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{{short description| |
{{short description|Ethiopian-Australian social activist}} |
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| alma_mater = [[La Trobe University]], [[University of Melbourne]] |
| alma_mater = [[La Trobe University]], [[University of Melbourne]] |
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'''Berhan Ahmed''' is an [[ |
'''Berhan Ahmed''' is an [[Ethiopian]]-[[Australia]]n social activist. He is the chairman of the Black Think Tank,<ref name="Arshr">{{cite web|url=http://www.heraldsun.com.au|title=Black refugees scoring home runs|accessdate=27 July 2012|date=4 October 2007|last=Ife|first=Holly|work=The Herald Sun}}</ref> and ran in 2004 for an Australian parliamentary office.<ref name="att">{{cite web|title=Black Think Tank Chairperson Honoured as 2009 Victorian of the Year|url=http://www.att.org.au/berhan2009.html|accessdate=21 July 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120702172820/http://www.att.org.au/berhan2009.html|archive-date=2 July 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref> Ahmed was also presented the 2009 Victorian [[Australian of the Year]] award.<ref>{{cite web|title=Victoria's Australian of the Year award recipients announced|url=http://www.australianoftheyear.org.au/pages/page497.asp|accessdate=21 July 2012|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120506102621/http://www.australianoftheyear.org.au/pages/page497.asp|archivedate=6 May 2012}}</ref> |
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==Background== |
==Background== |
Revision as of 15:21, 8 July 2023
Berhan Ahmed | |
---|---|
Born | |
Alma mater | La Trobe University, University of Melbourne |
Occupation | social activist |
Years active | 1990s–present |
Berhan Ahmed is an Ethiopian-Australian social activist. He is the chairman of the Black Think Tank,[1] and ran in 2004 for an Australian parliamentary office.[2] Ahmed was also presented the 2009 Victorian Australian of the Year award.[3]
Background
Ahmed was born in Eritrea. He became a refugee at age 15 during the civil war and fled to Sudan. After attending high school with funding from the UNHCR, he gained a degree in Agricultural Sciences at the University of Alexandria in Egypt.[4]
At the age of 22, Ahmed sought asylum in Australia, eventually settling in Melbourne. He drove a taxi and worked as a tram conductor, while earning a master's degree in Animal Science at La Trobe University.[5] Ahmed worked for a decade at the CSIRO, and also gained a PhD in forest sciences at the University of Melbourne.[2] He was latterly a senior research fellow at the Department of Forest and Ecosystem Science, and retains an honorary appointment at the university.[6]
Scholarly contributions
Ahmed's research concerns termite taxonomy and their effects on crops, trees, and wood products. He has developed termite distribution and taxonomies, and contributed to an integrated termite pest management (IPM) system. Termites' own engineering can also inform better water and soil management by government, industry and the public. For the protection of infrastructure from wood boring termites, Ahmed has contributed to the development of the impermeable Granitgard technology, now included in the current Australian Standard (AS 3660.1 – 2000) for the protection of new and existing buildings.[7]
Political and community work
Ahmed, originally a member of the Labor Party, ran for the Senate in 2004 for the Greens. He left that party soon afterwards.[8]
Ahmed received four percent of the vote as an independent candidate for the 2012 Melbourne state by-election. Whilst he came sixth out of 16 candidates, he came third after eliminated candidate preferences with 15.9 percent. Ahmed had recommended preferencing Labor over the Greens on his how-to-vote card. Two thirds of his 15.9 percent primary and preference votes favoured Labor, putting Labor ahead of the Greens to win the seat.[9]
In 2012, Ahmed ran for the Mayor of the City of Melbourne, polling 2.45%.[10] Robert Doyle was elected mayor.
Ahmed is the chairman of the Victoria-based Africa Think Tank,[1] which serves migrant and refugee communities from Africa.[11] He is involved in public advocacy on cultural issues, racism and human rights.[12]
Awards
- 2009 Victorian Australian of the Year award, in recognition of Ahmed's humanitarian work.
References
- ^ a b Ife, Holly (4 October 2007). "Black refugees scoring home runs". The Herald Sun. Retrieved 27 July 2012.
- ^ a b "Black Think Tank Chairperson Honoured as 2009 Victorian of the Year". Archived from the original on 2 July 2012. Retrieved 21 July 2012.
- ^ "Victoria's Australian of the Year award recipients announced". Archived from the original on 6 May 2012. Retrieved 21 July 2012.
- ^ "Fleeing Eritrea's bombs to fight racism in Australia". 7 April 2013.
- ^ "Extraordinary Eritreans series - Berhan Ahmed - RFI". Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 23 July 2013.
- ^ "Melbourne University Profile Page". Retrieved 21 July 2012.
- ^ "Dr Berhan Ahmed".
- ^ Crook, Andrew (20 July 2012). "Melbourne candidate claims ALP traded lobbying for preferences". The Power Index. Archived from the original on 1 August 2012. Retrieved 27 July 2012.
- ^ Melbourne by-election distribution of preferences: VEC
- ^ "Melbourne City Council election results 2012 - Victorian Electoral Commission". Archived from the original on 10 March 2020. Retrieved 23 July 2013.
- ^ "African Think Tank Inc". Archived from the original on 8 August 2013. Retrieved 23 July 2013.
- ^ "Crime stats scrape the surface: Education and employment key for African-Australians".