Ahmed Jamal (or Jamal) Elsheikh is a Sudanese Australian who believes sport – and kindness – can transform the lives of young people and unify communities.
When Jamal was a child, he experienced a violent racist attack. The kindness of a stranger saved his life – and sport and athlete role models helped him recover from the experience. This is when he understood the powerful influence that athletes and sport could have on school-aged children.
Today, innovator Jamal fights racism with over 23,000 Victorian students through his award-winning, sports-based racial literacy program, Reflect Forward. The program uses the influence of sports and athletes at a local, national and international level to help students to be anti-racism champions and say no to racism in schools, sports and communities.
Jamal has been recognised for his achievements several times, including with the (Victorian) ABC Kindness Hero in 2020. He was selected as a Churchill Fellow in 2022.