Nhial Deng

Nhial Deng is a 23-year-old South Sudanese refugee, writer, and community activist. He spent 11 years in the Kakuma refugee camp in Kenya and now attends Huron University in Canada.

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As a youth leader and community activist in Kakuma, Nhial initiated a number of projects in the camp to help young people build better futures such as the Refugee Youth Peace Ambassadors and SheLeads Kakuma. He is passionate about the role of education, mentorship, and social entrepreneurship as powerful tools for young people to build better futures and communities.

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Today, while pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in Global Studies and Digital Communications at Huron University; he uses his voice through writing and speaking engagement to advocate for refugees and engage institutions that dominate the world of the displaced populations. Nhial is a refugee representative on the Secretariat of the Global Taskforce on Third Country Education Pathways, advises the Government of Canada’s Together for Learning Campaign via the Refugee Education Council, and sits on the Refugee Advisory Group of the UNHCR’s Annual Tripartite Consultations on Resettlement (ATCR).