Emtithal Mahmoud
Emtithal Mahmoud
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About Emi
Emi Mahmoud, Sudanese-American world champion slam poet and former refugee, began supporting UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, in 2016 and was appointed a UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador in 2018.
Born in the Sudanese capital of Khartoum, Emi emigrated to Philadelphia in the US when she was just five.
Through her award-winning writing and powerful performances on global stages, including the UN General Assembly, COP, the World Economic Forum in Davos and the Women’s Forum in Paris, Emi has raised awareness of the global refugee crisis, creating empathy and advocating on behalf of the forcibly displaced.
UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador Emi Mahmoud participated in COP 28 in December 2023 and recited one of her poems, "Song of the Earth”.
UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador Emi Mahmoud participated in COP 28 in December 2023 in the UAE.
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Climate activism
Since 2021, Emi has worked alongside UNHCR in bringing refugees, internally displaced, and stateless people to the forefront of conversations regarding climate change. In December 2023, Emi attended COP28 in Dubai, where she performed her poem ‘The Song of the Earth’ and attended events focused on strengthening climate action in protracted crises and the interrelationship between human rights and climate justice.
Emi’s attendance at COP28 followed a climate-focussed field visit to Cameroon in November 2023. Emi witnessed and participated in a reforestation project there in both Minawao Refugee Camp and Bogo’s IDP settlement. Emi also reunited with two refugees whom she met virtually in 2021. At the time, Layatu and Luka had shared the powerful stories of their work to create The Great Green Wall, which inevitably informed her widely shared and profoundly impactful poem ‘Di Baladna’ (translating to “Our Land” in Arabic), which brought to light how refugees are impacted by climate change.
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‘Di Baladna’, inspired by Emi's conversations with refugees from Bangladesh, Cameroon, and Jordan, is a plea from Mother Earth to humanity to repair all the damage inflicted on her and spare future generations from climate chaos.
‘Di Baladna’ premiered at the Conference of Parties to the United Nations Climate Convention (COP26) in Glasgow and performed at COP27 in Sharm-El Sheikh. Emi’s moving performance was published by Reuters and syndicated globally.
UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador Emtithal (Emi) Mahmoud is pictured at Azraq Wetlands in Jordan ahead of attending COP26.
Goodwill Ambassador Emi Mahmoud visited UN Headquarters with a crucial reminder: "if we're gonna do this, we can't do it without women."
UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador Emtithal (Emi) Mahmoud is pictured at the solar power plant in Azraq Camp, in Jordan.
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Recent advocacy and campaigning
Following the eruption of conflict in Sudan in April 2023, Emi lent her voice to UNHCR to raise awareness about the impact of the war in Sudan on innocent civilians. She shared with the world her profoundly personal poem - ‘Sudan Balady’ – to draw attention to the devastating impacts of conflict in Sudan, including for her loved ones. In July 2023, Emi travelled to Nairobi, Kenya, to record content to raise funds for UNHCR’s Sudan emergency appeal.
In November 2023, Emi attended the second Africa Forum on Displacement in Accra, Ghana. The forum seeks to create African-led solutions to the rising numbers of forcibly displaced in the region. Emi opened the event with a poetry performance and participated in media and panel discussions.
In the same month, Emi attended the Instant Network Schools programme event – an initiative UNHCR and Vodafone Foundation set up to give refugees, host communities, and their teachers access to digital learning content. Emi performed her poem, ‘Song of the Earth’, and shared remarks on the importance of refugee education as a former refugee who graduated from Yale University in 2016.
In September 2023, Emi travelled to New York to participate in the UN General Assembly Climate Week reception. Emi also lent her voice to key UNHCR campaigns, including the recent multi-voice video drawing attention to the Global Refugee Forum.
Slam Poet and UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador Emi Mahmoud performs at the Sziget Festival in Hungary.
The reigning World Poetry Slam Champion, Emi Mahmoud, performs at the 2016 Nansen Refugee Award ceremony.
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Past highlights of Emi’s UNHCR support
Emi has travelled on field visits with UNHCR to Jordan, Uganda, Greece, Kenya, Ghana, the United Arab Emirates, France, and Cameroon.
At the Azraq refugee camp in Jordan, Emi met a Syrian family and spoke with one of the daughters regarding her love of poetry. In Lesvos, Greece, Emi met with Syrian refugees who had survived the perilous sea crossing from Turkey; this inspired her to write ‘Bird Watching on Lesvos Island’, which she performed at UNHCR’s Nansen Refugee Award ceremony in 2016.
Emi has been a committed supporter of UNHCR campaigns, adding her voice to our #WithRefugees campaign; performing at the 2016 UN General Assembly; supporting the Everyone Counts Campaign; writing a special poem entitled ‘The Seven Stages of Grief During Coronavirus’ for World Refugee Day 2020; and supporting UNHCR’s Ramadan campaign.
As well as attending high-profile global events, Emi has performed her poetry on stages across the world, from Google Zeitgeist in the US and UK to Sziget musical festival (2019) in Hungary, where she delivered a powerhouse performance of her world championship-winning poem, ‘Mama’. In 2018, Emi also performed at the first-ever TEDx event held in a refugee camp.
Emi's work as a Goodwill Ambassador
News and highlights
Find the latest news and key highlights about Emi's work as a UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador.
Emi Mahmoud’s powerful new poem in the time of #COVID19 will leave you emotional... 😔
— UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency (@Refugees) June 17, 2020
Then speechless... 😮
And finally inspired. 💙 #WorldRefugeeDay pic.twitter.com/WyO5ALZJ6z
