Mikhael Touma

Mikhael Touma is a Syrian refugee of Arab and Assyrian descent who migrated to Australia in 2014, settling in Naarm (Melbourne). He holds a Bachelor of Biomedicine from the University of Melbourne, specializing in physiology, with plans to study Medicine in the future. As a NAATI Certified Arabic Interpreter focusing on physical and mental health, Mikhael is passionate about language justice and, through his advocacy work, addressing the intersectional challenges of being Queer and Arab.

Mikhael co-founded Queer Arabs Australia and is the founder of Zyara, Australia's first social support group run in Arabic for LGBTQIA+ forcibly displaced people. His work emphasizes creating safe, culturally competent language services for the queer and gender-diverse community. He is in the process of establishing a not-for-profit interpretation and translation enterprise tailored to the needs of the LGBTQIA+ community.

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Mikhael has joined TIF's Manaya Pride Program as a member or the advisory board and will be supporting the MPP team to best deliver supports to the LGBTIQAPSB+ Forcibly Displaced People's Communities across so called Australia.