Draft:Nhial Deng

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  • Comment: The new references you've added since this was last declined just four days ago are still not reliable or notability-supporting sources. You do not make a person notable enough for a Wikipedia article by referencing it to content that was self-published by organizations he was directly affiliated with -- for instance, you do not make a person notable for United Nations work by referencing that work to content that the United Nations published itself on its own website, you make a person notable for that by referencing it to journalism being done in real media that covers his work for the United Nations as a news story. Wikipedia content, additionally, cannot be referenced to Nhial Deng's own Twitter or Instagram accounts, either, as social networking posts are also not reliable or notability-building sources. Bearcat (talk) 17:50, 17 October 2022 (UTC)
  • Comment: This is still based too much on primary sources that are not support for notability, with not nearly enough reliable source media coverage present to establish that he would pass WP:GNG. Bearcat (talk) 02:25, 13 October 2022 (UTC)
  • Comment: Hi! Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but, these sources don't help qualify the subject for inclusion in Wikipedia, as others have written.
    We need *significant* coverage ABOUT Nhial Deng. Examples: magazine and newspaper interviews and features about Nhial Deng; books written ABOUT Nhial Deng; television and radio features ABOUT Nhial Deng - not his organization or that mention him in passing.
    Websites of organizations and nonprofits that the subject is involved in DO NOT help establish notability and determine if the subject should have an encyclopedia entry.
    If those are available, please improve this submission. If not, then it appears to be WP:TOOSOON for Nhial Deng to have his own Wikipedia article.
    If you have any questions please ask them at WP:TEAHOUSE.
    Thank you for contributing to Wikipedia. Missvain (talk) 15:36, 30 June 2022 (UTC)
  • Comment: Does not appear to meet WP:GNG. Hitro talk 08:44, 5 January 2022 (UTC)
  • Comment: The Chronicle of Higher Education is a solid source, but one of the CNN articles was written by Deng and the other is an opinion piece which does not provide in-depth coverage about Deng. Likewise, the Hollywood Reported does not provide in-depth coverage. (Side note - external links do not belong in the body of an article so please remove it. See WP:EL). S0091 (talk) 17:37, 18 December 2021 (UTC)
Nhial Deng
Nhial Deng speaking at the United Nations in New York, September 2022.
Born20 January 1999 (age 25)
Itang, Ethiopia
Years active2016-present
Organization(s)Refugee Youth Peace Ambassadors (founder)
SheLeads Kakuma (founder)
Known forRefugee-rights advocacy
Height194 cm (6 ft 4 in)
AwardsFilmAid 2021 Student Award

World Vision Hero for Children: Courage Award 2023 Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee Award

Chegg.org $100,000 Global Student Prize

Nhial Deng (born January 20th, 1999) is a Canada-based South Sudanese refugee, storyteller, youth advocate, and community activist. 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[1][2], Nhial initiated mutliple projects[3] to help young people in the camp build better futures such as the Refugee Youth Peace Ambassadors[4] and SheLeads Kakuma[5]. He is passionate about the role of education, mentorship, and social entrepreneurship as powerful tools for young people to build better futures and communities.

In 2021, Nhial was awarded[6][7][8] a full-ride scholarship to Huron University College at the University of Western Ontario in Canada, where he is currently pursuing a bachelor's degree in Global Studies and Digital Communications. He now lives in London, Ontario, Canada.

Nhial's writings have been published by Al Jazeera and CNN, and he has appeared for interviews on CNBC, CNN, Al Jazeera, ITV, BBC, and KTN News, among others. He has also been featured on YouthCan by Lizz Ntonjira[9], Game Changer by Koen Timmers, and Unfolding Peace by Kawtar El Alaoui[10].

In recognition of his community work and advocacy efforts, Nhial has received numerous accolades, including the World Vision Hero for Children: Courage Award 2023, Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee Award, and, most recently, the prestigious $100,000 Global Student Prize 2023.

Early Life[edit]

Nhial's father fled the first Sudanese Civil War and settled in Itang, Ethiopia where Nhial was born in 1999. He learned about his country of origin; South Sudan through his father's radio and storytelling. His father work multiple jobs in Itang in order to send him to a good school while also supporting his mother and siblings who live in a nearby village.[8][11][12]

His first language is Nuer and he self-taught himself English by listening to BBC World Service.[8] By listening to the radio and reading at a young age, Nhial learned about the world outside his village and questioned why it was unjust to his father who had to flee war on several occasions. He also dreamed of becoming a journalist and speaking on BBC World Service.

Following an armed attack on his village in 2010, his father sent him to Kakuma Refugee Camp in Kenya at age 11 alongside a group of women and children fleeing the attack.[8]

Adult life and activism[edit]

In Kakuma, Nhial was assigned a foster family[13] to take care of him because he arrived in the refugee camp as an unaccompanied minor. His life took a turn when he resumed school in the refugee camp where he was able to find a safe place to heal and think about a bright future again.

In 2017, Nhial founded the Refugee Youth Peace Ambassadors[14], a refugee-led, youth-led initiative to create a safe space for young people in the camp to heal from their trauma, play together, promote peace among different communities, and develop innovative solutions for challenges faced by their communities. By the end of 2021, RYPA empowered over 6,000 young people in Kakuma through peacebuilding programming, mentorship sessions, social entrepreneurship workshops, community peace dialogues, and game and sports activities.

To tell the stories of his community which he felt were told through the eyes of external observers, Nhial started a journalism club[8] at his school in Kakuma and social media channels on Twitter[15] and Instagram[16] where he posts about human rights, challenges facing refugees, and the stories of people in Kakuma.

After graduating from high school, Nhial enrolled in the FilmAid Kenya’s Media Entrepreneurship Training Program[17], a 10-month course funded by the US State Department and the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. In October 2021, he was awarded the inaugural FilmAid Student Award for his community and advocacy work at the FilmAid Annual 2021 Benefit[18] in New York City, USA.

In 2019, Nhial was selected as a Global Changemaker[19] for his community work and advocacy for refugees and invited to attend the Global Youth Summit[20] in Zurich, Switzerland. His application for a Schengen short-stay visa was refused[8] by the Embassy of Switzerland in Nairobi, Kenya and he could not attend the conference.

In 2020, Nhial was selected as a ONE Campaign Champion for East Africa[21] and also admitted into the Women Deliver Young Leader Program, a 3-year fellowship for young leaders passionate about gender equality. Through the World Deliver Young Leaders Program[22], Nhial set up SheLeads Kakuma[5] in December 2021, a leadership and advocacy program for young girls and women in the Kakuma refugee camp.

In March 2021, Nhial was admitted to the University of California, Berkeley[23] for the fall 2021 semester but couldn't attend Berkeley due to insufficient financial aid. A group of pro-bono college counsellors from the US and Singapore helped him secure a full-ride four-year scholarship to Huron University College at the University of Western Ontario in London, Ontario, Canada where is currently pursuing a bachelor’s degree in Global Affairs and Digital Communications.

Besides his studies, Nhial is actively advocating for refugees, peace, feminism, and meaningful engagement of young people in decision-making. In the summer of 2022, he spoke at 11 conferences in 7 countries where he shared stages with world leaders discussing solutions to some of the most pressing issues of our time. During his trip to the UK in early September to attend the One Young World 2022 summit[24], Nhial participated in a roundtable discussion[25] with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle on inclusion and gender equality. After his trip to the UK, he travelled to New York to speak at the United Nations Transforming Education Summit[14] where he advocated for refugee education, gender transformative education, and meaningful engagement of young people in global education decision-making tables.

Selected publications[edit]

  • Feature story School was a safe place: How education helped Nhial realize a dream, United Nations, 2022
  • Press release Canada champions education and youth voices at the UN Transforming Education Pre-Summit at UNESCO in Paris, Government of Canada, 2022
  • Op-ed Not only Ukrainians, but all refugees deserve compassion, Al Jazeera, 2022[26][27]
  • Op-ed Refugees in Kenya’s Kakuma and Dadaab camps are still in limbo, Al Jazeera, 2022[28]
  • United Nations' Youth Envoy, Meet 10 leaders who can inspire you to change the world (7th Edition), United Nations, 2020
  • Essay Kiron AmplifyNow Q&A with Nhial Deng, Kiron Open Higher Education, 2020

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Inspiring Amala Alumni Stories: Nhial Deng". Amala Education. Retrieved 2022-10-16.
  2. ^ Refugees, United Nations High Commissioner for. "'Give us a seat at the table and we'll change the world'". UNHCR. Retrieved 2022-10-16.
  3. ^ "Bright future in Kakuma Refugee Camp". www.unrefugees.org.au. Retrieved 2022-10-16.
  4. ^ "Meet 10 leaders who can inspire you to change the world (7th Edition) – Office of the Secretary-General's Envoy on Youth". June 2020. Retrieved 2022-08-05.
  5. ^ a b "SheLeads Kakuma". SheLeads Kakuma. Retrieved 2022-04-10.
  6. ^ Kim, Soo-Jung (2022-08-12). "Leading by example: Nhial Deng's pursuit of a bright future through higher education". UNHCR Canada. Retrieved 2022-10-16.
  7. ^ "New Huron student, Nhial Deng, exemplifies Leadership with Heart within the Kakuma Refugee Camp". Huron University. Retrieved 2021-11-08.
  8. ^ a b c d e f Hoover, Eric (24 June 2021). "Escaping Oblivion". The Chronicle of Higher Education. Retrieved 2021-11-07.
  9. ^ "#YouthCan, a book by Lizz Ntonjira". #YouthCan. Retrieved 2022-10-07.
  10. ^ "Book". Conscious Togetherness. Retrieved 2022-10-07.
  11. ^ "Stories - From a Kenyan Refugee Camp to a Canadian University – a Young Man Learns Filmmaking Skills that Help Him Forge a New Life". FilmAid. 14 June 2021. Archived from the original on 15 Dec 2021. Retrieved 2021-12-15.
  12. ^ "Meet The Unlimited: Nhial Deng". www.generationunlimited.org. Retrieved 2022-01-04.
  13. ^ ""Home is the people around you."". OHCHR. Retrieved 2022-10-07.
  14. ^ a b Nations, United. "School was a safe place: How education helped Nhial realize a dream". United Nations. Retrieved 2022-10-07.
  15. ^ "nhialgdeng". Twitter. Retrieved 2022-10-16.
  16. ^ "Nhial Deng (@nhialgdeng) • Instagram photos and videos". www.instagram.com. Retrieved 2022-10-16.
  17. ^ "Kenya". FilmAid. 12 February 2019. Retrieved 2022-10-16.
  18. ^ "2021 FilmAid Annual Benefit". FilmAid. Retrieved 2022-10-16.
  19. ^ gehle, courtney (2019-06-05). "Nhial- Ethiopia". Global Changemakers. Retrieved 2022-10-07.
  20. ^ "Global Youth Summit". Global Changemakers. Retrieved 2022-10-07.
  21. ^ Onano, Vivian (23 June 2020). "Recognizing the potential, talent, and dreams of young refugees". ONE Campaign.
  22. ^ "Nhial Deng". Women Deliver. Retrieved 2022-10-07.
  23. ^ Deng, Nhial (2021-09-10). "We're not villains or victims -- we're people seeking a better life". CNN. Retrieved 2022-10-07.
  24. ^ "The One Young World Manchester 2022, 5-8 September | One Young World". www.oneyoungworld.com. Retrieved 2022-10-07.
  25. ^ "Prince Harry and Meghan Markle Joined an Initimate Roundtable Discussion About Gender Equality". Town & Country. 2022-09-30. Retrieved 2022-10-07.
  26. ^ Kumaramangalam, Dakshayani (10 April 2022). "The refugee crisis that has been treated like no other, and three other weekend reads". Scroll.in. Retrieved 2022-04-10.
  27. ^ Fassler, Ella (12 April 2022). "Grassroots Groups Are Making Aid Supply Chains to Support People Fleeing Ukraine". Truthout. Retrieved 2022-04-18.
  28. ^ Akaeze, Anthony (2022-06-03). "Kenyan government silent on plans for Dabaab and Kakuma refugee camps". Baptist News Global. Retrieved 2022-06-09.
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