Are you a teacher or event organiser? Are you looking for ways to include speakers with refugee background in your work?
All too often, discussions about forced displacement, migration and integration are about refugees rather than with refugees.
Through UNHCR’s Refugee Speakers Programme, UNHCR is in contact with a network of public speakers with refugee background who are open to sharing their own stories of fleeing and starting over.
Below you will find introductions to the speakers based in Sweden who are open to speaking opportunities. Please reach out to us and we will connect you with the right refugee speaker.
The speakers who are part of UNHCR’s network have all taken part in UNHCR’s Refugee Speakers Programme. Through the programme, they have worked one-to-one with a speaking coach from a TEDx organization and have participated in workshops on topics including trauma and storytelling and the global refugee situation.
Below, you will find bios of each of the speakers, information about their speaking preferences and a link to watch the personal story shared by the speaker during World Refugee Day 2022 or 2023.
Would you like to invite a speaker to your classroom or to an event you are organizing? Click here to get in contact with us and we will find the best speaker for your class or event.
Biographies
Ahmad
Ahmad was born in Syria and arrived in Sweden in 2015. He currently works as a pharmacist and is the founder and manager of the NGO Organization for Migrant Safety.
Ahmad is open to speaking opportunities in person and online in English, Swedish and Arabic.
Eva
Eva was born in Ukraine and arrived in Sweden in March 2022. She currently works as a teacher trainer and regularly organizes international events for teachers. Eva is currently involved in a project to promote vocational education for internally displaced people, veterans and others in Ukraine impacted by the war.
Eva is open to speaking opportunities in person and online, in both English and Ukrainian.
Sayed
Sayed was born in Kabul, Afghanistan, and arrived in Sweden in 2018. He currently works as Coordinator at the NGO Svenska med baby. Sayed has previously lived in Tokyo, Japan, where he studied international agricultural development.
Sayed is open to speaking opportunities in person and online in English, Swedish and Dari.
Olga
Olga was born in Odesa, Ukraine, and has a background in foreign languages and education. When she arrived in Stockholm in March 2022, she started to work at a school, helping Ukrainian children integrate into the Swedish school system. She currently works in the wind power sector, continuing her career interrupted by the war in Ukraine.
Olga is currently located in Malmö and is open to speaking opportunities in person and online, in English, Ukrainian and Russian.
Olga
Olga was born in the Donbass region of Ukraine and arrived in Sweden in April 2022. She is a qualified French teacher and currently works as Coordinator at the NGO Svenska med baby. Olga has previously published her story in the Swedish magazine Vi.
Olga is open to speaking opportunities in person and online in English, Ukrainian and French.
Elnaz
Elnaz was born in Iran and arrived in Sweden in 2020 and now works as a dance and theatre artist, dance teacher and academic researcher. Elnaz previously studied English literature, theatre and dance anthropology in Iran and around Europe.
Elnaz is open to speaking opportunities in person and online in English, Swedish and Farsi.
Faiaz
Faiaz was born in the Balkh Province in Afghanistan and arrived in Sweden in 2015. Faiaz works as a writer and journalist and has written six books, and is an active member of the inter-religious organisation A World of Neighbours.
Faiaz is open to speaking opportunities in person and online in primarily English and Swedish.
Widad
Widad was born in Syria and arrived in Sweden in 2013. She now lives in the UAE and works at the Museum of the Future. Widad has previously worked as an intern with UNHCR and is currently completing her Masters degree in Middle Eastern Studies at Stockholm University.
Widad is open to online speaking opportunities in English and Arabic.
Disclaimer: The views expressed by the speakers are the speakers’ own and do not necessarily reflect the position of UNHCR. When inviting a speaker, UNHCR acts as an intermediary between the speaker and the person/organization wishing to invite a speaker, but the practical arrangements are to be agreed upon between the speaker and the organization inviting the speaker.
News about the Refugee Speakers Programme
UNHCR launches the Refugee Speakers Programme 2024
To amplify the voices and stories of people who have been forced to flee their homes, UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, launched the Refugee Speakers Programme for the third year in a row.
Call for applicants: Interested in sharing your experiences as a refugee?
UNHCR’s Representation for the Nordic and Baltic Countries is pleased to announce that the call for applicants for the Refugee Speakers Programme 2024 is now open. UNHCR is looking for aspiring public speakers in Sweden with a refugee background who are passionate...
UNHCR launches the Refugee Speakers Programme 2023 in Sweden and Lithuania
Following a successful programme in Sweden last year, UNHCR launches the Refugee Speakers Programme in Sweden and Lithuania to amplify the voices and stories of persons with refugee background.