Working with school and communities
What we support
Our Team
Craig Alan Volker is a linguist who has written extensively about Papua New Guinean languages, with a particular interest in their use in education and contemporary life. His PhD dissertation at the University of Hawaii at Manoa was the first extended documentation of the Nalik language of New Ireland, Papua New Guinea and his Master of Literary Studies thesis was the first documentation of Unserdeutsch (Rabaul Creole German) of New Britain, Papua New Guinea. He is the editor of the Oxford University Press Papua New Guinea Tok Pisin English Dictionary. He is currently an Adjunct Professor at The Cairns Institute, James Cook University, Australia, a Member of the Jawun Research Institute at CQUniversity Australia, and a Visiting Professor at Beijing Foreign Studies University. He was formerly Professor of Languages at Gifu Shötoku Gakuen University in Japan, and Professor of Linguistic Research at Divine Word University in Papua New Guinea. He has also held visiting teaching and research positions at the University of Bremen, the University of Augsburg, and Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, all in Germany, and the University of Bern in Switzerland. Craig divides his time between his homes in Coimbra, Portugal and Madina Village, New Ireland, Papua New Guinea, where he is a Wangpaang (Assistant Talking Chief) of the Moxomaraba (Sea Eagle) clan of the Nalik people. His longstanding relationships with Nalik communities inform his work on language documentation, cultural knowledge, and educational materials. Working with speakers, elders, and educators, he supports opportunities for local languages and knowledge to be documented and shared across generations and used in everyday learning.
Personal website: https://cavolker.yourwebsitespace.com
Cláudio da Silva is a biologist, social educator and PhD candidate in education at the University of Porto, Portugal. His work brings schools and communities into dialogue around local knowledge, languages, and cultural experiences. He holds a Masters in Social Education, Development, and Local Dynamics from the University of Coimbra, Portugal, and undergraduate degrees in biology from the Pontifical Catholic University of São Paulo, Brazil, and in education from the Federal University of Mato Grosso, Brazil. His professional experience includes environmental education in Brazil and teaching in Brazilian community schools in Japan. Working with Indigenous communities in New Ireland, Papua New Guinea, Cláudio develops educational projects with students, teachers, elders, and community leaders. His research explores dialogue between community knowledge and school learning, with attention to community participation and cultural and linguistic diversity. His work includes writing and illustration workshops and the creation of books that bring students’ contributions and community knowledge into educational materials.
Personal website: www.clausilva.eu/en
