Where Global Stories Spark Change: IBBY in Action

Ahmad Redza Khairuddin (Malaysia)

Ahmad Redza Khairuddin (1965) is a publisher and a reading promoter. His background is in finance and investment. He was in audit, banking and venture capital before embarking on his own businesses in publishing, printing, ICT and payment systems and financial services. Today Mr Redza focuses more of his time on publishing, reading promotion activities and championing the children and young adults segment of the publishing industry. His publishing company that started business since 1988, focuses on education, revision and reading materials mainly on children and teenagers.

Mr Redza has been a key figure in IBBY Malaysia since 2005 and currently holds the post of President. He was the Organising Committee Chairman of the 38th IBBY Congress in Putrajaya Malaysia. He also served IBBY International (www.IBBY.org) in various capacities and was elected to the Executive Committee since 2006. He was the President of IBBY International for the years 2010-2014 and Vice President 2008-2010. During his Presidency, he joined the Board of IBBY Trust/IBBY Foundation until he resigned in 2023. After a brief hiatus, he was again elected to the Executive Committee for the session 2018-2020,2020-2022.

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Far’ain Jaafar

Far’ain Jaafar is an educator, published children’s book author, and one of the founding members of IBBY Singapore. She is deeply committed to advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) through education, advocacy, and literature for young readers.

An award-winning advocate and educational leader, Far’ain brings over 15 years of experience in education and youth development. Her work centers on empowering children, women, youth, and families, with a strong focus on fostering inclusive communities and equitable opportunities. Through her writing, leadership, and community engagement, she continues to champion meaningful representation and social impact across educational and literary spaces.

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NIlay Yilmaz (Turkey)

Nilay Yılmaz holds a PhD in children’s literature and literary studies, with a focus on representations of childhood images in Turkish literature. She has worked as a university lecturer, teaching courses on language & culture studies, literature, creativity, drama, child studies and methods for language skills to children. Her work also focuses on creative writing, reading and developing higher-order thinking skills through games, stories and art. Many of her books and stories for children have received literary awards. For the past four years she has actively worked on children’s rights, especially supporting children affected by the earthquake through bibliotherapy and expressive art workshops. She also works with children undergoing cancer treatment in hospitals, conducting mindfulness-based workshops that include breathing exercises, yoga, storytelling and games. As an author, she regularly meets children in schools through creative workshops inspired by her books. She also leads creative programs in museums for both children and adults, combining museum drama, reading, philosophy, creative writing, paintings, photography, and other forms of expressive arts. As a teacher trainer and educational consultant, she collaborates with teachers, educational institutions and NGOs on critical thinking, metacognitive learning strategies, creative thinking and program designing. She has served as the president of Turkish section of IBBY (International Board on Books For Young People) for the past five years.

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Hidayah Amin (Singapore)

Hidayah Amin is the publisher of Helang Books and IBBY Singapore founding member. Hidayah’s first short story, ‘The Funny Accident’, was published when she was 11. When the Singapore government acquired her childhood home, Hidayah resumed writing and published ‘Gedung Kuning: Memories of a Malay Childhood’ in 2010. Since then, she has written nine non-fiction books and 11 children’s books—‘The Mango Tree’ book won the 2015 Hedwig Anuar Book Award for Best Children’s Book while ‘Leluhur: Singapore’s Kampong Gelam’ is the winner of the 2021 NUS Singapore History Prize. Like Hemingway, Hidayah writes to express; not to impress.

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