Yiech Pur Biel
Yiech Pur Biel

UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador Yiech Pur Biel during his visit to Kakuma, Kenya in June 2022.
55 countries
currently hosting DAFI students
over 21,500 young refugees
supported to undertake tertiary studies since 1992
In 2023, the main theme for the Regional Consultations is Solutions with a focus on Inclusion and Gender Equality. For more information, please consult the concept note.
The outcomes and recommendations of the Regional consultations will be presented at the seventy-fourth session of the Executive Committee of the High Commissioner’s Programme (ExCom) from 9 to 13 October 2023. They will also feed into the 2024 Global Consultations, focusing on the same theme.
For further information about the Consultations in each region, please visit this page regularly.
15,860 applications
to the DAFI programme in 2021
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Monther Alhoshan from Syria, studying law on a UNHCR scholarship
"I was accepted in the programme in 2014. I cannot even describe how I felt that day. I was getting my hopes and my dreams back. Education is everything in my life. Eventually, I want to go back to Syria and serve our people there, by using my skills and my knowledge."
When you multiply that with the communities and people who experience the ripple effect of that education, the impact is almost impossible to fathom.
And this is only the beginning. With the help of Aiming Higher, the UNHCR scholarship programme is poised to see ever-larger numbers of graduates becoming part of the global refugee scholarship alumni family.
Yiech Pur Biel's work as a UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador
In some societies, women and girls face discrimination and violence every day, simply because of their gender. An ordinary task like collecting water or going to the toilet can put them at risk of rape or abuse.
In times of displacement, this problem escalates. Women and girls make up around 50 per cent of any refugee, internally displaced or stateless population, and those who are unaccompanied, pregnant, heads of households, disabled or elderly are especially vulnerable.
Find out how countries around the globe celebrate World Refugee Day by selecting a country from the drop-down:
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World Refugee Day 2023
Join us in 2023 to support refugees and help raise awareness and advocate for their rights. Watch this page leading up to 20 June for more information and activities for World Refugee Day 2023.