Rawad inspires us with his story by telling us about his experience as a refugee and how he was motivated to start from the beginning and how he would like to help people to see their potential and to take on a new adventure. Rawad Zyadeh is the founder of the Syrian community in Kiel and surrounding areas, community for intercultural exchange and communication.

Born in 1983, in Daraya, Syria, Rawad worked as a lawyer for 4 years. In 2014 he came to Germany as refugee at the age of 30. Due to the war in Syria, he was forced to flee the country illegally. From Syria, his way led to the Lebanon where he worked voluntarily for an organisation offering help for refugees.

Having no perspective in the Lebanon, he and his family went to Germany.

Currently, Rawad is finishing his master studies in the program "Migration and Diversity" at Kiel University. Because his ambition to help refugees has prevailed, he is additionally working as mentor, guiding refugees with regards to their academic career at The International Center of Kiel University.

However, Rawad's work is not limited to university matters, he actively leads new projects within his community during which he, his friends and all members develop strategies in order to help refugees. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx