colloquium on bilingualism and bilingual education organized by Laurent Bonardi and Ecole Actuelle Bilingue. Ranka Bijeljac-Babic, Thierry Nazzi, Aliou Seck, and I brought different perspectives on the advantage and importance of bilingual education and bilingualism in our societies, and their potential for cognitive, cultural, and economic development.
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I was in Dakar for Thanksgiving and presented my books, Unequal Partners and Partenaires inégaux at the West African Research Center (WARC). I was equally pleased to visit Université Cheick Anta Diop and exchange with the administrators of Fondation UCAD as well as meet with several professors and students.
Continue readingI was honored to receive the 2019 NY BilingualFair Leader Award. Congrats to fellow award recipients Maria Jaya, Jane Ross, Li Yan, Mariam Moustafa, Mino Lora. Thank you Emmanuel Saint-Martin, French Morning, Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer, NYC Councilman Mark D. Levine for a successful edition.
I was fortunate to be a guest of Sharjah Book Authority during the 2019 Sharjah International Book Fair in the UAE. This was my first time participating in the fair which welcomed over 2 million visitors from the Gulf region and over 60 countries. I took part in a discussion panel debating bilingualism and what the future of diverse bilingual education and communities hold. I also launched the Arabic version of my book, The Bilingual Revolution, thanks to a partnership with Austin Macauley Publishers. Overall, this has been a unique experience which I will never forget.
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During my trip to the Emirates I was invited to visit two Indian schools – Gulf Model School in Dubai and Sharjah Indian School – and address the students. Many had prepared their questions and looked at my bio and website. I enjoyed our exchange and have kept in touch with several students via Instagram.
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I am grateful to Austin Macauley Publishers for the release of my book, The Bilingual Revolution, in the Arabic language: الثورة ثنائية اللغة
I have written The Bilingual Revolution to help families and educators create and develop dual-language programs in their schools. Because I am committed to promoting the teaching of Arabic in schools in the United States, France, and other countries I have featured New York’s Arabic dual-language programs in my book and in articles like this one which was published by The Conversation. The case study that I wrote, Overcoming Prejudice: The City’s Arabic dual-language programs, is available on The Bilingual Revolution’s official webpage at CALEC.org. Through my advocacy, I was able to encourage my book’s many translations and give numerous presentations to encourage families to replicate the success stories of dual-language schools such as PS30’s Arabic dual-language program. I just wish there would be more of these programs around the world as they can truly build bridges between cultures, and foster mutual understanding and respect.
My thanks go to Mariam Moustafa and Majd Sarah for translating this book, Raymond Verdaguer for his powerful artwork, Jade Robertson and her team at Austin Macauley, and Seth and Sylvie Russo for their guidance.
