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. UmiVerse was born from this understanding.
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.

To inspire a lifelong love of learning and creativity in every child, fostering inclusivity, cross-cultural understanding, and emotional growth.

To create a world where every child has the opportunity to explore, learn, and grow in an inclusive, nurturing environment that celebrates creativity, literacy, and cross-cultural understanding through carefully curated picture books and engaging resources. UmiVerse aims to inspire a lifelong love of learning, foster emotional and intellectual development, and connect children across cultures, breaking down barriers to build a globally aware and compassionate future generation.