Global Voices Festival at Beveridge Middle School

It was a great opportunity to participate in the Global Voices Festival at Beveridge Middle School in Omaha. I talked to a group of middle school students about my home country’s history, culture, and language. I presented for 35 minutes, during which I had a dialogue that was one of the best dialogues that I have ever had. The dialogue was unique because it was with a group of young (12-15 year old), outstanding, and enthusiastic students representing American society, who did not hesitate to ask questions.

I started my talk with the question: Where is Libya located? In my experience, many young Americans do not know about other countries. I was overwhelmed by the fact that more than half of the students knew that Libya is located in North Africa, and that Libyans speak Arabic. I shared with this impressive group of students some aspects of Libyan family life, relationships, and values. Also, I shared with them some photos of our traditional clothing and food. 

I concluded my presentation with an activity in which the students had the chance to create a poster, wherein they summarized and presented what they learned about Libya to other students.

Naji Albakay is a Libyan Fulbrighter pursuing an M.S. in Telecommunications at University of Nebraska-Lincoln.