A PLAQUE bearing the name of social entrepreneur Melody Hossaini has been placed at Oxford Brookes University in a symbolic gesture for World Refugee Day.

The commemorative decoration, similar to those installed by English Heritage, is one of nine being placed on buildings where refugees – including singers Rita Ora, designer and model Alek Wek and writer and illustrator Judith Kerr – have lived, worked or studied.

It is part of the national campaign 'I am a Refugee'.

The plaque with Ms Hossaini's name on will be placed on the John Henry Brookes Building for the duration of the campaign.

The 31-year-old, who fled Iran with her family aged three during the Iran-Iraq war, said: "I am so pleased to be supporting the I am a Refugee campaign.

"Amid the misleading and unfair portrayal of refugees and immigrants, I feel it is a moral duty for us to celebrate the contribution that so many of them have made to the British communities and economy.

"I look fondly back to my university days and studying law at Oxford Brookes University, hence choosing this as the location for my plaque."

Ms Hossaini, who graduated from Oxford Brookes in 2006, struggled with English and was bullied at school as a child.

She invested her energy into community work and co-founded the UK Youth Parliament in 1999, working for the next decade to change policies to benefit young people.

In 2009 Ms Hossaini launched the social enterprise InspirEngage International, which aims to help people become more confident and ready for work.

She said: "Through my work at InspirEngage International I am honoured to speak to a wide range of audiences, sharing my story of starting as a war refugee.

"During my 18 years in the people development sector, we have reinvigorated the education system to make learning real, changing policies to benefit young people."

Five years ago Ms Hossaini also featured on The Apprentice and in 2015 she was named Europe's Most Influential Woman by the European Parliament.

Dr Anne Gwinnett, director of corporate affairs at Oxford Brookes University, said: “As set out in Oxford Brookes strategy, the university is dedicated to improving the human condition not only in Oxfordshire but around the world.

"Our support of the national I am a Refugee campaign is just one example of how Brookes does this.

“We are proud that Melody, as a graduate of Oxford Brookes, continues to work with the university within our widening participation projects and events, raising the aspirations of children across Oxfordshire.”