Organizers
Richard Simcott — Founder & Lead Organiser
Richard Simcott is a British polyglot, who has studied over 50 languages. HarperCollins described him as one of the most multilingual people in the United Kingdom, and the Goethe Institute gave him the title Ambassador for Multilingualism.
He has many years of consulting experience using languages with diverse clients and offering his expertise on multilingual and multinational projects.
He is the original founder of the Polyglot Conference and The Language Event and manages a popular Facebook page called Speaking Fluently.
Judy Um — Diversity and Inclusion Manager
Judy Um is a polyglot, language specialist and language teacher based in Seoul, South Korea. She hopes to promote cultural and linguistic diversity among speakers and participants at the polyglot conference.
She graduated Summa Cum Laude from Seoul National University with a B.A. in French and Hispanic literature and language and has studied at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, Graduate School of Translation and Interpretation. She is also an associate member of the American Translators Association and the International Association of Hyperpolyglots. She has also spoken at various polyglot events such as the Polyglot Gathering, Polyglot Conference, Poliglotar and Women in Language.
Having grown up in both Seoul and Vancouver, she has always had an interest in cultural diversity and languages. She speaks Korean, English, French, Spanish, Mandarin Chinese, Italian, and Portuguese at different levels, with a couple more languages in progress.
Languages are her true passion, love, and life. As a person who cannot imagine her life without languages, she has made it her life-long mission to perfect her language skills and share her passion with people around the world.
Find out more about her at: https://www.judylinguist.com/
Lucy Mears — Speaker Recruitment and Communications Liaison Manager
With a Master’s in Gender and International Relations, Lucy brings a unique perspective to the role of Speaker Recruitment and Communications Liaison Manager. She is keen to highlight a diverse range of speakers and topics at the Conference.
Lucy has experience both working and speaking at events. At the 2016 At Gender conference in Vilnius, she presented her Master’s thesis on HIV/AIDS policy reform in Southeast Asia through a Queer Theory lens, and at the 2023 Polyglot Gathering she gave a talk about the importance of representation in the polyglot community.
Lucy has worked in events in Belgium, raising awareness of the negative impacts of large-scale mining in Latin America and other parts of the globe, as well as in the UK and South Africa, where she worked at the 21st International AIDS Conference in 2016.
Her dedication to fostering inclusivity and amplifying underrepresented voices also informs her practice as a languages teacher in the UK. Lucy is a language blogger; find her at https://thetalkingticket.blog/.
Olga Koeva — Musical Event & Language Exchange Organizer
Olga Koeva is a Bulgarian hyperpolyglot and a professional organist and pianist. She has a Bachelor’s degree in sacred music and a master’s degree in organ improvisation. Currently, Olga is reading Bachelor’s in International Relations and Management at the University of Applied Sciences in Regensburg, Germany.
She has always been interested in studying, practising, analyzing and improving languages. During the Polyglot Conference, she organizes and moderates workshops in different languages where she communicates with the audience on many topics. Additionally, Olga is responsible for the musical part of the Conference: as in 2020, her plan is to organize concerts in the future as well where she will perform songs in multiple languages and organ improvisations over melodies from different countries. Olga’s purpose is to organize many musical events in future Polyglot Conferences and always to establish a linkage between languages and music.
Olga Koeva speaks 13 languages fluently and is still improving them by reading literature in all these languages, listening to radio and communicating with her friends. You can find more information about my linguistic story here in these video clips online:
Miguel Ariza — Forum Moderator & Community Animator
Miguel is a language enthusiast on Mexican parents from New York City who now lives in Brazil. A late self “learner from 23, he has tried to study numerous languages, and found an interest in Slavic languages, but as a tutor, he enjoys helping others with Spanish and English, as well as in other things that others in the community may need.