Fobzu Director Delivers Joint Keynote Opening International Education Conference

Last month the director of Fobzu, was invited to jointly open the 2024 British Association for International & Comparative Education conference, themed “Transgression and Transformation: (Re)bordering Education in Times of Conflict and Crises.” His joint keynote presentation with Arathi Sriprakesh, Professor of Education at the University of Oxford and former PALS Fellow, was titled “Reconstruction, Reparation, and Educational Futures.” During his address, Shweiki shed light on the devastating impact of decades of  ‘scholasticide’ in Palestine, emphasising the systematic destruction of educational infrastructure in Gaza since last October. 

Drawing on accounts and testimonies, he highlighted the resilience of Palestinian academics in Gaza, who are actively working to preserve their educational future despite overwhelming challenges. In May, almost 200 Palestinian academics and staff from Gaza universities united in issuing a collective call to affirm their commitment to continue teaching and studying in Gaza at their own institutions, even amidst the destruction of infrastructure inflicted by Israeli military forces. He emphasised the outstanding and ongoing historic debt owed by Britain to the Palestinian people and echoing the message from Gaza colleagues, he urged UK academics to take reparative action through solidarity by supporting partnerships with Gaza’s educational institutions, stressing that the integrity of Palestinian universities must be defended as a matter of priority.