Nhial Deng is a 23-year-old South Sudanese refugee, writer, youth advocate, community activist and organizer. He spent 11 years in the Kakuma refugee camp in Kenya and now attends Huron University in Canada. As a youth leader and community activist in Kakuma, Nhial initiated several 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 refugees to build better futures and communities, and his work revolves around quality education, gender equity and peacebuilding.

Today, while pursuing a bachelor’s degree in global affairs and digital communications, Nhial is active in the advocacy space for refugees, education, intersectional feminism and meaningful youth engagement. He sits on a number of advisory boards, including the government of Canada’s Refugee Education Council, and is involved in several global youth movements. Nhial is working on Kakuma Book Drive, a global student-led solidarity movement trying to mobilize 10,000 textbooks, laptops and funding for a library and community centre for young people in Kenya’s Kakuma refugee camp.