Hello, my name is Ahmed Badr.

When I was 8 years-old, my family's home in Baghdad was bombed by militia troops. We became refugees, and moved to Syria, which was much safer at the time. After living in Syria for two years, we applied for a United Nations Refugee resettlement program. After a long set of interviews, we were informed that we would soon be moving to America!

That was 12 years ago.

Adjusting to the American way of life was a challenge at first, but I soon began to realize the power of storytelling to inspire and bring people together. During my sophomore year of high school, I started a personal blog for my personal writing, and found it incredibly empowering. All of the sudden, I realized that people actually cared about my story!

I realized that by sharing my story, I was indirectly dispelling stereotypes and changing negative attitudes. I set out to create a platform for youth empowerment through storytelling. This is how Narratio was born!

Narratio works to activate, support, and highlight the creative expression of young people across the world, with a focus on displaced populations. We do this through publishing, partnerships, workshops, and fellowships.

Narratio envisions a world where a global collective of displaced young people is trained to tell their stories on their own terms, as leaders, stakeholders, and active members of their communities.

My story is one of many that are waiting to be shared. I do not want to be the exception, I want to be the rule. Join me and our amazing team of writers and artists as we draft, publish, and empower.

Ahmed can be reached at ahmedmbadr.com