Svetlana Chigozie Onye is a writer, journalist, and educator whose work bridges storytelling and social transformation. Her poetry was shortlisted for the Heroica Prize, and she was selected for the Writers on the Rise Program supported by the Black British Book Festival and Pan Macmillan. Her journalism explores the lived realities of climate change in the Global South, featured in platforms such as Shado Mag, SCREENSHOT, Atwood Magazine, and Race Equality Matters, with internships at Carbon Brief and The Guardian. She leads The Eco-Anxiety Africa Project, focusing on the mental health impacts of climate change, and has spoken at international events including COP29, with her work highlighted by the BBC. She holds an MSc in Politics of Conflict, Rights and Justice, with a first-class dissertation published in Joys Journal.
Bowie is an award-winning multimedia artist, writer and designer in Oklahoma, USA, and proudly neurodivergent. She has a BA in Creative Writing and Literature and an MFA in Creative Writing. Bowie has taught at both universities and arts programs and through virtual programs. She is a coach to private clients and a trip leader for an international series of writing workshops. She is currently supporting gap year students from around the world, helping them document their experiences through creative writing while processing and integrating their hopes for the future, being mindful and supportive of each of their cultural contexts. Creative writing is Bowie’s passion and she is energised by cross-cultural exchange and co-creation. www.bowierowan.com
Claudine is a TEDx Speaker and Harvard Graduate from Singapore. Her mission is to identify and harness the leadership potential in every child, especially in the area of mental wellness. To achieve this, she believes they must learn how to tell creative and powerful stories about themselves and the world around them. She has built an education company from scratch, serving more than a thousand children and youth in developing their leadership skills. Claudine has also self-published 5 books as well as trained more than a hundred teachers to facilitate the teaching of 21st-century skills such as creativity, critical thinking, effective communication and social-emotional skills to future generations.
Ahmed Abdelsalam is an Erasmus+ certified Senior Facilitator, coach, and creative storyteller with over five years of experience in dialogue facilitation and youth development. He has designed and led transformative, art-based personal development programmes in Spain, Norway, and the UK, including workshops with the University of Huddersfield. As a scriptwriter and creative practitioner, Ahmed uses storytelling and the arts to create meaningful social impact. His work spans youth well-being campaigns, media productions, and children’s storytelling. Ahmed believes that education and art are powerful tools for self-awareness and personal transformation. Through his reflective, human-centred approach, he helps young people find their voice, express themselves, and create positive change.
Jawhar is from Tunisia and is a highly experienced Virtual Exchange Coach and Facilitator for Soliya. His journey began with a simple idea to bring people together and promote tolerance. He stumbled upon virtual exchange by chance, after which it turned into an amazing adventure where he discovered cultures, traditions, and even more about himself. He has written creative short stories in both his own dialect (Tunisian) and Standard Arabic. The impact these stories and characters have had on his community has been impressive!
Having worked in conflict zones such as Iraq, the West Bank, and Ukraine, Alex Poppe depicts fierce and funny women rebuilding their lives in the wake of violence. She is the award-winning author of four books of literary fiction and Breakfast Wine, a memoir-in essay about her wild ride through Iraq, recently named a first runner-up for the Eyelands Book Awards and a finalist for the Chicago Writers Association Book of the Year and the American Writing Awards. Alex’s work has appeared in The New York Times, Literary Hub, HuffPost, and elsewhere. Find her at
Blen Eshetu is the Operations Manager at Creative Writing for Social Change, where she supports programme coordination, participant communication, admissions, partnerships, and the systems that keep CWSC’s international programmes running smoothly.
With over four years of experience across operations, project coordination, education, creative industries, and social impact, Blen has worked with multicultural teams across countries and time zones. She is passionate about combining strong systems with meaningful human connection, helping purpose-driven organisations turn ideas into well-run programmes.
At CWSC, she works closely with the founder and wider team to support programme delivery, strengthen internal processes, and build partnerships that contribute to the organisation’s growth and impact.