Artemis Akbary
A 29 years-old co-founder and executive director of the Afghan LGBTIQ+ Organization (ALO), a refugee-led group supporting LGBTIQ+ individuals, providing safety, humanitarian aid, and legal support while combating discrimination and violence.
BACKGROUND
Artemis Akbary is a queer Afghan refugee whose own experiences of displacement and marginalisation shaped his commitment to human rights and inclusion. Witnessing the risks faced by LGBTIQ+ individuals in Afghanistan and during exile, he was determined to create safe spaces and amplify voices that are often ignored or silenced. His lived experience gave him the insight and motivation to combine direct support with advocacy for structural change.
WORK & IMPACT
Artemis is co-founder and Executive Director of the Afghan LGBTIQ+ Organization (ALO), a refugee-led initiative supporting LGBTIQ+ individuals in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Turkey, and the Czech Republic. ALO provides humanitarian aid, including cash assistance, food, and shelter, having supported over 700 people, and runs integration programmes for asylum seekers in Europe. By pairing on-the-ground support with international advocacy, Artemis strengthens protection, amplifies rights, and develops long-term solutions for a highly vulnerable community.
Through his inclusive leadership, Artemis combines direct support for vulnerable individuals with global advocacy. He has created platforms that amplify marginalized voices on international stages and drives advocacy for LGBTIQ+ refugees’ rights, while the organisation delivers both immediate assistance and long-term support.
His work demonstrates how equality requires challenging the systems that sustain discrimination and violence, while creating societies where everyone can live safely and freely.
WHY ARTEMIS IS A FINALIST
Artemis Akbary is a finalist for the WIN WIN Youth Award for his courageous leadership in defending LGBTIQ+ Afghans. By combining direct humanitarian support with global advocacy, he empowers young people facing severe discrimination to find community, protection, and a voice. His work amplifies marginalised voices and shows that gender equality requires transforming systems so all people can live freely and safely.
"Gender equality cannot exist where people are erased, silenced, or forced to hide who they are. For LGBTIQ+ Afghans, especially women and trans people, survival itself is an act of resistance. This recognition is not only about my work, but about the courage of a community that continues to fight for dignity, safety, and a future where everyone can live freely and equally."
- Artemis Akbary