Based between Rotterdam, Netherlands, and Beirut, Lebanon, Kaya has joined UWC International to support the fundraising potential of 40 national committees within the fold of the UWC movement. Kaya has been chairing the UWC Lebanon National Committee since 2013, which has given her first-hand experience of the structures, operational challenges and needs of national committees. Regularly attending regional workshops, as well as two UWC congresses, contributed to her understanding of UWC as an ecosystem and the potential of strength through collaboration. The experience of organising the yearly UWC Lebanon camp, which brought together diverse and often divided local communities, became her initiative to launch two short courses in Lebanon in 2018 and 2019 for local, regional and international students, obtaining funding in order to ensure socio-economic as well as cultural diversity.

Kaya is a British/Lebanese bi-national who grew up in Zimbabwe and attended UWC SEA from 1983 to 1985, which was instrumental in triggering her later interest in investing in communities through culture and education. She went on to study Post-colonialist literature and Japanese at the University of Auckland before moving to Tokyo to work in the journalism sector and on community-based art projects. In 1993, she moved to Beirut with her partner and collaborated on the development of art projects in Beirut, Prague, London, Melbourne, Japan and around the Middle East, co-writing and editing all of the publications associated with these temporary and permanent projects. Currently on the board of Wellspring Learning Community in Beirut, she is interested in applying UWC principles of experiential education to the wider local community.

Kaya is excited to be working with UWC International on the national committee development programme to help develop fundraising potential within its constituents. 

Contact details

Email: kaya.karam@uwcio.uwc.org