British Council strengthens senior presence in the UAE

Mr Paul Sellers has been appointed Country Director UAE, based in Abu Dhabi; Mrs Alison Devine joins as Deputy Country Director UAE, and director for Dubai, based at the British Council office in Dubai. Together, the new directors bring almost 30 years of international experience with the British Council to the UAE.

The new appointments represent a strengthening of the British Council's senior level presence in the UAE, as the British Council continues to build mutually beneficial relationships between the two countries, through its work in education, the Arts, culture, science and society.

Paul Sellers has held a variety of senior roles with the British Council, worldwide, for the last 16 years - most recently in Greece, where he spent four years as Assistant Country Director. Mr Seller's background combines academic and management experience - he holds a BA in Economics, MA in Linguistics, in addition to teaching and marketing qualifications.

Alison Devine joined the British Council in 1992 as an English language teacher and has since worked in Japan, Malaysia (Director Penang) and Greece (Assistant Director for English Language Teaching and Education). Mrs Devine holds an MA in English as a second/foreign language, as well as teaching and marketing qualifications.

Commenting on the new director appointments, Mr Sellers said: "The British Council has enjoyed an unbroken presence in the UAE for 37 years and the relationship between the UAE and the UK has never been stronger. It's an exciting time to come to the region and to a very dynamic country, as the British Council broadens and deepens its role to meet the developing needs and expectations of the UAE community. The aim of this new UAE team is to build on all the previous good work and to strengthen existing - and develop new - relationships between the two countries and within the Middle East region. We will certainly be looking for opportunities to work more closely with the Emirati community."

Mrs Devine added: "The British Council has traditionally been very active in the field of education in the UAE and continues to work with education bodies in the UAE and the UK, to facilitate the exchange of knowledge and experience. However, we will also be placing greater emphasis on our activities in the Arts and culture, building on recent successes, such as the Common Ground exhibition, and bringing new initiatives to the UAE, including our climate change project in 2007."