Ahmed Zanya Bugre served as the Senior Migrant Protection and Assistance Advisor in the Department of Health, Humanitarian Affairs and Social Development (HHS) where he was responsible for the dossiers on climate change and migration, missing migrants, and the focal person for the Africa Climate Mobility Initiative (ACMI).
Prior to this position, Dr Bugre was Director of the Foundation for Shelter and Support to Migrants (FSM), a diaspora-led NGO he co-founded that focused on providing temporary accommodation, psychosocial, mental health, and educational support to asylum seekers and refugees in Malta. He also served as a member of the Advisory Council and Member of the Board of Trustees of the Africa-Europe Diaspora Development Platform (ADEPT), where he worked on supporting the platform on legal and strategic planning issues. Dr Bugre has undertaken various consultancy work on migration and humanitarian issues and Africa-Europe Relations with the Government of Malta, the US Embassy in Malta, the European Union Commission, the German Parliament, UN Agencies, and the African Union Commission.
Dr Bugre has contributed to a number of international forums and conferences on migration and development, the protection of migrants and asylum seekers, and the integration of refugees in the EU. He represented the African diaspora in the EU on the Global Forum on Migration and Development (GFMD) dialogues leading to the adoption of the Global Compact on Safe, Orderly, and Regular Migration. He is also an international conference speaker and mentor for final year law students on cross-cultural lawyering and advocacy.
Dr Bugre holds a Bachelor of Arts Honours (Magna cum Laude) from Continental Theological Seminary in Brussel, Belgium; a Bachelor of Laws (Magna cum Laude), a Postgraduate Diploma in Notarial Law, and Doctor of Laws from the University of Malta. He recently obtained a Professional Certificate in Leading Strategic Projects from Oxford University. He has authored and co-authored several articles on migrant protection and diaspora engagement, and contributed to academic work on migration, asylum, and forced displacement. Dr Bugre is a visiting lecturer at the University of Malta, Nehemiah Gateway University in Albania, and the Oldenburg IT and Business School in Germany. He served as a Rector of the Nehemiah Gateway University and the Malta National Director of Studies for the Global-ICI University in Spring Missouri, USA. He is an adjunct professor of Business Ethics and Corporate Social Responsibility at the Nehemiah Gateway University and the Oldenburg IT and Business School focusing on the impact of European Business footprint in Africa.
Dr Bugre was the first person of African descent to be awarded the national medal of honour, Midalja-Qadi tar Republikka (MQR) by the President of Malta for his distinguished work on the protection, assistance, and integration of African migrants in Malta and for his service to the Republic of Malta. He has also received the Rotary Club of Malta Ferrucio Vigniola Prize (2018) for his contribution to Peace in the Mediterranean. Dr Bugre is an alumnus of the prestigious International Visitors Leaders Programme (IVLP) of the US State Department. He was nominated by the US Embassy in Malta for the 2019 IVLP Alumni Award for Social Innovation and Change for his distinguished work with the African diaspora in Malta and Europe, and was selected as one of the 80 Faces of Exchange for the 80th Anniversary of the IVLP Program.
