CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD ARABIC VERSION Raghid Nahhas was born in 1949 at the house of his grandfather Hajj Redha Nahhas in Old Damascus. Hajj Redha is one of the founders of al-Mohsinyya High School in Damascus, from where Nahhas graduated. His maternal grandfather, Sheikh Ahmad Aref Elzein, was a reformist in South Lebanon, and the founder and editor of al-Irfan, a leading literary publication that played a pioneering role in Arab culture in the first half of the twentieth century. Nahhas continued his education at the American University of Beirut where he graduated in Biology and Marine Sciences with a Master Degree in 1976. He obtained his Ph.D. in Environmental Zoology from the University of Hull in England in 1981. He worked in research and teaching at the American University and at Hull University, and in Syria at the Supreme Council of Sciences and the Marine Research Centre. He was adviser to a number of ministries and organizations. He was very active with the United Nations' Environment Programme. Nahhas migrated to Australia in 1988 where he worked as a consultant for the Environment Protection Authority in Victoria, then co-established and headed its Marine Research Group. In 1990, he moved to Sydney to head the Estuaries and Beaches Section of the Scientific Services Branch of Sydney Water Board. He then became a Senior Manager for the same organization that he left after six years, focusing on his own business in consulting, translations and journalism, in addition to a full-time career as a public servant. Nahhas headed and participated in several associations and councils, both in the literary and scientific fields. He is a member of the Australian Society of Authors, and the New South Wales Writers' Centre. He organized and participated in a large number of local, regional and international conferences and forums. Nahhas established Kalimat in 1999, and the first issue was published in March 2000 as an Australian-Arabic literary quarterly, under the umbrella of SyrAus Incorporated, the organization created mainly for that purpose. Soon, however, it became clear that Kalimat was Nahhas' sole responsibility, and that its boundaries were quickly extending worldwide. It was eventually launched as an "International Periodical of Creative Writing in English and Arabic". Nahhas obtained an "Australia Day Medal" in 2003 for publishing and editing Kalimat and for his efforts in providing access among cultures. For the same reasons, The Arabic Heritage League in Australia awarded him the 2005 "Gibran International Award". In fact, Nahhas' literary and artistic leanings emerged at an early stage in his life, but 1978 was a turning point when the prestigious Arabic literary periodical al-Adaab accepted one of his short stories for publication. He has many scientific and literary publications and translations. Nahhas is married to Najat Nizam who is a pharmacist working for a major hospital in Sydney. She is a co-founder and major sponsor of Kalimat. They have two daughters: Aza & Jumana. Aza is an Information Technology Consultant, currently working in London. Aza has been a sponsor of Kalimat and the webmaster of its website. Jumana is a graduate of science and commerce who is working in financial management in Sydney. Jumana has been an editorial and administrative assistant for Kalimat.