Social Media

Same message, three ways. In these videos, Maya Ghazal shows what refugee families need to get through winter, with each one made to fit a different social trend.
I’ve led social media content and strategy for global organisations, from emergency responses to Olympic campaigns. At the World Economic Forum, I set up the social video work that reached over a billion views in a year.
At UNHCR, I brought short-form video to the UN, and our videos grew to 560 million views a year. Soon after I arrived, the Rohingya emergency broke out, and I started using footage filmed on phones by our own field staff. That’s now standard practice across the humanitarian sector. I also made UNHCR one of the first humanitarian organisations on TikTok and WhatsApp Channels, working in partnership with the platforms, and launched a LinkedIn newsletter that grew to 800,000 subscribers.

Graphics & visual storytelling
Explainer videos
Thumb-stopping storytelling
Report launches
Breaking news content
Digital Partnerships
First TikTok live from a refugee camp
Sport and athlete content
Event coverage
Trainings
Just for fun

A few highlights:

Paris 2024 Refugee Olympic Team

I led UNHCR’s global social media strategy for the Refugee Olympic and Paralympic Teams at Paris 2024. Our 300 posts on global channels reached over 156 million people, alongside more than 3,000 regional posts.

A Billion Video Views in One Year

I launched the World Economic Forum’s first social video strategy when social video was still new for publishers. Using audience insight and performance data, we grew to over a billion views in a year.

500 Videos a Year, Mobile-First

I built UNHCR’s first mobile-first video strategy, the first of its kind in the UN system. I designed the workflows that let a global network of editors produce more than 500 videos a year, translated and tailored for different platforms and regions. UNHCR’s videos now reach over 560 million views a year.

A Million Followers in Months

I launched UNHCR on TikTok and WhatsApp Channels, and each passed a million followers within months. We were one of the first humanitarian organisations on both. I also wrote UNHCR’s first social media partnership strategy and led collaborations with TikTok, LinkedIn, AJ+, Pubity and Feminist to reach younger and more diverse audiences.

800,000 Newsletter Subscribers

I launched UNHCR’s “Humanitarians at Work” LinkedIn Newsletter, spotlighting behind-the-scenes stories, field insights, and voices from across the organisation.
It grew to over 800,000 subscribers and became one of the UN’s top-performing newsletters on LinkedIn.

A Webby Award for We Were Here

UNHCR’s original YouTube series We Were Here paired influencers with refugees to share their stories, and it won a Webby Award. I supported the production and led the social media strategy.