Abdulweli Ayup är uigurisk lingvist och poet som drev språkskolor för uiguriska i Kashgar, Xinjian, i nordvästra Kina.

Abduweli Ayup is a educator, activist, linguist and poet. He runs the non-profit organization "Uyghur Hjelp", which supports Uyghurs living in the diaspora by providing Uyghur language and cultural programs, vocational training, and human rights advocacy. Abduweli Ayup is a Uyghur linguist, educator, activist, and poet, originally from the Uyghur region of northwest China but currently based in Norway. His work came to international attention in 2013 when he was arrested on charges of “inciting separatism” after opening Uyghur-language kindergartens in his hometown and the provincial capital. After international outcry resulted in his release 15 months later, he left China and settled in Norway. He has published Uyghur-language textbooks for children and been involved in the establishment of more than 70 Uyghur mother-language classes around the world. His non-profit, Uyghur Hjelp, works to document the ongoing Uyghur crisis and support educational and cultural events. Abduweli’s work has been honored with the 2023 Linguapax International Award, the Linguistic Society of America’s 2024 Excellence in Community Linguistics Award, the Global Coalition for Language Rights’ first annual Language Rights Defenders Award, and an invitation to speak at the 2024 UN Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy. Additionally, Abduweli has released two documentaries in the past year: Freedom of Speech, which looks at three Uyghur heritage language schools in diaspora, and Behind the Mask, about his meeting with a former Chinese prison officer. Abduweli Ayup is a Uyghur linguist, educator, activist, and poet, originally from the Uyghur region of northwest China but currently based in Norway. His non-profit, Uyghur Hjelp, works to document China’s ongoing genocide of the Uyghurs and support Uyghur mother-tongue education in diaspora communities. Abduweli’s work has been honored with the 2023 Linguapax International Award, the Linguistic Society of America’s 2024 Excellence in Community Linguistics Award, the Global Coalition for Language Rights’ first annual Language Rights Defenders Award, and an invitation to speak at the 2024 UN Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy. Additionally, Abduweli has released two documentaries in the past year: Freedom of Speech, which looks at three Uyghur heritage language schools in diaspora, and Behind the Mask, about his meeting with a former Chinese prison officer