Nousha Kabawat had just completed a fellowship in global journalism at the Munk School of Global Affairs when she was recruited by the award-winning PBS television program Frontline to help produce a feature-length documentary on the Syrian civil war. Broadcast in fall 2015, Inside Assad’s Syria examined the plight of everyday people trying to carry on their lives with some semblance of normalcy in a stressful, perpetually dangerous war zone.
In addition to her academic credentials, which also include a master’s degree in conflict analysis and resolution, Kabawat brings deep personal conviction to her focus on Syria. Born in Canada to Syrian immigrants, she spent much of her childhood in Damascus. Today, as head of youth programming for the Syrian Centre for Dialogue and Reconciliation in Toronto, she works with refugees inside and outside Syria, educating and empowering children in the hope that they’ll one day play a role in rebuilding a proud nation ravaged by conflict. With her newly honed journalistic skills, the young activist is better equipped to tell their stories – and to turn her passionate beliefs into action.