The Ceremony

Raya Abirached: Master of Ceremonies

Raya Abirached is one of the most well-known TV personalities in the Arab world. Raya started her career as a journalist in Beirut before moving to the UK in 1999. With more than 15 years of experience as a TV host, producer, writer and researcher, Raya hosts several successful TV shows and covers the world's most prestigious film events and festivals. In 2019, Raya won the Arab Women of the Year Award for Achievement in Television. 

Raya has supported UNHCR on many fronts. In 2020, she hosted a live fundraising winter telethon for UNHCR's winter appeal. She also launched another fundraising call during Ramadan and interviewed a refugee family live on her Instagram for World Refugee Day. 

In April 2021, Raya was appointed as UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador in the MENA Region. 

Manizha: Refugee Performance

Russian-Tajik singer Manizha was announced as a Goodwill Ambassador for UNHCR in December 2020. Manizha has been supporting UNHCR since October 2019, helping to raise awareness for campaigns and assisting in fundraising for people of concern in the Russian Federation. Manizha's involvement with UNHCR is driven by her personal story. In 1994 during the Tajikistan civil war, a shell hit her family house, forcing them to flee the country and move to Russia.  

This year, Manizha represented Russia at the Grand Final of the Eurovision Song Contest with the powerful song Russian Woman. Her musical style is described as art-pop, combining different genres such as hip-hop, soul, brassy funk, world music, choral arrangements, and Russian folk.  

Maurice Kirya: Musical performance

Maurice Kirya is a singer, songwriter and actor from Uganda, currently living in the Netherlands. He is a celebrated household name across East Africa with over a decade-long wealth of experience in the music industry. He is a dedicated humanitarian and has supported UNHCR in Uganda for many years. 

Maurice has been credited as the pioneer of Ugandan soul music – a style he's dubbed ''Mwooyo''. He has performed in over 35 countries across Africa, Europe and America, and collaborated with many artists. The singer has also featured in films like The Queen Of Katwe and The Last King of Scotland.  

Kinda Alloush: Special Message for the Nansen Laureate

Kinda Alloush is one of the most famous actresses in the Arab world. Her talent seemed to attract a large number of film directors across the Arab world as starred in several Arab films and TV dramas, including the Jordanian film The Strangers (2009), the Egyptian TV hit Hedou' Nesbi, and the Egyptian blockbuster Welad El-Amm, followed by other notable works across the Arab world.  

Recently, Kinda finished shooting Netflix's upcoming film The Swimmers, which traces the real-life story of Yusra and Sara Mardini, the Syrian refugee sisters. Yusra then went on to compete as part of the Refugee Olympic Team.  

Since 2016, Kinda has supported UNHCR's winter appeal campaigns and Ramadan campaigns each year. In 2019, she visited an informal settlement in Lebanon and joined refugee families in for iftar.