Dawit Demoz

Dawit Demoz (MA, Development Studies) is a project manager at Jumpstart Refugee Talent. Dawit was forced to flee his home country Eritrea in 2009 and he lived in Ethiopia, Sudan, Libya and Israel as a refugee.

In 2010, Dawit arrived in Israel, where he lived for the next six years. In Israel, Dawit worked and volunteered at several local and international refugee-aid organizations, advocating for refugee rights, teaching refugees about Israeli labour rights, and supporting refugee women initiatives. Without any possibility of having a future in Israel, Dawit moved to Canada through the Private Sponsorship of Refugees (PSR) program in 2016 and is now a Canadian citizen. Since his arrival to Canada, Dawit has been a part of numerous refugee advocacy initiatives where he advocated for the resettlement of vulnerable refugees while pursuing his higher education.

Dawit’s Master’s research entitled Community Resilience and Community Development of Eritrean Refugees in Israel examined Eritrean refugee social dynamics and communal support mechanisms in response to Israeli government policies aimed at coercing them to leave the country. He also contributed to a research project led by Professor Jennifer Hyndman entitled Sustaining the Private Sponsorship of Resettled Refugees in Canada. Through RAN, Dawit hopes to continue to advocate for the resettlement, empowerment and meaningful participation of refugees. He also wishes to gain more experience in public policy as well as to expand his network with other refugees, advocates, and decision makers from around the world.