“My name is Hayat Akbari. I was born in Afghanistan and come from the Hazara community.”
Hayat’s journey has been shaped by displacement, uncertainty, and a search for safety, but also by community, opportunity, and collective action. Now based in Australia and serving as Chair of the Asia Pacific Refugee Rights Network (APRRN), his experience reflects what it means to rebuild a life across cultures while navigating new systems and possibilities.
At the heart of his work is a clear belief: “refugees are not only rebuilding their lives; they are leading organisations, shaping policies, strengthening communities, and driving social change.” He is passionate about ensuring people with lived experience are recognised as “leaders, experts, and decision-makers in their own right.”
His leadership journey was shaped in part by MYAN, which he says played “an important role” in his development. Through these experiences, he saw “the value of ensuring that young people are not only consulted but actively involved in shaping decisions that affect their lives.”
“It reinforced my belief that lived experience is a form of expertise,” he reflects, a principle that continues to guide his leadership today.
For Hayat, this year’s Refugee Week theme carries deep meaning. “The theme ‘A Million Stories’ is a powerful reminder that refugee experiences cannot be reduced to a single narrative.” Every person brings “their own story, identity, aspirations, talents, and experiences,” reflecting both challenges and resilience.
He has seen how stories “can change perceptions, influence decision-making, and build empathy.” More than that, they should be recognised “as sources of knowledge and expertise,” informing policy and practice in ways statistics alone cannot.
In his work with APRRN, Hayat is focused on strengthening refugee leadership and creating pathways for young people. The issue, he notes, is not capability, but “whether our institutions are willing to create space for them to do so.”
When it comes to solidarity, his message is clear: “Solidarity begins with listening, but it must not end there.” It means creating opportunities, supporting refugee-led initiatives, and asking how to “share power, create opportunities, and support refugee-led solutions.”
Reflecting on his own journey, Hayat says, “My own story is just one among millions.” What made the difference was not only resilience, but the opportunity to participate, contribute, and lead.
“Refugees are not only part of Australia’s story. We are helping to write its future. The more we create space for refugee voices, leadership, and lived experience, the stronger, fairer, and more inclusive our communities will become.”
As MYAN marks Refugee Week and the theme of A Million Stories, Hayat’s journey reminds us that refugee stories are not only stories of survival. They are stories of leadership, expertise, contribution, and change. His story challenges us to move beyond listening, and to ensure people with lived experience have the power, platforms, and opportunities to shape the decisions that affect their lives and Australia’s future.
Hayat Akbari is a former refugee and human rights advocate committed to advancing the rights, dignity, and meaningful participation of refugees, people seeking asylum, and migrants across Australia and the Asia-Pacific region. Drawing on his lived experience of displacement, he advocates for refugee leadership and the inclusion of lived experience in policy and decision-making.
Hayat serves as Chair of the Asia Pacific Refugee Rights Network (APRRN), one of the largest refugee rights networks in the region, and as a Committee Member of the International Detention Coalition (IDC), where he works to promote refugee rights and community-based alternatives to immigration detention.
Over the past decade, Hayat has contributed to national, regional, and international advocacy on refugee protection, migration, and youth leadership. He is passionate about creating opportunities for people from refugee backgrounds to lead, contribute, and help shape the communities and societies in which they live.