Our 2026 season opens here, an inspiring conversation with Saida Affouneh, professor, researcher, and director of the E-Learning Center at An-Najah National University in Nablus, Palestine. We got to learn about Saida via a nomination for a 2025 Open Education Award for Excellence, leading to her recognition as an awardee as an Educational Leader. Saida was a key voice on the panel discussion on the opening day of the OEGlobal Tour in October.

We are honored to share with you this conversation recorded in the podcast studio January 22, 2026.

In the OEGlobal Voices podcast studio with our guest Saida Affouneh (left) and host Alan Levine (right).

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Episode 95 TranscriptDownload
Listen with Transcript

at Descript.com

In This Episode

FYI: For the sake of experimentation and the spirit of transparency, this set of show notes alone was generated by the AI “Underlord” in the Descript editor we use to produce OEGlobal Voices.

Navigating Education and Resilience in Crisis: A Conversation with Saida Affouneh

In this episode of OE Global Voices, host Alan Levine speaks with Saida Affouneh from An-Najah University in Palestine. Saida shares her experiences and insights as an educator in a region afflicted by constant crisis. Discussing her journey from Palestine to the UK for her Ph.D., Saida emphasizes the importance of education as a tool for resilience. She elaborates on the current state of education in Gaza and the West Bank, highlighting the challenges students face and their determination to continue learning despite extreme adversities. Additionally, Saida explains the critical role of Open Educational Resources (OER) and digital literacy in crisis settings, along with her vision for culturally sensitive, low-bandwidth educational content. This episode provides a deeply personal and motivational narrative on the intersection of education, crisis, and hope.

  • 00:00 Intro Music and Highlighted Quote
  • 00:47 Meet Saida Affouneh
  • 02:20 Saida’s Background and Early Life
  • 04:50 Educational Journey and Challenges
  • 15:51 Discovering Open Education
  • 19:22 Teaching at An-Najah University
  • 22:14 Research and Student Experiences
  • 25:28 Challenges of Education in Crisis
  • 30:01 The Importance of Open Educational Resources
  • 45:03 Hope and Resilience
  • 48:26 Conclusion and Final Thoughts

(end of AI generated show notes)

Additional Links and Quotes for Episode 95

So there are new skills that rise up in the crisis situation that need to be developed. And this could be done through open resources, through like self-run courses with low bandwidth in Arabic, with examples from the situation here or around the area. …The second module that is needed, and I talk about it very much, is related to first aid support– first aid from medical background and first aid from psychological, mental and psychological background. Just the first steps in order to give yourself the support, is needed.

The third one, which is very important is about how to be safe online because you know media and how it’s used inside the crisis. We need to raise the awareness of people how to use social media, how to use AI in crisis settings since it could be their main enemy, if they are not aware how to use it, which is very important.

Saida Affouneh