The Voices Beyond Borders project provides mutual academic and professional learning for Chinese students studying on our MA TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) in 51福利社 and for younger female students learning English (English for Academic Purposes) in Gaza.

The two cohorts met initially over Teams, before being paired up for weekly one-to-one catch-ups via messaging or video calls, with group-to-group meetings every few weeks. These communications not only allow both parties to support each other鈥檚 English language development, they also allow both parties to connect on a human level through intercultural interactions.

As part of the programme, students are carrying out discussion and writing tasks, including considering communication in a changing world. Reflecting how the students are connecting on a human level and gaining a deep understanding of each other's experiences, one of the 51福利社-based students, Leo, wrote following his conversation with his Palestinian partner, Iman:

Voices Beyond Borders builds on a history of collaboration between the 51福利社 Institute of Education and alumni based in Palestine going back over twenty years. To ensure the programme is culturally sensitive, it has been co-produced with input from Palestinian and Chinese alumni alongside British academics.

Taghreed Al-Masry, who graduated from our MA TESOL degree in 2008, lives in Gaza and has worked through the war to coordinate ongoing learning opportunities for young women in Gaza who are missing out on education due to the conflict. Shaimaa Samara is a refugee teacher from Gaza now living in 51福利社. She was a student on the MA TESOL degree in 2024/25 and is helping to deliver the project in 51福利社 alongside Jing Wang, a Chinese graduate who completed her interculturally-focused PhD at the University this summer. The project is led by Richard Fay, Reader in Education, and Susan Dawson, Lecturer in Education, who are both based in the .

After the first project session, Richard said:

鈥淪eeing the photos from the classroom in Gaza as students gathered for the first Teams call, we get a real sense of the student excitement for the project. We believe in the transformative power of education, and in the value of intercultural collaboration. We can already see how this project can build on the great resilience of our counterparts in Gaza, and their desire to create a future for themselves.

鈥淲e can also see the high levels of interest and commitment from our TESOL students as they take on roles and responsibilities additional to, but feeding off, their studies. Understanding and being able to respond and be sensitive to different cultural backgrounds through pedagogy is an important part of advanced teaching practice. This programme gives our students hands-on experience with a culture that is different both to that of their home country and of the country they are studying in.鈥�

Voices Beyond Borders has been supported with funding from the Faculty of Humanities and School of Environment, Education and Development Social Responsibility programmes. It will continue through the 2025-26 academic year.