Olympic athlete and Syrian refugee Yusra Mardini has been announced as the latest UNHCR goodwill ambassador, following her advocating for the rights of refugees to have access to safe shelter, education, livelihoods and training opportunities at the UN General Assembly in 2016.

Mardini commented 'I am thrilled to join the UNHCR family and eager to continue spreading the message that refugees are just normal people living through traumatic and devastating circumstances, who are capable of extraordinary things if only given a chance. The UN Refugee Agency does the most important and incredible work for refugees under extremely challenging circumstances, and I am proud to use my voice to support UNHCR'.