A personal and cross-cultural foundation

I grew up in Norway as a Norwegian-Palestinian and Muslim, navigating both the possibilities and the challenges of life across cultures and identities. The experiences that came with this -from pride, connection and multiple ways of seeing the world to moments of exclusion and not fully belonging - have shaped both my personal journey and the questions I explore through my work.

Over time, I became increasingly aware that who we become, how we understand ourselves and the opportunities available to us are shaped by more than our families and cultural backgrounds. History, politics, social expectations and wider structures of power also influence our lives.

Understanding these connections helped me recognize my cultural background as a source of strength and resilience, while also becoming more attentive to the conditions that shape people’s experiences of identity, belonging and opportunity. This perspective continues to inform how I think about childhood, family life and what children need to thrive.

From a Nordic context to Roots & Routes

My entrepreneurial work began through my Norwegian personal brand, where I continue to explore cross-cultural identity, cultural humility and social justice within a Nordic context.

Over time, I wanted to bring these conversations to an international audience. At the same time, I became increasingly interested in global citizenship, and particularly in how its principles could become part of everyday family life.

Ideas such as human dignity, equity, solidarity, sustainability and respect for difference can easily remain abstract. Roots & Routes grew from a desire to make them more practical and accessible: to help parents turn their values into conversations, choices and everyday experiences that prepare children for the world they are growing up in.

This work is informed by my academic background as well as my lived experience of growing up Norwegian-Palestinian and Muslim.

Growing up across cultures often means encountering different perspectives, expectations and ways of understanding the world. It can invite an early awareness that our own way of living is not the only one. Although these insights are neither automatic nor exclusive to people with cross-cultural backgrounds, my experiences have shaped my interest in curiosity, cultural awareness, critical thinking and the ability to navigate complexity.

Roots & Routes brings these different strands of my work together. It is an international extension of my Norwegian work, created specifically for parents and caregivers who want to help children thrive in a diverse, complex and interconnected world.

Professional experience behind my work

My work is informed by more than fourteen years of experience in child welfare services, particularly with unaccompanied refugee minors, reunified refugee families and young adults navigating complex transitions.

I am a qualified social worker with a master’s degree in Human Rights and Cultural Diversity from the University of Essex, where I received the Deborah Fitzmaurice Prize for outstanding academic achievement.

I am currently completing a PhD in child protection at the University of Bergen, exploring how aftercare services can better support young adults with cross-cultural backgrounds.

Together, my professional experience, academic knowledge and lived cross-cultural perspective shape the work I share through Roots & Routes.

Read more for brief CV and selected keynotes. 

My Vision

My vision is to help translate the principles of global citizenship into everyday family life.

When values such as equity, empathy and responsibility for the planet become part of the stories children encounter, the conversations families have and the choices they make, two things become possible:

• Children become better equipped to understand themselves, relate to people with different experiences and navigate an interconnected and changing world.
• Families contribute, through their everyday choices, to building a more just, inclusive and sustainable future.
  
  

I do not believe that parents need to have all the answers. Meaningful change can begin with a thoughtful question, a new perspective or one small choice made differently.

Through Roots & Routes, I want to help families take those steps - raising children who are prepared not only to live in the world as it is, but also to help shape the world it could become.

Thank you for being here. 

Warmly, 

Nawar