Maryam Boukhar Hassan, the UN’s first global advocate for peace, urges action through poetry and youth-led digital campaigns

Maryam Boukhar Hassan, a Nigerian spoken-word artist known artistically as Alhan Islam and the United Nations' first global advocate for peace, told an audience at a United Nations General Assembly commemoration that she intends to translate lived experience of conflict into concrete action.

Hassan opened by reciting the first stanza of her poem, saying, “I used to think that peace was a place ... But I have come to understand that peace is not a line we cross. It is a choice that we make over and over again, especially when it is the hardest.” The lines framed a longer account of how her personal history shaped her advocacy.

Describing her upbringing in northern Nigeria, Hassan said she was exposed to interreligious violence from age 4 in Kaduna State and recalled attackers coming to her grandmother’s house. She credited a neighbor, whom she named as Baba Ifayi, with claiming she was his granddaughter to save her life; she also described being seized and threatened with a machete. Hassan linked those experiences to later losses in Borno State after the emergence of Boko Haram and to family violence she confronted as a teenager.

Hassan said a letter she wrote at 13, titled “Violence has no religion,” became the basis for a video her mother posted when Hassan was 16; the video went viral and prompted people to share their own stories. “Violence has no religion,” she said, summarizing the message she sought to spread — that religion should not be used to justify harm.

She credited her mother for persistent support, describing daily practice and accompaniment to events that helped Hassan overcome her initial shyness and develop a public voice. Hassan said being invited to open the first Kaduna Books and Art Festival after a video was discovered on YouTube marked her recognition as a spoken-word artist.

On the role of social media, Hassan acknowledged both its toxicity and its reach. She urged advocates not to simply condemn toxic online spaces but to enter them strategically, “orchestrate” constructive messages and “saturate” platforms with voices that counter misinformation. “It is the single most powerful resource that young people have,” she said.

Hassan described True My Voice, founded after her mother’s death eight years earlier, as a program that trains young people in digital advocacy, offers small grants (amounts not specified), listens to and amplifies stories, and connects participants to opportunities. She said the initiative has forged partnerships — she cited work with the Gates Foundation and campaigns addressing neglected tropical diseases, and a collaboration with change.org during a campaign to recover people kidnapped when a train running between Abuja and Kaduna was attacked. Hassan also said True My Voice collaborated with Nigeria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs to help stranded students in Sudan.

Reflecting on her United Nations role, Hassan said the designation felt both like a responsibility and a call to return to conflict-affected places. She named Borno, Zamfara, Katsina and Benue as regions she carries with her and said poetry must serve as a bridge between grief and policy. “Now I have to translate suffering into action,” she said, describing a commitment to co-create solutions with people who have lived the issues.

The moderator thanked Hassan for her work and for joining the event; Hassan closed by thanking the audience. The session ended with mutual appreciation and no formal vote or action was recorded.