Nour Barakeh

N our studied at the Higher Institute of Dramatic Arts in Damascus and graduated from the Faculty of Pharmacy at Damascus University. Through her scientific academic study and artistic work, she strives to understand society from different viewpoints.

Having gained experience ranging from theater and dance to social work and journalism, her goal is to support the establishment of sustainable educational projects focused on empowering young people. In that regard, Nour has conducted numerous contemporary dance workshops with internal refugee children in Syria.

Most recently she was featured by the Austrian broadcaster ORF on the occasion of the International Day of Peace and UNHCR for International Women’s Day. Her theater piece ‘Not a Fate’ – about peace-building among youth in conflict situations – was performed at an event hosted by the Second President of the Austrian Parliament. She has spoken on numerous high-profile panels on refugee and migration issues highlighting young, female voices such as at European Forum Alpbach 2018 alongside former UN SG Ban Ki-Moon and former Austrian President Heinz Fischer.

Nour spent a month at International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) in 2016 during the Citizen Artist Incubator project. In 2018, she was part of the Artistic Cast of Migraspectives, an art-science production which premiered at the summer school on evidence and policy, which IIASA hosted together with the European Commission’s Joint Research Center under the under the Auspices of the Austrian EU presidency.

Nour is one of the Founders of SDG 5 Thrive! – an initiative inspiring people across the world to act on issues that matter.