![\"\"](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/Maya-Ghazal-vogue-courtesy-Maya-Ghazal-2-edit.jpg\")
Ghazal\u2019s remarks will be part of a weeklong series of\npresentations meant to inform and inspire, taking place in the EBACE Innovation\nZone. Attendees will hear how her resilient spirit and passion for aviation\nhelped her overcome the hardships of being a young refugee from war-torn Syria\nto becoming the first female Syrian refugee pilot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Co-hosted by the National Business Aviation Association\n(NBAA) and the European Business Aviation Association (EBAA), EBACE2022 will be\nheld at Palexpo, Geneva\u2019s premier convention center, May 23-25.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ghazal was 16 when she fled Damascus with her mother and two\nyounger brothers to join her father in the UK under a family reunification program.\nAfter arriving in the UK, Ghazal was excited by what she called her \u201cgreat, new\nbeginning,\u201d marking a transition to a happy life after several years of living\nwith instability and uncertainty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ghazal\u2019s path was a winding one: her academic qualifications\nwere not recognized in the UK; even after proving her academic abilities,\nGhazal\u2019s limited grasp of English hamstrung the pursuit of her preferred\nstudies in political science. Persistence paid off: she taught herself English\nand was admitted to college.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Staying at a hotel with a view of London\u2019s Heathrow Airport,\nwatching airplanes takeoff and landing, sparked a desire in Ghazal to learn how\nto fly. Although detractors dismissed her likelihood of success, hard work and\ndetermination helped Ghazal obtain her UK pilot\u2019s license and fulfill her dream\nof becoming the first female Syrian refugee pilot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In 2021, Ghazal graduated with a degree in aviation\nengineering and pilot studies from Brunel University London, with hopes of\nbecoming an airline pilot. That same year, she was appointed a goodwill\nambassador by UNHCR. Today, Ghazal shares her story to inspire audiences around\nthe world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMaya\u2019s story is not only about conquering adversity, stigma\nand rejection \u2013 it is also one of dedication, passion and success,\u201d said Chris\nStrong, NBAA senior vice president, events.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe are honored to welcome Maya as a featured Innovation\nZone speaker at EBACE2022, and we know her presentation will be a highlight of\nan already energetic and educational conference,\u201d said EBAA Chief Operating\nOfficer Robert Baltus.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Maya Ghazal, pioneering pilot and celebrated Goodwill Ambassador for UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, will be a featured speaker at the 2022 European Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition (EBACE2022) in Geneva, Switzerland. Ghazal\u2019s remarks will be part of a weeklong series of presentations meant to inform and inspire, taking place in the EBACE Innovation Zone. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[114],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-21070","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-international-news"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21070","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21070"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21070\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21072,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21070\/revisions\/21072"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21070"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21070"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21070"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}