NaTakallam

NaTakallam ('we speak' in Arabic) is an award-winning social enterprise that offers professional language learning, translation and cultural exchange services delivered by skilled refugees and displaced persons worldwide. Forcibly displaced people face linguistic, cultural and legal barriers to finding employment, which is a tremendous waste of human capital. NaTakallam leverages the global gig economy and accessible technology to transcend borders and create income opportunities. NaTakallam offers affordable and flexible language practice with native speakers that can be tailored to users’ needs and interests, as well as translation and interpretation services. On the other end, refugees gain a dignifying source of income, enabling them to pursue their interests and participate meaningfully in the digital and local economy, all while fostering global intercultural exchange and raising awareness on the refugee crisis. To date, some 100 displaced persons have self-generated over $800,000 through 30,000+ hours of NaTakallam conversation sessions with 8,000+ users in 90+ countries. We’ve also partnered with over 50 universities and K-12 classrooms which include NaTakallam as a complement to the classroom setting. We maintain formal partnerships with NGOs, tech companies, and philanthropic ventures. We offer conversation sessions, formal lessons in colloquial (amiyah) & classical written Arabic (fus'Ha), in addition to other languages, like French, Persian and Spanish. Our professional translation and interpretation services are available in 10+ languages. We've worked with organizations including IRC, WeWork, Ben & Jerry's and the Malala Fund.