Vivianne Dawalibi does not speak about refugees from theory. She lived it.

Born into a Syrian refugee family in North Sudan, her life began in displacement. What followed was not just survival, but a lifelong commitment to rebuilding lives.

For over 20 years, Vivianne served as a United Nations humanitarian leader with UNHCR across eight war-torn countries. She led emergency operations, advocated for the rights of displaced communities, and influenced national child welfare policy at presidential level in Armenia. Her work earned her both a Nobel Peace Prize Certificate (Sudan, 1981) and a UNESCO Peace Prize Certificate (Armenia, 1996).

Then she became the story herself.

Arriving in Australia as a refugee, Vivianne rebuilt her life from zero - founding community initiatives, leading and successful exiting two medical centres after 20 years in Queensland and continuing her mission of service through leadership and empowerment.

Today, she is the Founder of Future Power Academy, a leadership and identity transformation practice grounded on lived experience, not theory. She is also the author of The Subconscious Shift, a Top 50 international speaker.

Vivianne is the Founder and Editor of the 'FROM SURVIVAL TO CONTRIBUTION: Legacy Book – One Million Stories', the publication you are here to celebrate.

She created this event with one belief - ‘Survival is only the beginning. The real story starts when a person rises to contribute’.

This refugee week, as Australia marks the milestone of Australia's 40th Refugee Week - one million humanitarian visas, Vivianne brings together powerful stories of transformation, not as narratives of struggle, but as evidence of contribution, resilience, and possibility from eighteen refugees into one room, from Iraq, Syria, Palestine, Sudan, Vietnam, and Rwanda.

"You may begin from zero. But you are never zero."

Contact the host of FROM SURVIVAL TO CONTRIBUTION: Legacy Book Launch - Refugee Week 2026 - Registrations open at 9:30am - Entrance from Mandarin Street

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