Melody Deldjou Fard

I was born in Tehran, just before the Gulf War. At 15, I fled to the Netherlands. I grew up in a deprived neighbourhood in one of the most deprived municipalities in the Netherlands, the South Limburg town of Heerlen. There I taught myself Dutch through the subtitles of The Bold& the Beautiful. I also got to know my new homeland. Years later, I moved to the vibrant student city of Utrecht, where I have found my home to this day. Completing my HBO studies cum laude at the Hogeschool voor de Kunsten did not lead to a permanent job, so I became self-employed. In 2017, an opportunity finally came through which opened more doors. Thanks to the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science (OCW), I joined a leadership course at Utrecht University. This training gave me the necessary policy knowledge, which made me dare to enter the political arena full of strength. To fight for change together with GroenLinks, driven by my own life experiences! I was Campaign Leader during the municipal elections in 2018, in which Utrecht achieved a historic victory for GroenLinks with the most seats ever. Later, I became Party Board Member of GroenLinks Landelijk and worked within the party on subject diversity. In Utrecht politics, I achieved many political successes for GroenLinks. And I am currently a candidate for the Lower House.