Meet the Team
The Seen and Heard team comprises academics, activists artists, educators, filmmakers, illustrators, authors, poets, designers and students.
The academic research falls under Dr Giuliana Fenech of the University of Malta (Principal Investigator), Dr Justyna Deszcz-Tryhubczak of the University of Wroclaw (Lead Investigator) and Dr Farriba Schulz of the University of Berlin (Lead Investigator).
The children’s book and human rights education components are led by Nicky Parker (Lead Consultant) and Katarzyna Salejko, both on behalf of Amnesty International Poland.
Our Team
Dr Giuliana Fenech
Dr Giuliana Fenech is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of English at the University of Malta, specialising in work involving children and young adult literature and citizenship, agency, creative protest, and activism. She combines research with cultural and artistic community projects involving stories, multimedia, cultural heritage, and youth.
Among these projects, as part of an Erasmus K2 project on Creative SDGs led by Esplora Interactive Science Centre in Malta, Giuliana directed a team of researchers and storytellers researching the representation of girls in science stories for children. In May 2022, Giuliana convened the circuit conference The Child and the Book, themed, ‘The Role of the Child as Citizen: Constructing Childhood through Agency and Activism’ in Malta. She is the editor of two forthcoming volumes; ‘The Role of the Child as Citizen (2023)’ and ‘Geopolitics, Activism, and Citizenship in Children’s and Young Adult Literature’ (2024).
Additionally, Giuliana runs a storytelling organisation, Lignin Stories, which has worked with diverse groups of children and youths in Malta and various other European countries, including Italy and Scotland.
Principal Investigator
University of Malta, Malta
Dr Justyna Deszcz-Tryhubczak
Dr Justyna Deszcz-Tryhubczak is Associate Professor of Literature at the Institute of English Studies, University of Wrocław.
She has published on children’s culture, new materialism, and posthumanism. Intergenerational Solidarity in Children’s Literature and Film (2021), which Justyna co-edited with Zoe Jacques, received the 2023 Edited Book Award from the International Research Society for Children’s Literature. She also co-edited (with Irena Barbara Kalla) Children’s Literature and Intergenerational Relationships: Encounters of the Playful Kind (2021) and Rulers of Literary Playgrounds: Politics of Intergenerational Play in Children’s Literature (2021), and (with Macarena García-González) Children’s Cultures after Childhood (2023).
In 2017-2021, Justyna served on the IRSCL executive board. In 2018-2024, she was the University of Wrocław coordinator of the Erasmus Mundus International Master: Children’s Literature, Media and Culture. Justyna is also a Fulbright, Kosciuszko, and Marie Skłodowska-Curie fellow and a grantee of the Polish Foundation for Science and the Polish National Agency for Academic Exchange.
Lead Investigator
University of Wrocław, Poland
Dr Farriba Schulz
Dr Farriba Schulz is a Senior Lecturer in the Institute of Education at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin and Universität Potsdam. She was the Visiting Professor of Primary Education in the Department of German at Technische Universität Dresden, Germany, and worked as a guest lecturer at Freie Universität Berlin.
Her main research interest centres on construction of childhoods, (visual) literacy and inclusion, working collaboratively together with schools, libraries, museums, the international literature festival berlin (ilb) and artists.
She’s worked in the past on several projects that explore issues of ‘diversity’ and inclusivity working with children’s literature, including an international research project with Maureen Maisha Auma and Melanie Ramdarshan Bold.
She is a jury member of the GEW literature award “Lesepeter”, a member of the advisory board of the circuit conference, The Child and the Book, and co-editor of the book Political Changes and Transformations in Twentieth and Twenty-first Century Children’s Literature (2023).
Lead Investigator
Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Germany
Nicky Parker
Nicky Parker is a specialist in children’s literature and human rights, who has worked with Amnesty International for over 20 years. She has developed many books and literary projects using a human rights lens, including We Are All Born Free: the UDHR in Pictures (2008), published in 35 languages. With Cheltenham Festivals, she co-created ‘Words That Burn’ (2016), a spoken word resource for school students to explore and express human rights through poetry.
She established the Amnesty CILIP Honour (2016-18), a human rights commendation for books on the Carnegie and Kate Greenaway Medal shortlist. She was lead writer of Know Your Rights and Claim Them: A Guide for Youth (2021), with Angelina Jolie and Professor Geraldine Van Bueren QC and is the author of These Rights Are Your Rights: An empowering guide for children everywhere (2024). From 2016-22 she was Chair of Trustees of the Centre for Literacy in Primary Education (CLPE) and is on the steering group of Reflecting Realities, a change-making annual survey of ethnic representation in British children’s books. She is a trustee of English PEN.
Lead Consultant
Amnesty International, Poland
Katarzyna Salejko
Katarzyna Salejko leads the Human Rights Education team at Amnesty International Poland. She is responsible for designing educational programs for both children and adults. As an educator, facilitator, and author, she develops didactic materials on human rights, youth activism, and civic engagement.
She holds a Master of Arts degree in International Relations from the University of Warsaw.
Human Rights Educator
Amnesty International, Poland
Giuliana Barbaro-Sant
Giuliana Barbaro-Sant holds a Masters in English and the Media from the Department of English at the University of Malta. In her role as Research Support Officer for the Seen and Heard project, she manages the creative department.
She is involved in the creation, marketing, management and development of cultural and artistic projects, that ranges from community projects at grassroots level, managing the internationalisation initiatives for Valletta 2018 European Capital of Culture, up to the management of Creative Europe and Erasmus+ projects.
Currently, Giuliana is the lead responsible for the development of projects and initiatives at the National Agency for the Performing Arts (Malta). Giuliana was a member of the organising team of a number of conferences hosted by the Department of English, with the most recent one being The Child and The Book Conference 2022.
Research Support Officer
Malta
Sandy Calleja Portelli
Sandy Calleja Portelli is a Research Support Officer with the Department of English at the University of Malta. She has a Diploma in Social Studies (Gender & Development), a BA (Hons) in English and a MA in English, Culture and the Media.
Sandy has experience in working with schools to coordinate storytelling as part of the Culture Pass programme organised by the Malta Arts Council. She was previously involved as a researcher in an Erasmus K2 project led by Esplora Interactive Science Centre in Malta, researching the representation of girls in science in children’s literature. Sandy was a member of the organising team of The Child and The Book Conference 2022.
Research Support Officer
Malta
Charlie Cauchi
Charlie Cauchi is a British-Maltese interdisciplinary artist, published researcher and filmmaker.
She combines documentary, research and fiction to create hybrid forms of expression. Charlie holds a BA and a MA in Film Studies from Queen Mary University of London.
She has worked in the production department of several foreign productions. However, in 2017, she founded Sajjetta, an independent audiovisual production company. She was selected as part of the CIRCLE Women Doc Accelerator Lab 2019 and is currently working on a feature-length documentary, Taurodont, supported by Arts Council Malta.
Charlie is also the co-founder and curator of Rosa Kwir, Malta’s first LGBTQI+ gallery and archive, working with artist Romeo Roxman Gatt. Her video work forms part of Malta’s national collection. Charlie’s solo shows include Backlot (Spazju Kreattiv, 2023. Malta), Scheherazade (Valletta Contemporary, 2019. Malta), and Latitude 36 (Blitz, 2018. Malta). Her work has formed part of group shows in Malta, Vienna and Berlin.
Audiovisual Director & Filmmaker
Uli Decker
Uli Decker was born and raised in Bavaria, South Germany. After a year abroad in Brazil’s Amazon region, she studied Spanish, Portuguese and Latin American Literature, Theater and Film Studies at King’s College London, Humboldt Universität zu Berlin and Universidad Complutense, Madrid. Master’s degree in Creative Documentary Film at Universidad Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona.
Since 2009 own short films, TV reports, documentaries as director and cinematographer. Her most recent movie “ANIMA – My Father’s Dresses”, a hybrid documentary about love, family secrets and gender roles, received many national and international awards, among them Max Ophüls Audience and Jury Award, Bavarian Film Award 2022, Best International Documentary at FIDBA, Buenos Aires, Best Documentary at Bend Film Festival US and many others. Uli Decker lives in Berlin, works as a film director and author and teaches film at schools and universities.
Filmmaker
Ed Dingli
Ed Dingli is an illustrator & designer whose work is driven by socio-political, cultural and environmental subjects. He feels driven to respond to worldly injustices with vibrant visuals that aim to connect with, support or inspire viewers.
His style is continually developing as he is actively experimenting with form and technique, using different methods of printmaking and exploring both analogue and digital processes. Following graduation from Malta’s Institute of Art & Design, Ed moved to the UK to continue his studies in graphic communication at the University for the Creative Arts (UCA), where he culminated his studies with a thesis on social responsibility & ethics in design. Following this, Ed worked for London based creative studio Nice and Serious, where he worked on creative campaigns for the United Nations Development Programme, WWF and Refugee Action among others.
More recently, Ed moved to Portugal where he works as an independent artist and freelance illustrator with a focus on creating impactful visuals for causes including human rights, climate action and environmental regeneration.
Art Director
Chris Riddell
A multi-award winning artist and one of the UK’s top contemporary illustrators and cartoonists, Chris Riddell is often celebrated for his inclusion of themes of ‘otherness’ and tolerance in books for young audiences without ever becoming didactic or pedantic. His own books include the highly-acclaimed Ottoline titles and the 2013 Costa Children’s Book Award-winning Goth Girl. He was appointed the UK Children’s Laureate in 2015 in recognition of his outstanding achievements in children’s literature.
Credit: Macmillan Children’s Books (2017)
Illustrator
Sita Brahmachari
An internationally award-winning British author of children’s and young adult novels, novellas, short stories, poetry and plays, Sita has been Book Trust Writer in Residence and an Amnesty International UK Ambassador. She is Associate Lecturer in Children’s and YA Literature at Goldsmiths University and is Writer in Residence at Islington Centre for Refugees and Migrants. She is also a Royal Literary Fellow, a Fellow of The Society of Authors and an Honorary Member of the Youth Libraries Group.
Sita’s books have won and been shortlisted for many awards, including the Waterstones Children’s Book Award, Carnegie and UKLA awards. In 2018 she was honoured by The International Board of Books for Young People. In 2023 she was shortlisted for the Ruth Rendell Literacy Award. She has an MA in Arts Education and has worked widely in diverse communities to mentor new writing. Her workshops with refugee children contributed to the story of the globally award-winning animation Footsteps on The Wind (2020). She runs many creative workshops and speaks regularly at national and international festivals and in schools.
Author
Andres Felipe Algeciras Marquez
A skilled professional in audiovisual media, specialising in motion graphics and video editing, Andres sees animation and film as magical tools that infuse everyday life with enchantment, connecting human stories and broadening our perspectives. His journey began at Politecnico Grancolombiano University, where he cultivated his skills and creativity, later venturing into diverse collaborations with social and cultural institutions in Colombia, particularly in ecological and musical spheres.
In 2017, Andres relocated to Malta to immerse himself in its dynamic film industry, as a versatile editor, motion graphic designer and digital image technician, contributing to both commercial and independent films across fiction and non-fiction genres. His talents have been showcased at prolific events such as the Valletta Film Festival, Kinemastik Short Film Festival, and Valletta Pageant of the Seas. Beyond his professional pursuits, Andres revels in cultural exploration, forging personal connections across continents through his multicultural marriage and immersive experiences at Latin American and European film festivals.
Audiovisual Artist
Evi Hellebaut
Evi Hellebaut is an architect and freelance designer whose creative journey is fueled by a deep commitment to socio-environmental causes. Her diverse work spans from digital design to transforming physical spaces.
Collaborating with young entrepreneurs, visionaries, activists, and fellow architects, Evi aims to translate their narratives into visually captivating stories that resonate with a broad audience. After obtaining her Masters in Architecture, she became a proud member of the Baladi collective —a creative studio in the service of nature. Evi co-founded Greening the Camps, an organisation dedicated to designing and building community-based urban farms in Jordan, actively contributing to sustainable solutions for communities.
Using web design, architectural interventions, and illustrations as her tools, Evi aims to inspire and showcase the beautiful synergy between people, spaces, and the Earth.
Web Designer & Developer
Natalia Jerzak
Natalia Jerzak is a graphic designer and educator. She graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in Wroclaw. She was awarded in several categories, including “Best Diploma: Graphic Design” of the Krakow Triennial of Graphic Arts, “Best Master Thesis in the Field of Culture” by the Minister of Culture and National Heritage, and “30 Creative Wroclaw”. She has been conducting creative workshops since 2009, working with both children and adults, including groups experiencing homelessness, leukemia, war and disability. In 2023, she visited Lower Silesian elementary schools to teach children from smaller towns and villages about their rights. As the creator of the “SitoOgrodnicy” project, she founded a screen printing studio run by men experiencing the crisis of homelessness. In 2023, she became a certified WenDo trainer. Since then she has been teaching women and girls how to take care of their boundaries and thus make their lives more comfortable and safer. As a member of the HerStory Foundation, she is involved in educational projects against violence and discrimination. She also owns a personal brand, BananaMama, where she designs colorful socks, illustrations and logos for brands, institutions and individual clients. In her free time, she walks with her dog, reads, and rides her bike.
Graphic Designer
behance.net/nataliajerzak
Katrina Conrad
Katrina Conrad is a student at the University of Malta, currently reading for a Bachelor’s degree in International Relations (Hons.) and English. Her academic journey is driven by a deep interest in human rights, development, and the role of the European Union in global affairs. Passionate about advocating for positive change, Katrina actively participates in projects that focus on social justice, growth, and policy reform. With a strong commitment to understanding and addressing international challenges, she aims to further her studies in the field and pursue a career that promotes and aids sustainable development and the protection of human rights worldwide. She is currently assisting the Maltese academic team in conducting research and running the mentoring programme for the Seen and Heard Project.
Student Assistant
Malta
Amy Calleja
Amy Calleja is a BSc. Computer Engineering student at the University of Malta and works in the field of Quantum Cybersecurity. She has a longstanding interest in youth rights and young people’s freedom of expression, currently serving as the Director for Internal Affairs in Malta’s National Youth Council (KNŻ). She has also been IAESTE Malta’s National Secretary since 2022.
Amy has participated in 3 editions of Malta’s National Youth Parliament & represented Malta in the Model European Parliament. She was also one of the founding members of Malta’s Commonwealth Youth Taskforce and part of the National Youth Council’s Taskforce for Civic Education. Most recently, she represented Malta in the EU Youth Conference in Alicante. Amy’s previous mentorship experience involves being an Education Mentor with Imagi giving python workshops, mentoring participants in the Mini European Assembly and forming part of IAESTE’s global Workshop Leader Pool. She is currently assisting the Maltese academic team in conducting research and running the mentoring programme for the Seen and Heard Project.
Student Assistant
Malta
Ruby Peresso
Ruby Peresso is a student at Royal Holloway University of London, reading for a BA (Hons.) in English. She is interested in human rights and community development and the ways in which storytelling can help to bring people together. She has interned at Heritage Malta, assisting on an educational outreach programme for children, participated in EU funded projects such as ‘Where To? Stories of Migration and Belonging’, and volunteered at institutions such as Angela House in Malta, where she spent time with children in care, helping them to complete their schoolwork. Ruby is currently assisting the Maltese academic team in conducting research and running the mentoring programme for the Seen and Heard Project.
Student Assistant
Malta
Martyna Stec
Mentor
Wrocław, Poland
Tanasgol Sabbagh
Poet and Performer
Berlin, Germany | @tanasgold
Zoltan Kunckel
Zoltan Kunckel is an artist from Venezuela with a multicultural background, which has provided him with experiences, inspirations, and motivations to explore the creative potential of various media and materials simultaneously—ranging from video art, photography, and installations to sculptural works in steel and glass.
He studied photography and sculpture at Moholy-Nagy University, Budapest, and Art in Context at UdK Berlin. His work focuses on abstract sculptures made from steel and glass, inspired by natural forms, as well as interactive installations, video art, and performances reflecting on national and cultural identity, migration, and the emergence of structures of power.
Artist
Berlin, Germany | @kunckel
Leanne Ellul
Leanne Ellul is a poet and prose writer whose works span both adult and children’s literature. Her spoken-word poetry has been featured in adda magazine, and she was invited to read at the Commonwealth Day Service 2025. She has authored picture books and novels for children, including L-Istorja ta’ Seb it-Tieni (u ta’ Seb l-Ewwel ukoll), Il-Mostru tal-Bajja tal-Ġnejna and Il-Każ tal-Kappell Ikkalibrat, working closely with other authors such as Clare Azzopardi on various children’s publications and translations of foreign works into Maltese. In 2015, she published her first young adult novel, Gramma, followed by another young adult novel — be;n il-kmiem — ten years later. Leanne lectures in Maltese literature and creative writing and is actively involved in several NGOs, including Inizjamed and the HELA Foundation.
Author and Translator
Malta
Laura Kirschstein
Laura Kirschstein is a student at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, where she is currently studying for a Bachelor’s degree in Primary Education in German, Mathematics and Physical Education. She is very excited about her future as a teacher and is aware of the difficulties and challenges that schools face in terms of human rights, justice and equality. As a future teacher, she wants to make the topics of human rights and equality transparent for the students. For this reason, she wanted to take part in the Seen and Heard research project to give children the feeling of being seen and heard. She wants to take her experiences from the project back to school. Laura is currently supporting the team at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin in documenting and organizing workshops for the Seen and Heard project.
Student Assistant
Berlin, Germany
Alexandra tabone
Alexandra is a BA in Sociology and Communication Studies student at the University of Malta. She has a keen interest in research and social policy, particularly within the field of education. Alexandra is passionate about social justice, especially when it impacts children and young people. The Seen and Heard project provided her with an invaluable opportunity to enrich her experience in this field, especially in terms of working directly with children. The experience has further motivated her to further her studies in Education policy. She is currently assisting the Maltese academic team in conducting research and running the mentoring programme for the Seen and Heard Project.
Student Assistant
Malta
Philip Pace
Philip Pace is Head of School at Sir Adrian Dingli Pembroke Secondary School, Malta.
He began his teaching career as a teacher of Mathematics 1999 at a Boys’ Area Secondary School.
Philip has served as a College Prefect of Discipline for 10 years between 2008 and 2018 at San Gorg Preca College working closely with 14 schools. His remit included student Behaviour Management and Policy and Education Programmes Development both at College and National levels.
In 2018, Mr Pace proceeded to a School Administrative post in the role of a Deputy Head of School, first serving at Hamrun Secondary within San Gorg Preca College and later at Sir Adrian Dingli Pembroke Secondary School, where he has been the Head of School since 2024.
Head of School
Malta
Marie Ann Ciantar
Marie Ann Ciantar is Deputy Head at Sir Adrian Dingli Pembroke Secondary School, Malta. She holds a Master’s degree in Literary Tradition and Popular Culture from the University of Malta and has dedicated more than 32 years to the field of education.
She was among the first cohorts to receive training in the pedagogy of Personal and Social Education and remains deeply committed to values of democracy, experiential learning, and inclusion. As a leadership practitioner, she actively promotes projects that amplify student voice, offering learners opportunities for hands-on engagement, reflection, and personal growth. Her work is guided by the belief that education should expand horizons—encouraging students to think independently, explore creatively, and engage meaningfully with scientific, artistic, and cultural perspectives.
Deputy Head of School
Malta
Sarah Farrugia
Sarah Farrugia (Bachelor of Arts in English and Psychology (Melit.) & Postgraduate Diploma in Education – English) is a teacher with over a decade of experience, having initially started her career in the TEFL sector teaching adults.
The contrast between teaching adults and children has made her acutely aware of the significance of the holistic education of the child and the invaluable part that adults and the community as a whole play when it comes to the safeguarding of the rights of the child. This is an issue that especially hits home, having recently become a mother herself. Thus, as the worlds of mother, educator and current MA student (Literary Studies in English) collide, Sarah was keen to participate in the Seen and Heard Project as part of the organising committee.
Sarah has also recently become a published poet with her debut poem ‘War Face’ published in the Maltese anthology ‘Songs of Motherhood Volume III’. Sarah also recently participated in a consultation panel on a governmental scale involving miscarriage leave in Malta.
Student Assistant
Malta
Anna-Sophia Fritsche
Anna-Sophia Fritsche studied Theatre Studies, Psychology and Intercultural Communication in Munich and Buenos Aires. She later completed a certificate programme in Choreography and Dance Pedagogy at the University of the Arts Berlin in cooperation with TanzTangente.
She began her professional career in theatre education at the Saxon State Theaters in Radebeul, where she worked on the particular challenges of cultural work in rural areas. Since 2016 she has been part of the GRIPS Theater in Berlin, where she has developed numerous projects in theatre pedagogy.
In the 2020/21 season she temporarily headed the theatre education department during a parental leave cover. Since the 2023/24 season she has led the department.
Alongside her work at GRIPS, Anna-Sophia Fritsche has been a member of the Secret Dramaturgical Society since 2016, a collective of facilitators and cultural workers dedicated to dialogue formats and experimental dramaturgy. From 2018 to 2020 she also served as spokesperson of the “Arbeitskreis Ost”, a network of children’s and youth theatres in Eastern Germany. Her focus lies on theatre pedagogy for young people, continuing education for multipliers, and the intersection of performance with choreography and dance pedagogy.
See Grips Theater website here
See Geheime Dramaturgische Gesellschaft website here
Photo of Anna-Sophia courtesy of David Baltzer
Theatre Practitioner
Berlin
Fabian Schrader
Fabian (he/him) is a freelance theatre educator and facilitator with the main focus of the implementation of the UN children’s rights, especially the right of participation. He is committed to giving young people more (institutional) power to make decisions about their own lives.
Therefore, he works both with adults and young people in workshops, seminars and large conferences inside and outside of the theatre. Most recently, he was part of the management team of “PROPS gehen raus,” a two year theater project in which children aged 9 to 12 staged adults as part of a professional theater production, thus having their own theatre piece in the GRIPS Theater’s repertoire.
Photo of Fabian courtesy of Layla Kubler
Theatre Practitioner
Berlin
Claudia Ehgartner
Claudia Ehgartner is Head of Education and Outreach (Hamburger Bahnhof – Nationalgalerie der Gegenwart, Berlin, Germany).
Learn more about Claudia here
HB Head of Education and Outreach
Berlin
Angelika Maier
Angelika is a Teacher at Wedding-Schule, Berlin.
Teacher
Berlin
Julia Hennig
Julia Hennig is a Teacher at Wedding-Schule, Berlin.
Teacher
Berlin
Julia Krause
Julia Krause is currently completing her Master’s degree in Primary Education at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin while also working as a teacher in an elementary school, Wedding-Schule (Berlin, Germany).
Together with her 5th grade class, she is excited to take part in the Seen and Heard project. As a teacher in training, she sees it as a great chance for her students to discover the power of their voices, to explore their ideas creatively, and to reflect on issues of freedom and expression in a safe and supportive environment.
For herself, it is an opportunity to learn more about what matters most to children and how schools can be places where they are encouraged to use their rights and strengths with confidence. Julia believes that children’s voices are not only valuable but essential in helping to shape our societies.
Student Assistant
Berlin
Bojka Bogdanovic
Bojka is an Artist, Master of Education, Teaching Fine Arts, Art teacher at Fichtelgebirge-Grundschule (Berlin, Germany):
Find an expression
Make a decision
Sow a connection
Between the world and the self
The self in the other
As part of the world
In the right place –
Forging a path through art
Artist, Master of Education, Teaching Fine Arts
Artist
Berlin
Katarzyna Zwierzyńska-Paluszek
Katarzyna Zwierzyńska-Paluszek is the principal and English teacher in Primary School no. 1 in Wrocław, Poland.
For almost twenty years, she has been professionally and emotionally connected with one of the greatest schools in the city.
She is caring, innovative and respected. She gets along both with colleagues and students. She always tries to create hospitable conditions for everyone to develop their passions, build self-confidence, and feel seen and heard.
School Principal
Wroclaw
Julia Solomentseva
Julia Solomentseva works at Primary School 1 in Wroclaw, Poland. She is an English teacher dedicated to helping children discover their talents.
Passionate about continuous learning, she eagerly takes part in new projects that broaden her horizons and bring fresh ideas into the classroom.
In her free time, she enjoys hiking in the mountains with her dog, where she finds both inspiration and energy for her work.
Teacher
Wroclaw
Watch this space to meet the educators and young people who will be joining our team over the coming months!
Our Project Partners
Lead partner
Malta
The University of Malta (UM) is a 400-year-old higher education public institution, with fourteen faculties and presently hosting over 11,000 students from nearly 92 different countries.
The Department of English at UM, under the Faculty of Arts, is lead partner on the Seen and Heard: Young People’s Voices and Freedom of Expression project, and is herein represented by the principal investigator, Dr Giuliana Fenech. Her academic and professional background involves work with children and young people, social justice, citizenship, multimedia storytelling, and community cultural and artistic projects.The Department runs degree programmes at undergraduate and postgraduate level, treating the study of English from a multitude of approaches, which are often multidisciplinary. Besides its success with other Key Stage 2 projects, the Department was honoured to have hosted the 2022 edition of the circuit conference, The Child and the Book, in Malta, with the theme, ‘The Role of the Child as Citizen: Constructing Childhood through Agency and Activism’. The conference was attended by delegates from 28 countries and its impact will be long-lasting as it outlined the importance of immediate political strategy change and radical new pedagogies to enhance engagement and active citizenship.
Partner
Poland
The University of Wrocław is a public research university with ten faculties, and a student body of over 23,000.
A partner on the Seen and Heard project, the Center for Young People’s Literature and Culture at the Institute of English Studies, University of Wrocław, has focused its outreach and scholarly activities on collaborations with young readers, parents, educators, institutions of culture, and schools in Wrocław and in the Lower Silesia Region since its inception in 2003. These collaborations included reading and creative writing workshops and research projects aimed at intergenerational explorations of children’s culture.
With Dr. Justyna Deszcz-Tryhubczak at the helm, the project will bolster its knowledge base and implementation with the latest on contemporary children’s literature and culture and childhood studies. Deszcz-Tryhubczak’s expertise is in participatory research with children, childhood studies and posthumanism. She has also taught courses on international children’s film and children’s and YA culture in the 21st century. Alongside her, Dr Mateusz Świetlicki contributes his expertise in Anglophone and Ukrainian children’s and Young Adult literature, historical fiction in particular, and the fields of memory studies, trauma theory, and gender studies.
Partner
Germany
Humboldt-Universität (HU) is the oldest higher education institution in Berlin. Founded at the start of the 19th century, the university has engaged in teaching and research activities in all of the fundamental academic disciplines in the humanities, social and cultural sciences, law, life sciences, mathematics and natural sciences, medicine, agricultural sciences and sustainability research, and ancient civilizations.
The Seen and Heard project will here be implemented by its partner at the Humboldt-Universität Berlin in the Department of the Didactics of German Literature and Language Teaching at primary schools, which is part of the Institute of Educational Sciences in the Faculty of Cultural, Social and Educational Sciences. Between key figures Prof Petra Anders and Dr Farriba Schulz, the project will enjoy expertise in spoken word as literature and a tool to empower the children and young adults, as well as conveying literary-aesthetic experiences through children’s literature, respectively.
Partner
Poland
Amnesty International Poland is a part of the wider Amnesty International movement (10 million members in more than 150 countries), which campaigns for a world where human rights are enjoyed by all. Amnesty Poland is a leading expert on human rights issues, with a wide network among youth, schools, decision makers and media. It runs campaigns and advocacy work promoting human rights and the rule of law in Poland and in the whole world, with special focus on women’s rights, judicial independence, freedom of expression and assembly. It actively engages teachers, educators and young people in Human Rights Education and activism.
Since Amnesty International’s foundation in 1961, freedom of expression has been at the centre of its work. Not surprisingly, Amnesty International places great value on the power of children’s books and has a long track record with young people’s literary projects. It enjoys many close collaborations with writers and artists (often the first to be censored) in order to communicate human rights in simple, vibrant and creative ways.
Together with Nicky Parker, a consultant with over 20 years of experience in developing successful books and literary projects to empower children and young adults, Dr. Bartosz Borys and Katarzyna Salejko support the project as Human Rights Education and Activism Managers.
Schools
Partner
Malta
Sir Adrian Dingli Pembroke Secondary School, St Clare’s College is situated in a former British Military garrison built in 1903 when Malta was a British colony.
The building, which has served as a barracks and military hospital welcomed its first students in 1984 when it opened as a Girls Secondary School becoming a co-educational comprehensive secondary school in 2013.
The school community, which includes over 800 students, is multicultural and academically diverse and the school promotes an ethos of CARE (collaboration, achievement, responsibility, empowerment). In addition to having access to a number of extracurricular activities, students are encouraged to participate in the various student councils and committees.
Since Amnesty International’s foundation in 1961, freedom of expression has been at the centre of its work. Not surprisingly, Amnesty International places great value on the power of children’s books and has a long track record with young people’s literary projects. It enjoys many close collaborations with writers and artists (often the first to be censored) in order to communicate human rights in simple, vibrant and creative ways.
Partner
Malta
Inaugurated in 2005, St Benedict College, Dr Maria Sciberras, Kirkop Middle School is a comprehensive middle school located in Malta’s western region.
Housed in a modern, purposely constructed building, the school enjoys extensive exterior sports grounds.
The school works to create an environment where all stakeholders feel a sense of belonging and ownership which compels them to be actively involved in building a strong community of learners, a society where there’s constructive dialogue between the parents and the teachers, where the students take an active role in their learning and where the teachers feel supported.
Since Amnesty International’s foundation in 1961, freedom of expression has been at the centre of its work. Not surprisingly, Amnesty International places great value on the power of children’s books and has a long track record with young people’s literary projects. It enjoys many close collaborations with writers and artists (often the first to be censored) in order to communicate human rights in simple, vibrant and creative ways.
Partner
Malta
Gozo College Agius De Soldanis Middle School is the only state run middle school on the island of Gozo.
Situated in the island’s capital city Victoria, the school is part of a new educational campus that offers educational services from early years childcare to sixth form in a single integrated environment.
The school’s mission is based on empowering all its students to become active citizens, able to participate in civic discussions and decision making.
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Malta
St Joseph Sliema Senior School is a Catholic girls’ school founded by the Sisters of St. Joseph of the Apparition in 1891.
The school campus, which includes a pre-school, primary school and senior school, is situated in the centre of the business and central district of Sliema, one of the biggest towns in Malta.
The school’s core values are centred on the promotion of team work, self-reliance, improvement, and achievement. Students are offered extracurricular activities and the opportunity to join annual school trips abroad.
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Malta
St Albert the Great was founded by the Dominican Order in 1948 as a Catholic boys’ school and was the first Catholic senior school in Malta to transition to a co-educational setting, now welcoming girls and boys from pre-school to Year 11, which is the end of compulsory education in Malta.
Situated in the heart of Malta’s capital city, Valletta the school has a tradition of student participation in civic issues, occasionally attending demonstrations that have taken place in the city.
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Malta
Established in 1909, St. Catherine’s High School is a family-run, private independent co-educational School located in Pembroke, Malta. It is founded on Catholic principles and run by lay staff under the direction of the Head of School, who is the daughter of the founder, Dott. Enrico Cortis.
The school’s ethos is grounded in an ambience of family and care. Each year the school selects a social theme for students to learn the importance of community, ethical and spiritual values, and adopt and live a philosophy based on care.
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Wroclaw
Primary School No. 1 in Wrocław, named after Maria Dąbrowska, is the oldest public school in the city, established in 1900 and located on Nowowiejska Street, in Ołbin, one of Wrocław’s oldest districts, known for its historic tenement houses and green spaces like Tołpa Park, just opposite the school.
The school offers a rich educational environment, combining tradition with modern teaching methods and fostering both intellectual and physical development. It also actively engaging students in cultural and civic projects. A wide range of extracurricular activities enables students to explore their interests and develop their talents beyond the classroom.
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Berlin
The Wedding-Schule is a state-run all-day primary school and attended by ca. 550 pupils in a multicultural area in Berlin.
In order to utilize and promote the linguistic diversity of its pupils, the school has launched additional programs such as first language teaching and bilingual education in Turkish and German and lessons in Arabic.
The school’s core values are centred on the promotion of team work, not least symbolised by the school mascot, Teamgeist (engl.: Team spirit), diverse collaborations with local cultural and educational institutions and a multi-professional team of teachers, educators and psychologists.
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Berlin
The Fichtelgebirge-Grundschule is a state-run primary school and attended by ca. 440 pupils in a multicultural and gentrified area in Berlin. As a “Kiezschule” (Eng.: neighbourhood school), the school promotes democratic values and a democratic school culture, which is reflected in a variety of educational, social and community participation.
Organisations/ Institutions
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Berlin
Grips Theater is an innovative theater for children and young people that has stimulated critical thinking beyond Berlin and Germany. It is a piece of (West) Berlin cultural history and the founder of emancipatory theater for children and young people.
With a long lasting experience in doing theater for and with young people the Grips Theater offers workshops for multipliers as well, in which they invite you to intensively deal with theater and the topics of their plays. Website:
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Berlin
The Hamburger Bahnhof – Nationalgalerie der Gegenwart presides over a comprehensive collection of contemporary art and is focused on inviting visitors to discover new approaches to the works in the collection and the current exhibitions.
This is encouraged by educational offers and an artistic supporting programme aimed at a broad audience, which the participants also were invited to explore with two workshops on art & protest based on the art exhibits at the museum.
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Berlin
With over 21.000 students and seven faculties, the University of Potsdam, founded in 1991, is the largest institution in Brandenburg [MOU1].
It was until recently also the only institution training teachers in this federal state of Germany. The university is closely interconnected with the research institutions in Potsdam and the region.
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Malta
Kinemastik is a cultural NGO based in Malta, responsible for a year-round programme of film screenings, concerts, exhibitions, workshops, talks and short film production.
The Kinemastik International Short Film Festival takes place in July and is usually held over three days at The Garden of Rest, a deconsecrated cemetery overlooking the Marsamxett Harbour.
Kinemastik collaborates with international filmmakers and festivals to bring independent film to a local audience. The festival of 2025 was the 21st edition.
Kinemastik links local filmmakers to the world of cinema, providing them with a platform for their work, through local screenings as well as through worldwide distribution of locally produced works.
Kinemastik is supported by Arts Council Malta through an Investment in Cultural Organisations grant.
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Glasgow/Aarhus/Nantes/Wroclaw/Tilburg
The Erasmus Mundus Children’s Literature, Media & Cultural Entrepreneurship (CLMCE) is a two year International Master’s programme that is taught across a consortium comprised of five universities: University of Glasgow (Scotland), Aarhus University (Denmark), Nantes University (France), the University of Wroclaw (Poland), and Tilburg University.
Students study at the University of Glasgow and Aarhus University in their first year before transferring to a third university depending on their pathway of choice.
CLMCE enables students to deepen their knowledge about the relationship between young adult’s and children’s texts and media, and how this relationship is understood and interpreted in different educational, cultural and institutional frameworks. Students will better understand the creation, distribution and consumption of content for children both in traditional and emerging media.
