On Jan. 27 at 6:30 p.m., the Freeport Community Library is will host a presentation by Ekhlas Ahmed. This is the last in a series of 2017 Camden Conference related events held at Freeport Community Library.

The 2017 Camden Conference focuses on the topic “Refugees and Global Migration: Humanity’s Crisis.” The conference will feature discussions with speakers chosen for their knowledge and strong views on migrant and refugee issues. These discussions, held in Feb. 17- 19 in Camden, will be streamed live to the Strand Theatre in Rockland, the University of Maine Hutchinson Center in Belfast and the University of Southern Maine Lee Auditorium in Portland.

On Jan. 27, Ahmed will share her own personal story of escape and relocation in a presentation entitled “A Bridge Between.”

A refugee and a civil rights activist, Ahmed was 14 years old when she fled Darfur, Sudan with her family. They lived two years in Egypt before being resettled in Portland in 2005.

In high school, Ahmed learned English and graduated with honors. She is the co-founder of the Darfur Youth of Tomorrow, an organization that raises awareness of the genocide and creates a space for survivors to gather, reflect and support one another.

Through her work with The Darfur Youth of Tomorrow, Ahmed spoke at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., where she was invited to speak about the genocide and read a poem about her homeland by the UN Refugee Agency.

Ahmed teaches English at Casco Bay High School, her alma mater. She also runs a program called Make It Happen, which prepares multilingual students for college.

For more information on Freeport Community Library, go to: www.freeportlibrary.com or call (207) 865-3307. For additional information on the Camden Conference, go to: www.camdenconference.org