(Zaman Al Wasl)- German Ministry of Youth and Family Affairs has nominated Syrian refugee Mou’tasim Rifai for one of the most important volunteering awards in Germany, which will be voted for on September 12.
Rifai was awarded the Youth Volunteer Service Award the previous year in Nuremberg, where he has lived since 2016.
Rifai has begun volunteering in civil society organizations since his first year in Germany, seeing this as a form of gratitude to the German society, which opened its doors to receive hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees, in addition to the role of these organizations in influencing public policies.
Along with his volunteer work at Amnesty International, Rifai became a member of the German Social Democratic Party in Nuremberg, hoping to strengthen Syrians' ability to influence decision-making in democracies like Germany by forming lobbyists that express political views that reflect the interests of Syrians. They focus on German and European policies towards Syria and refugees, and communicating the true picture of what is happening in Syria today and the destruction caused by the regime.
Al-Rifai considers volunteering as the most sensible way to integrate horizons for a broader and more comprehensive understanding of the society and culture of the host country, and a key to internal peace.
Al-Rifai also works as an intercultural communication consultant, having also attended many conferences as a representative of refugees in Germany to the media, including the German Federal Parliament, in addition to attending many discussion sessions with civil society organizations and a number of German government agencies.
Eight years of war in Syria have killed 560,000 people and driven half the pre-war population of 22 million from their homes, including more than 6 million as refugees to neighbouring countries.
Zaman Al Wasl
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