Northwestern University in Qatar (NU-Q) will host Fast FWD @ NU-Q, a professional development session featuring a masterclass on public speaking led by NU-Q faculty member and broadcast journalist Scheherazade Safla-Gaffoor.
Titled "Influential Public Speaking: Communicate with Confidence, Clarity, and Impact," the session will explore practical techniques for managing nerves, strengthening vocal delivery, and speaking with greater confidence and credibility in professional settings, from leading meetings to moderating panels.
Fast FWD @ NU-Q is a free professional development event for alumni of Qatar Foundation schools and current NU-Q juniors and seniors, offered in partnership between NU-Q's Executive Education Program and Student Experience office. Along with the seminar, the event includes a networking meet-and-greet and a complimentary buffet lunch, giving participants the chance to build both practical skills and professional connections within Qatar's community.
Safla-Gaffoor, an assistant professor in NU-Q's Journalism and Strategic Communications Program, brings nearly 30 years of experience in broadcast journalism, on-air presenting, and podcasting to the session. Her career spans television networks across the Middle East, Europe, and Africa, including Channel Five in London, South Africa's first 24-hour news channel ENCA, TRT World in Turkey, and Al Jazeera English. She was also a senior reporter and producer for The Exchange and its flagship show Qatar365 on Euronews.
Beyond broadcasting, Safla-Gaffoor produces and hosts 1001, a podcast launched in March 2025 that creates a platform for women across the Global South. The show explores topics ranging from the challenges of podcasting in a male-dominated industry to reporting from Cape Town's Cape Flats ganglands, and was a nominee for the Women Podcasters Network Awards 2026. She also teaches first-year journalism, broadcasting, and audio journalism at NU-Q.
Her work also explores representation in African media, including her doctoral research on the challenges facing Black women in South Africa’s podcasting industry. She has brought these issues to international platforms, moderating “70 Years After Bandung: Lessons for a New Global Order” at the Middle East Council’s conference on the legacy of the Bandung Conference in April 2025. She also presented at Web Summit Doha in February 2026 on digital storytelling and strategic communication in the Global South. Her work and advocacy have taken her to the African Union, where she was a featured speaker on gender, safety and media power at its AWiM25 conference in Addis Ababa in December 2025. She also contributed to the Kigali Declaration on eliminating gender-based violence in and through African media.
Safla-Gaffoor holds an MA in Digital Communications from Johns Hopkins University in the United States and a BA in Media and Communication, along with an Honours degree in Culture, Communication and Media Studies, from what was then the University of Natal in Durban, South Africa. She has also completed NU-Q Executive Education programs in Strategic Communication, Reputation, and Resilience in Times of Change, and in The Changing Business of Sport and Sport Communication.
The Fast FWD @ NU-Q Professional Development Seminar, "Influential Public Speaking: Communicate with Confidence, Clarity, and Impact," will take place on Thursday, October 29, 2026, at 9:00 a.m. at Northwestern University in Qatar, followed by a networking meet-and-greet session at 10:15 a.m. and a complimentary buffet luncheon at 12:45 p.m. The event is free and open to alumni of Qatar Foundation schools and current NU-Q juniors and seniors. Seating is limited.
For more information or to register for Fast FWD @ NU-Q, visit https://cvent.me/lZnZ8B
