Melissa Fleming

Concerned citizen, Connector, Idea generator, Promoter, Public servant, Social entrepreneur, World traveler

I am the United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Global Communications. Based at UN headquarters in New York, I lead a global team of communicators to inform the public and drive action around the most urgent issues of our times. Previously, as head of communications at the UN Refugee Agency, I travelled to war zones and refugee camps to give voice, drive empathy and build support for the millions of people forcibly displaced from their homes. I believe communications must not only inform but also generate empathy and stir action. I am a frequent interview guest on international media platforms, and my talks are featured on TED.com. I am the author of the book, A Hope More Powerful than the Sea and the host of the podcast, Awake at Night. I was the organizer of TEDxKakumaCamp (the 1st TEDx event in a refugee camp) and TEDxPlaceDesNationsWomen.

Visions that improve the world. Solutions to stop wars and end displacement. Fighting for human rights and helping people who have lost everything get a new start. Acts of humanity. Storytelling that makes people care.

Refugee camps should be more than just temporary population centers, where people languish, waiting for peace to return to their countries. Rather as centers of excellence, where refugees can triumph over their trauma and train for their return home. As agents of positive change and social transformation. How we treat the uprooted will shape the future of our world. Victims of war can hold the key to lasting peace. It is the refugees who can stop the cycle of violence.

humanitarian action, international relations, Journalism & Communication, nuclear non-proliferation and security, Refugee Protection

I had the opportunity to speak at TEDGlobal 2014 in Rio to make my case for investing in refugees - not only because they deserve our humanity but because it should be in the strategic self-interest of countries to do more than just help refugees survive, but to help them thrive. A year later, I spoke at TEDxThessaloniki, telling the incredible story of a teen Syria refugee, Doaa who survived one of the worst shipwrecks on the Mediterranean Sea. 500 fellow passengers drowned, including her fiancée. Doaa was rescued after four days floating on child’s inflatable ring and managed to save a baby girl. This talk led to a book I wrote on Doaa's life, A Hope More Powerful than the Sea, which is published in over 12 languages and is optioned by Paramount Pictures to become a film by Steven Spielberg and J.J. Abrams. I am also a TEDx organizer: TEDxPlaceDesNations and also TEDxKakumaCamp - the first ever TEDx event held in a refugee camp.

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