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Change for the Better: Yusra Mardini’s Inspiring Story

  • HSNY at the General Society Library 20 West 44th Street New York, NY, 10036 United States (map)

Video recordings of lectures are available immediately to HSNY members, and the general public with a two-month delay.

Yusra Mardini, UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador and Oris Ambassador (Berlin, Germany)

The Paris Olympics may be over, but athletes’ stories last a lifetime. Join us for an evening with Olympian and humanitarian Yusra Mardini. Hear the incredible story of Mardini, who fled the war in Syria to Germany, made it to the Olympic Games, and is now a sustainability ambassador for Oris. Through the Yusra Mardini Foundation, she supports refugees around the world, for example with a swimming project that helps refugees return to the water, gain self-confidence, and find their place through swimming. 

As a UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador and two-time Olympian, Mardini has a unique story of hope, purpose, and change for the better. Join Mardini at the November 2024 lecture of the Horological Society of New York (HSNY), and learn how Oris approaches sustainability as a leading climate and carbon-neutral watch brand, along with their role as a maker of sustainability-focused watches that transcend just a marketing initiative and help to impact real change.

*Doors open at 5:30 PM ET, lecture to begin at 6 PM ET. RSVP is required.

** The lecture video will be available to members immediately, and to the general public following a two-month delay.


About Yusra Mardini

The story of how Yusra Mardini fled civil war in Syria, a terrifying ordeal that involved extraordinary hardship, was told beautifully in her book Butterfly and the Netflix film The Swimmers. Having swum to safety as a 17-year-old refugee after the outboard motor on her small boat failed, she would realize her dream of swimming at the Olympics, qualifying for the Refugee Olympic Team at both the Rio and Tokyo Games.

At just 17 years old, she was appointed a UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador, the youngest in the refugee agency’s history, and in 2023, she founded the Yusra Mardini Foundation with a mission to bring hope and purpose to refugees whose stories mirrored her own. Yusra is an ambassador for Independent Swiss brand Oris Ambassador and her foundation is an Oris Sustainability Partner.

Follow Yusra on Instagram: @yusramardini