Chadia Gedeon-Hajjar

Since Chadia left Lebanon in 1988 to attend the Francophone Film Festival in Paris, where her film Lebanon Despite Everything was screening, she realised that her departure from the city of Beirut would be long term and lead to many changes in new countries. From Paris, she took the road to Casablanca, Algeria, Melbourne, Adelaide and finally Sydney, where she has been living for the past 14 years.

Since settling in Sydney, she has worked in a number of roles – as a foreign correspondent to satellite Arabic Televisions in Dubai, a journalist/reporter for local Arabic newspapers, a TAFE and High School teacher, a bilingual University examiner and marker, a Pre-Employment Trainer, and a digital media teacher. She received several awards for her work in the film industry and visual arts. Teaching Arabic and French languages was always on the agenda, and a challenge that never stopped opening new horizons to her sense of discovery of human nature. She believes that exploring new avenues to teach adults can, in some form, encapsulate all previous life experiences, as it offers a more challenging ground for growth and self development.