Muzoon Almellehan

Muzoon Almellehan, 26, is a Syrian refugee and education activist.

Muzoon has been campaigning for children’s education in emergencies since she was forced to flee Syria in 2013 with her family. Muzoon started her campaign in Jordan, where she was living as a refugee in camps for three years, including 18 months in Za’atari. As part of a UNICEF-supported back-to-school campaign, she first advocated for more girls to go to school in August 2013 and went from tent to tent speaking with parents of children who were at risk of child marriage or early labor. Over the next two and a half years she became synonymous with standing up for the rights of children, particularly girls, to stay in or go back to school. She accompanied Malala on two visits to the camp.

Muzoon now lives in Newcastle, United Kingdom, with her family, and is a graduate of Newcastle University. She is the first UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador who is a refugee and offers a powerful, credible, authentic voice on education in emergencies.

In April 2023, Muzoon travelled to London with UNICEF to speak at a parliamentary event where she highlighted the importance of education in emergency contexts. In September 2022, Muzoon travelled to Jordan with UNICEF to meet children and refugees affected by the impact of COVID-19 school closures and raised awareness of the global learning crisis.

Muzoon has received the following awards and honors: Dresden Peace Prize 2020, Cle de Peau Power of Radiance award 2019, BBC’s list of 100 influential and inspirational women in 2017, TIME’s 30 Most Influential Teens of 2017, Teen Vogue’s 21 Under 21 Class of 2017 and a 2017 Glamour Women of the Year Award.

In 2019 Muzoon was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Laws from Glasgow Caledonian University.