Text Box: Welcome Message from the  MENAWCA President

 

Dates to Remember

 

October 30 – Nov. 1, 2008     

 IWCA conference (Las Vegas)

 

November 15, 2008                

TESOL Arabia proposal deadline

 

February 19 – 20, 2009       

MENAWCA annual conference (UAE)

 

March 12 – 15, 2009             

TESOL Arabia conference (UAE)

Inside this issue:

Middle East-North Africa Writing Centers Alliance

Text Box:  October 2008

Volume 1, Issue 1

News from the Centers

Text Box: It is my great pleasure to welcome you to our very first MENAWCA newsletter.  I extend  big kudos to Cecelia Hawkins for initiating this project and to all of you who have contributed.  I’d like to take this opportunity to update you on a few other noteworthy developments that have occurred since your names were gathered some months ago for membership in our Middle East - North Africa Writing Centers Alliance. 
 
·    We are now 48 members strong representing 23 institutions and 14 writing centers.   Our writing centers are from public and private institutions, have been established from the top down and the bottom up, and are both brand new and mature.  A number of our members come from institutions that do not yet have a writing center, but are interested in establishing one.  These folks will certainly benefit from our shared experiences in the pages of this newsletter.  

·    Our proposal for a MENA regional group has, in the words of IWCA President Michele Eodice, “passed without a hitch” and we’ve since been welcomed to the IWCA.  Michele passes on her congratulations and I pass on my gratitude to Mark Hill for liaising with IWCA and to Cecelia for 
Text Box: participating in the many rounds of revision of our MENAWCA constitution. 

·    United Arab Emirates University has formalized its commitment to host our first conference in the early months of next year.  Mark Hill and Jennie Murray have worked hard to make this happen and Mark will be sharing the exciting details with you later in this issue.
 




Based on my own personal experience of setting up two writing centers in the 


Based on my own personal experience of setting up two writing centers in the
region and working hard to ‘sell’ the idea of what we do,  I feel validated by the launch of this newsletter and the community we are forming.  There is strength in our alliance from the knowledge we can share of our work in the region.  I look forward to you sharing your experiences, your views and your research on the writing center issues that matter most to you.
  
Jodi Lefort
Acting President , MENAWCA
Text Box: Announcing!
 Middle East-North Africa Writing Centers Alliance 2009 Conference:   Feb 19 & 20th.  
UAE University, Al Ain, United Arab Emirates
See page 2 for details. . .

MENAWCA conference announcement

2

Birth of a Writing Center

3

VCUQatar Writing Center

4

Sharing Writing Center Literature and Resources

5

Teaching Faculty to Teach Effectively

6

Personal Perspective from RAK

7

Bridging Arabic and English in Writing Centers

8

MENAWCA Team to Present in Las Vegas

9

9th Biennial International WAC Conference Report

 

 

 

 

9