IBBY-UNESCO Collection of Remarkable Books in Indigenous and Endangered Languages

Aïcha Belkadi

Aïcha Belkadi is a linguist working at SOAS University of London (United Kingdom). Her main research interests and expertise are on Amazigh languages, which are spoken by various groups of indigenous people of North Africa. Her work focusses on the grammatical properties of these languages, how they compare to one another but also on the place of these languages in North African cultures, societies, history and politics. Aïcha is also very interested in the place of minority languages in health discourses and epistemic care, and, during the COVID-19 pandemic, was a researcher in a large UKRI-funded project investigating those issues amongst migrant communities in London.  

Ben Bowen

Wiradjuri man Ben Bowen is the CEO of the Indigenous Literacy Foundation (ILF). Ben is a proud Aboriginal man, a descendent of the Wiradjuri Nation with family links to the Gandangara, Dharrawal and Yuin Nations. He was born and raised on the Gadigal and Wangal lands of the Sydney basin. Ben has worked nationally and internationally, collaborating with both Indigenous Communities and government to create opportunities in education, health, and economic development. He has extensive experience in systems leadership and strategy. Since 2007, Ben has worked for and with First Nations people in the not-for-profit sector, building programs, developing strategy, sourcing funding, collaborating with partners, and shaping thought leadership within the university sector. As a former professional athlete, he understands the power of teamwork and believes in leading from within the team, nurturing a sense of circular responsibility and accountability, each person to the other. He believes that we are lifelong learners and is passionate about early childhood education and the power of literacy.
 

Simon de Jocas

Simon de Jocas is a seasoned educator and publisher with more than 35 years of experience in education and publishing. After a decade of teaching, he held leadership roles at Beauchemin, Duval, and Nelson before joining De Marque in 2009 to lead its Education division. In 2013, he acquired Les 400 coups, a publishing house known for its creativity, humour, and global outlook. In the fall of 2025, he transferred ownership of the company to an internal team, ensuring a smooth and values-driven transition. He now works as a publishing consultant, specializing in international development, strategic planning, and business growth. Founder of Publishers Without Border (PWB), Simon also serves on the International Publishers Association’s Freedom to Publish Committee (FtPC) and on the board of directors of Copibec. In September 2025, he was named an Honorary Member of the Association nationale des éditeurs de livres (ANEL) for his outstanding contribution to the publishing community. A humanist and connector, Simon believes that there is a book for every reader.

Edwige Dro

Edwige Dro is a writer, literary translator (English and French), and literary curator from Côte d’Ivoire whose work spans fiction, creative nonfiction, and feminist literary advocacy. She works at the intersections of literature, feminist thoughts, and the arts, and her writing and translations have appeared across Africa, the UK, and North America. She has served on juries for the Caine Prize for African Writing and the PEN International Short Story Prize, and she is on advisory boards such as the PEN/HEIM Translation Fund, Culturescapes, and the African Book Festival. A 2014 Africa39 laureate, she is also a 2019 Miles Morland Fellow and a 2021 International Writing Program Fellow at the University of Iowa. In 2020, she founded 1949: the Library of Women’s Writings from Africa and the Black World, a feminist space for decolonial practices, knowledge production and its democratization in Abidjan.

Juan Manuel Espinosa

Juan Manuel Espinosa serves as the Academic Deputy Director of the Instituto Caro y Cuervo in Colombia. With a background in literary studies and critical theory, his work bridges the gap between historical philology and contemporary language policy. At the Institute, he leads initiatives that transform rigorous linguistic research into accessible educational resources, prioritizing the revitalization of Colombia’s 65 native languages.

Colette Poitras

With many Michif ancestors who were polylingual, Colette Poitras is a proud citizen of the Métis Nation of Alberta, with historic and contemporary kinship connections throughout the Métis homeland. She is a proud mother of two wonderful daughters and a beautiful baby grand daughter. She is the Vice-President of IBBY Canada, the Chair of the From Sea to Sea to Sea: Celebrating Indigenous Picture Book Catalogue committee, and the Indigenous Public Library Advisor within the Government of Alberta. She has worked in the public library sphere for over 25 years. Colette received a Library Journal Movers and Shakers award in 2017 and a Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Medal in 2022 for her leadership in advancing library services for Indigenous communities. She holds a Bachelor of Arts and a Masters in Library and Information Science, and has served in a variety of national and international roles within Indigenous, library, and literary communities.

Jeannet Stephen

Jeannet is an Indigenous scholar of Kadazan ethnicity from Papar, Sabah, Malaysia. She currently serves as Deputy Director of the Borneo Institute for Indigenous Studies (BorIIS) at Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS), where she also leads the Cluster for Languages & Linguistics. With academic training in TESL (UKM), Applied Linguistics & Bilingualism (University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, UK), and a PhD in Language Teaching and Learning (University of Auckland, NZ), her work spans language revitalisation, Indigenous education, and cultural sustainability. Currently she heads the Indigenous Early Childhood Education Project funded by UNICEF Malaysia and the Sabah Ethnic Language Curriculum pilot, anchoring both in community-driven, multilingual models. She works closely with grassroots NGOs, heritage language teachers, and policymakers, and serves as a consultant to the Sabah Cultural Board Cultural Mapping Project. She also leads the Sabah Native Customary Schools Living Lab. Internationally, she is one of the Indigenous representatives for Asia on the UNESCO International Decade of Indigenous Languages (IDIL) Global Task Force.
 

Swati Raje

Swati Raje is a unique blend of academia and activism with a Bachelors in Communication and Journalism, M.A. in Literature, and M.Phil. in Children’s Literature. The first full time woman reporter in a prominent Marathi newspaper, she was the Chief Editor of the Sunday Edition and feature desk. A best-selling award-winning writer, Swati Raje has won accolades from the government as well as private organisations for her work in children’s literature and her short stories for adults and children. She has also written for television, documentaries, and radio programmes. Writing for children is her passion and she has multiple award-winning picture books to her credit. These books are being widely read in schools, made into plays, short films and a national level puppet show. An active member of the International Board on Books for Young people (IBBY), she is the Founder President of Bhaashaa Foundation: an NGO focused on developing innovative, sustainable models and systems for language preservation in India for the past two decades. It has been a pioneering effort in creating a love for languages in adults and children across the country.

Eugenia Urrere

Eugenia Urrere is dedicated to strengthening Indigenous languages in the digital age and restoring their rightful social status and presence alongside all other languages of the world. Since 2018, she has worked closely with communities across Latin America to support the revitalization, visibility, and transmission of their linguistic heritage. Her work began in the non-profit sector, contributing to initiatives focused on cultural preservation and equitable access to information. In 2021, she founded Indigenius, a language service provider that promotes fair employment opportunities for Indigenous linguists and encourages the integration of underrepresented languages into modern technological ecosystems. Through this work, she fosters close collaboration between communities, organizations, and technology partners, ensuring that Indigenous knowledge is represented with accuracy, respect, and cultural integrity. Eugenia's approach brings together cultural studies, technology, and community engagement to address persistent gaps in linguistic diversity. She advocates for ethical and sustainable localization practices that honor each language's identity while expanding its digital presence. Her mission is to help creating spaces where Indigenous voices can thrive, contribute, and represent a sense of pride for their communities. She works every day to ensure that linguistic diversity becomes a meaningful part of the future, innovation, and social transformation.
 

Carolina Ballester

Carolina Ballester was born in Paris and studied in Spain and France, obtaining an MA in Political Science from the Madrid Complutense University and degrees in Chinese and Arabic from the French National Institute of Oriental Studies (INALCO). She worked as a translator and as cultural attaché at the Consulate of Spain in Shanghai. For ten years, she was in charge of international programmes for the Shanghai International Children’s Book Fair, where she promoted and developed international interest in international children’s books in general, and picture books in particular. She served on juries for children’s illustration catalogues and contests. Carolina joined IBBY as Executive Director in 2022 and brought international experience and fluency in several languages. She is an ex-officio Member of the Executive Committee.

Cristina Puerta

Cristina Puerta is a book editor, rights manager and children's literature specialist with more than twenty-five years of international experience in commercial and institutional publishing. She has worked as a publisher for children’s books, literary fiction, non-fiction and illustrated books in Latin America and Europe. As Head of UNESCO Publications, she creates and manages publication projects in several languages, negotiates co-editions and foreign rights, and scouts for international co-publishers to develop multilingual publications for both specialized audiences and the public at large, with a particular focus on young readers.