CMT Programmes

Norlin Samat (Singapore)

Norlin Samat is a former primary school teacher with a Post-graduate Diploma in Education and an MA in Language Studies. A passionate educator with a career spanning more than 18 years in public and private education institutions, she hopes to contribute in nurturing the next generation of bilinguals. She is the writer of the bilingual children's book series Ally's Adventures.

Mukhlis Abu Bakar (Singapore)

Mukhlis Abu Bakar is an Associate Professor at the National Institute of Education, NTU. He obtained his MA and PhD in Applied Linguistics from the University of Wales, Bangor, UK. His research interests lie in the fields of bilingualism, biliteracy, literacy learning, and pronunciation issues in Malay. He is Co-Editor of a forthcoming book, The Bloomsbury Handbook of Cultural Identity from Early Childhood to Early Adulthood.

Moderator Jumaini Ariff (Singapore)

Jumaini Ariff ialah seorang pencerita profesional dan juga penulis buku cerita kanak-kanak seperti Siri Ariff Ingin Tahu dan lain-lain lagi. Beliau dikenali menerusi watak unik; Nek Selampit dan kerap terlibat dalam kempen-kempen bahasa dan budaya di peringkat nasional serta festival-festival penceritaan tempatan.

Jumaini Ariff is professional storyteller and author. She is known by her storytelling persona; 'Nek Selampit'. She has participated in storytelling festivals as well as national language and cultural campaigns.

Cheng Wan-Ni (郑婉妮) (Singapore)

郑婉妮博士来自台湾，专精于幼儿教育领域达二十年，曾参与学前教育政策发展和实务锻炼，见证台湾幼儿教育的演进与蓬勃发展，除了专精于幼儿教育领域的各种议题外，她近年来专注儿童手机游戏、媒体组合等新媒体之研究，并与儿童营销、消费、儿童流行文化结合。对于幼儿及青少年产品开发设计，以及成瘾设计的独到专长，更使其被延揽至台湾，日本等游戏公司作为儿童游戏产品之开发顾问。至新加坡后积极参与本地幼儿教育，并发展多元文化教育教材及华文课程的开发，以及本地幼儿教育教师职前训练。目前，郑博士担任新加坡华文教研中心的学前部门主任。

Dr. Cheng Wan-Ni has more than 20 years of experience in childhood development and is presently the Dean of Early Childhood Care and Education Department at the Singapore Centre for Chinese Language (SCCL). Dr. Cheng has taken a special interest in interactive games on smartphone devices and multimedia applications with a focus on marketing, consumerism and pop culture for children.

Moderator Su Zhangkai (苏章恺) (Singapore)

苏章恺 (Su Zhangkai) was formerly a part-time lecturer with the Department of Chinese Studies at the National University of Singapore and a secondary school teacher. He was conferred the 2013 Fellow of Academy of Singapore Teachers in recognition for his outstanding contribution towards professional development. He believes reading is the foundation of all learning and that with the right pedagogies and environment, learning the Chinese language can be easy and fun.

Ah Guo (阿果) (Singapore)

阿果，本名李高豐，新加坡绘本作者、插画家、《联合早报》副刊专栏作者，也是不同学府的兼职讲师。

Ah Guo, or Lee Kow Fong, is a Singaporean picture-book author, illustrator, Lianhe Zaobao columnist and an adjunct educator at various institutes of higher learning.

Sun Hsin-Yu (孙心瑜) (Taiwan)

台湾第一位入选Bologna Ragazzi Award的绘本作家。绘制过邮票、1992长江探源、2020南极历险。
目前专心绘本创作，更多作品请参考FB：@joycesun.shystudio

Sun Hsin-Yu was the first Taiwanese picture book writer to win the Bologna Ragazzi Award. She has rendered stamps, explored the origin of the Yangtze River, and embarked on an Antarctica adventure.

Liu Hsu-Kung (刘旭恭) (Taiwan)

1995 年开始创作绘本，作品曾获信谊幼儿文学奖，丰子恺儿童图画书奖和波隆纳插画展入选等，现与家人住在台北。
Liu Hsu-Kung began writing picture books in 1995. His works have clinched the Xinyi Picture Book Children’s Literature Award and Feng Zikai Chinese Children's Picture Book Award, and were showcased at the Illustrators Exhibition. He is currently residing with his family in Taipei.

Moderator Charlene Lai (Taiwan)

Charlene Lai has been a picture book blogger since 2006. She has previously curated an exhibition, The Craft of Picture Books, and everything she does is affiliated with picture books reading and picture book art. In 2017, Charlene was honoured by Scholastic Asia as a Picture Book Ambassador.

Rilla Melati Bahri (Singapore)

Rilla Melati is a two-time winner of the prestigious Malay literary award, Anugerah Persuratan. Rilla builds creative content for the classroom and television and has written more than 25 Malay and bilingual children’s books. As the founder of the educational company Mini Monsters Ltd, she hopes to reignite the love for the Malay language with materials that are relevant for today’s generation of children.

Koen Setyawan (Indonesia)

Koen Setyawan is an award-winning children’s book writer, illustrator and graphic designer from Indonesia. He has published more than 80 books, including activity books, novels and digital books. He aims to share his passion for environmental and biodiversity issues with his readers from an Indonesian perspective with his books. Koen is also a member of KPBA or Society for the Advancement of Children’s Literature.

Nor Azhar Ishak (Malaysia)

Nor Azhar Ishak ialah seorang pengkarya buku kanak-kanak Malaysia yang telah memenangi pelbagai anugerah. Beliau juga ialah seorang ilustrator dan pencerita antarabangsa yang gemar tentang sastera, seni dan sains. Nor Azhar juga merupakan seorang pendidik dengan pengalaman lebih 20 tahun dalam pembangunan profesionalisme guru.

Nor Azhar Ishak is an award-winning children's book writer, illustrator and international storyteller. He is also an educator with 20 years of experience in conducting professional development workshops for teachers.

Nor Azhar is unable to participate in AFCC due to unforseen circumstances, but the session he is involved in will still go on. 

Moderator Shahril Samri (Singapore)

Shahril Samri adalah seorang guru di prasekolah PCF Sparkletots yang mengajar Bahasa Melayu serta Inggeris. Beliau adalah pengasas Pantunism, sebuah kelab bertujuan untuk menyegarkan kembali seni pantun. Harapannya ialah untuk menyampai kepentingan bahasa Melayu,budaya dan identiti kepada generasi muda.

Shahril Samri is an educator at PCF Sparkletots Preschool where he teaches Malay. He is the founder of Pantunism, a Pantun (Malay Poetry) enthusiast, and loves imparting the importance of the Malay language to children.
 

Liu Hsu-Kung (刘旭恭) (Taiwan)

1995 年开始创作绘本，作品曾获信谊幼儿文学奖，丰子恺儿童图画书奖和波隆纳插画展入选等，现与家人住在台北。
Liu Hsu-Kung began writing picture books in 1995. His works have clinched the Xinyi Picture Book Children’s Literature Award and Feng Zikai Chinese Children's Picture Book Award, and were showcased at the Illustrators Exhibition. He is currently residing with his family in Taipei.

Moderator Su Zhangkai (苏章恺) (Singapore)

苏章恺 (Su Zhangkai) was formerly a part-time lecturer with the Department of Chinese Studies at the National University of Singapore and a secondary school teacher. He was conferred the 2013 Fellow of Academy of Singapore Teachers in recognition for his outstanding contribution towards professional development. He believes reading is the foundation of all learning and that with the right pedagogies and environment, learning the Chinese language can be easy and fun.

Sun Hsin-Yu (孙心瑜) (Taiwan)

台湾第一位入选Bologna Ragazzi Award的绘本作家。绘制过邮票、1992长江探源、2020南极历险。
目前专心绘本创作，更多作品请参考FB：@joycesun.shystudio

Sun Hsin-Yu was the first Taiwanese picture book writer to win the Bologna Ragazzi Award. She has rendered stamps, explored the origin of the Yangtze River, and embarked on an Antarctica adventure.

Moderator Quek Hong Shin (Singapore)

郭宏驯是一名新加坡绘本作家和插画家。由Epigram Books出版的《不可思议的竹篮》曾获得2019年新加坡图书奖的“最佳儿童图书奖”。

Quek Hong Shin is a Singaporean picture book author and illustrator. He has illustrated several picture books and his work has been shortlisted twice for The Hedwig Anuar Children's Book Award. His book The Incredible Basket, published by Epigram Books, was the winner of Best Children's Book at the 2019 Singapore Book Awards.

Dr Sivakumaran (Singapore)

Associate Professor Dr A Ra Sivakumaran is the retired head of the Tamil Language and Culture Division from National Institute of Education, Singapore. He served as a consultant to the Ministry of Education for Singapore Tamil textbooks from 2006 to 2019 and is a pioneer academic researcher of Singapore Tamil Literature. He has published a total of 16 books in roles as an author and editor.

Suriya Rethnna (Singapore)

Suriya is recognised as Singapore’s first female Tamil novelist and is an award-winning writer and former teacher. She has written short stories, novels, curriculum content, and children's fiction (including MOE supplementary Readers) in a wide array of genres. Her varied career has also seen her involved in translation and scriptwriting (latest Manmathan Ambu (Vasantham, Mediacorp, 2021)). Aram is Suriya's latest short story collection.
 

Moderator Vijayanand Thamotharan (Singapore)

Vijayanand Thamotharan is the Director of Crimson Earth, a publishing firm specialising in content development for the education and literary sector in Singapore. He has previously worked as the Director of Absolutely Parents. His interests include publishing, business development, education planning and content development. He has appeared on panels promoting children's Tamil stories in Singapore.

AKT Creations (Singapore )

AKT Creations is a local arts company that offer programmes, such as workshops, stage and video productions and lectures which are both fun and educational that enthuse and inspire performers, participants and audiences, while imparting and inspiring skills which last a lifetime.