Children do not learn in just one place.

Umiverse was founded by Nawal Benzaouia, an entrepreneur, educator and advocate for inclusive education, with a simple yet powerful belief: children do not learn in just one place.

Having lived, studied and worked across different cultures, Nawal often found herself moving between many worlds — family, education, work, logistics, emotions and ideas. Over time, she realised that children experience something very similar. Their learning does not exist inside a single box called "the classroom." It happens everywhere: through movement, travel, questions, encounters, mistakes, curiosity and wonder.

As a mother, Nawal often says she feels like she is managing multiple planets at the same time — and so are our children.

The name "Umi" (أمي), which means mother in Arabic, reflects the heart of the project. Umiverse is, at its core, a mother's vision of learning — caring, thoughtful, curious and expansive. A universe designed not to confine children, but to allow them to explore.

Umiverse exists to create learning opportunities beyond walls, and to make those opportunities accessible to all children, regardless of their background, abilities or starting point.

Through international field trips, cultural exchanges, creative experiences, reading-centred programs and inclusive learning pathways, Umiverse opens doors that many children would not naturally have access to — and ensures those doors are wide enough for everyone to enter.

At Umiverse, learning does not only happen sitting at a desk. It happens while discovering a new city, meeting new people, observing, creating, experimenting and feeling.

As a mother of two, Nawal's work is deeply rooted in early literacy, imagination and creativity. Her background in universal accessibility, education and inclusive practices shapes every program Umiverse builds — guided by the belief that confidence, curiosity and critical thinking should be nurtured in every child.

Alongside her experience as a professor, writer and international education advocate, and through collaborations with schools, universities, museums and global institutions — including UNESCO-linked initiatives — one belief has remained constant:

Opportunity can be created, and it can be shared.

Education should never be limited. And opportunity should never be exclusive.

Umiverse exists to remind us that learning is a journey across many planets — and every child deserves the chance to explore them.