Babel Project Facilitators

Katrina Baylis

Katrina is Palestinian and has lived in England, Australia and Aotearoa-New Zealand. Her parents were forced to flee Palestine in 1948, their house and land being occupied by Israeli settlers. She still has family in Jerusalem and the occupied territories. Katrina has an eclectic career in theatre, events coordination and as an advocate and educator for peace, justice and reconciliation. She completed a Bachelor of Arts specialising in International Politics from La Trobe University, and a Multi Cultural Arts Professional Development Degree from The Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology. Katrina has worked in theatre with all ages of children from 2 – 102 years old. She has organised the Summer City children’s programme for the Wellington City Council, being well known in Wellington as Fairy Trina, under which she performs for children’s parties and events. Katrina is the former presenter of Britain’s ‘Sportswoman’, star of Australia’s ‘Secret Life of Us’ and ‘Neighbours’, and has finished shooting Gibson Group’s “My Story” this year and starred in TVNZ’s ‘Karaoke High’ last year. In 2005, she starred in Gibson Group’s ‘The Insiders Guide to Love’. Katrina has also appeared in a raft of professional and independent theatre shows. She produced ‘Death in Gaza at Bats this year as well as performing at “La Mama”, “Playhouse” and “Gasworks” theatre’s in Melbourne. She has been active in community building amongst diverse ethnic communities in Melbourne and Wellington. She is the assistant director and youth outreach coordinator of the Peace Foundation in Wellington, a member of the Wellington Peace City Committee and founder of the Palestine Peace and Solidarity Group, which aims to achieve justice, peace and reconciliation in the Middle East and between Middle Eastern peoples (Palestinian, Arab, Israeli, Jewish, Muslim, Christian and others) in Wellington.

Tal Rogoff

Tal first came to New Zealand two years ago from Jerusalem, Israel. Her parents and sister are still living there. Being an Israeli citizen, she fulfilled her military obligations (2 years of service), serving as a Casualty Officer (specialised social work, involving bereaved families, and wounded and ill soldiers) before leaving for Wellington and university. She has volunteered at Wellington Hospital as a 'Pink Lady' for the last six months, as well as recently joining the Trade Aid retail staff in Wellington CBD, and volunteering as an intern for the Peace Foundation and the Parliamentary Network for Nuclear Disarmament. Although half-way across the world, Tal still cares deeply about the conflict and troubles needing addressing in the Middle East. With Katrina Baylis, she hopes to use her first-hand experiences of the Middle East situation to help educate youth in conflict resolution and mediation skills.