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Behnam Fomeshi, PhD, MA, has taught in the fields of language and literature for over ten years and has taught at the WEA for the last two years. Behnam majored in literature. He is interested in Persian studies, American studies and in particular the intersection of the two. Through close contact with students both international and domestic in different European, Iranian and Australian contexts, he has come to a sound understanding of challenges facing all the students from diverse backgrounds. As an educator, he remains approachable and accessible to his students. He holds himself to the same standards that he holds his students - he strives to become a skilled educator, thinker and learner, and he believes that this is a life-long process.

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Cecilia completed her first degree and Masters in Law at the University of Coimbra, in Portugal. She also holds a Master of Legal Studies from UTS. Cecilia was previously a lecturer and coordinator of a Law degree in Mozambique. Her interests concentrate on regulation of gender in different systems of law. She also is interested in writing about the relationship between land rights and women as guardians of biodiversity.

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Robert has been a casual lecturer, tutor and post-doctoral fellow at UNSW. He has taught at the WEA since 1992 and has also lectured for CCE at Sydney University, the North-side Opera Study Group, and Opera Lunedi. He has written (and broadcast) for ABC FM, and also written for Musica Viva, and Symphony Australia. In 2013 he was a visiting Fellow at the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Neo-Latin Studies in Innsbruck. Among his published works are an edition of Gallus Dressler's Praecepta musicae poeticae (the University of Illinois Press, 2007), and Latin and Music in the Early Modern Era (Brill of Leiden, 2021). His edition of the complete Latin motets of Gallus Dressler was published by A-R Editions, Middleton, Wisconsin, in November 2023.

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Miao is a qualified secondary Chinese and ESL teacher. She has a Bachelor of Education majoring in Chinese language and literature. She also holds a Graduate Diploma in Education (Chinese & ESL) and a Master of Arts in International Communication from Macquarie University. Miao has taught Chinese at high schools in Australia. Sharing the amazing language and culture that China has to offer is her passion. Miao also enjoys reading and listening to music.

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James (Jamie) Fraser is Senior Curator at the Nicholson Museum. Jamie entered the museum world as an artefact registrar at the National Museum of Afghanistan in Kabul (2013-14). After completing his PhD in Middle Eastern archaeology in early 2015, Jamie became Project Curator for the Ancient Levant at the British Museum. He joined the Nicholson Museum as Senior Curator in 2017. Jamie is currently developing new research and exhibitions using the Nicholson collection for the Chau Chak Wing Museum. Jamie has worked on archaeological projects in Jordan, Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, Kashmir, Greece, Cambodia, Australia and the Solomon Islands. He currently directs the Khirbet Ghozlan Excavation Project in north Jordan, investigating the production of olive oil around 2000 BC.

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Adrian Clayton is a qualified Australian Canoeing guide and instructor. He has been guiding commercial kayak tours (from half-day outings to multi-day expeditions) for nearly 15 years. Middle Harbour has been a significant part of his life from boyhood onwards and he has an intimate knowledge of it which he is always keen to share.

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Sylvie has a BA and MA in Art History from Toulouse-Mirail University, France and a MA in Indigenous Studies from NSW University. Her focus is European art with a special place for Medieval symbolism but she also has a particular interest in Aboriginal art and culture. She draws on her experience in Indigenous Studies to present Art through a decolonising framework to develop a critical examination.

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Susannah Fullerton has been passionate about English Literature for as long as she can remember. She did a BA at the University of Auckland and a postgraduate degree in Victorian Fiction and Prose at the University of Edinburgh. She is President of the Jane Austen Society of Australia, Patron of the Kipling Society of Australia, is a founding member of the Australian Brontë Association, and is Google Australia’s ‘Queen of the Classics’.

She has written several books about Jane Austen and also Brief Encounters: Literary Travellers in Australia. She leads literary tours to the UK, USA and Europe every year. Susannah is well known at WEA for her literary talks and also presents lectures at the State Library, Art Gallery of NSW and at schools and libraries.

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Rahmatul Furqan, MA, is a lecturer and researcher in Communication and Media Studies at Universitas Hasanuddin, Indonesia with a background in journalism and global media. A recipient of the prestigious Australia Awards Scholarship, he completed his Master’s in Global Media and Communication at The University of Melbourne. His teaching and research focus on digital inclusion, disability representation, and inclusive media practices. With over a decade of experience in both academic and professional settings, Rahmatul brings a dynamic and inclusive approach to teaching, encouraging critical discussion and real-world application. His classes are known for their interactive and reflective style, blending theory with lived experience to make learning relevant, empowering, and engaging for all students.

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Michael Gal is Professor Emeritus at the School of Physics of the University of NSW. He has been involved in research and teaching at UNSW for over 30 years. Prior to the UNSW, he worked at various universities and research institutions in the US and in Europe.