Razan Ibraheem

Razan Ibraheem speaks at Saoirse | Freedom - a Trailblaze experience live at Kilmainham Gaol on Easter Monday 2017 Razan Ibraheem is a Syrian born journalist. She came over to Ireland to do her MA (ELT) at the University of Limerick. The escalating violence in her country made her seek stay on in Ireland. She works as a journalist in a leading social media news agency, Storyful. Her deep sorrow for the tragic situation in Syria made her volunteer to go to Greece to help refugees last year. The people she met and the stories she heard from Syrian refugees there changed her perspective in life. She became an activist fighting for human rights and the rights of refugees, especially women and children. Razan is a regular contributor to various newspaper articles and current events programmes on Irish radio and TV, endeavouring to explain the intricacies of Middle East politics to the Irish public. She gave a speech with the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon. Last year she was invited by the UN to a high-level meeting on global responsibility sharing through pathways for admission of Syrian refugees. She has also been involed in projects with UNICEF, Amnesty International, Brighter Futures and Immigration Council. Razan was rewarded the International Woman of the Year by the Irish Tatler. “If we fight for something, we fight for the thing we love. When we fight against something, we fight against the thing we hate” Simon Sinek What does freedom mean for us as individuals, as nations and as world citizens living in extreme times? What are we fighting for in a #post-truth culture? Freedom invites a host of artists, musicians, performers, activists and thinkers to decode the burning questions at the heart of cultural revolution and evolution. These “freedom fighters” set out to navigate many perspectives from the personal to the political and beyond. Participants included Colm O’Gorman {Amnesty International Ireland} Sunny Jacobs {Human Rights Activist}, Raoul Martinez {Philosopher, Artist, Author and filmmaker- Creating Freedom}, Lynne Ruane {Educational Activist and Independent Politician} Ailbhe Smyth {Feminist & Activist}, Mary Kate O’ Flannagan {Award Winning Writer, Grand Slam Champion storyteller of the Moth}, Razan Ibraheen {Syrian Journalist, Irish Tatler International Woman of the Year} Diarmiud Lyng {Hurler and Youth Facilitator},Tavengwa Tavengwa {Director in Ernst & Young} Radie Peat {Musician Performer}, Eric Mingus {Musician Performer} and Tonnta Music Ensemble. Saoirse was brought to you by The Trailblazery with the kind support of Creative Ireland, Dublin City Council, The OPW and Catapult.