(cancelled!) Changing Minds and Policy Through Cultural Diplomacy

Afghan Women's Orchestra "Zohra" at the World Economic Forum

Nico Daswani
Jessica Lustig photo by 21C Media Group
Ahmad Sarmast photo by Andrew Quilty
  • event type:Classical:NEXT 18 Conference
  • date:18 May 2018
  • time:16:30 - 17:30
  • city/area:Rotterdam
  • venue:Conference Room 2 (fourth floor), de Doelen
  • country:Netherlands
  • event posted by:Piranha Arts

Update: Due to a family emergency and unforeseen circumstances Nico Daswani and Dr. Ahmed Naser Sarmast are not able to attend this year. The session will be postponed to 2019.

Chaired by Jessica Lustig (US), managing director, 21C Media Group, Inc.

With Nico Daswani (Afghanistan), head of arts & culture, World Economic Forum
Dr. Ahmad Naser Sarmast (UK/Switzerland), founder and director, Afghanistan National Institute of Music

Death threats and suicide bombs are a fact of daily life for Dr. Ahmad Sarmast, Founder & Director of the Afghanistan National Institute of Music in Kabul. His “crime”? Heading a co-educational school where children learn Western and Afghan music and girls can go to school after the age of 13. Meet a real-life musical hero who fights every day for the musical rights of children and the return of the rich Afghan musical tradition which was eradicated when the Taliban forbade all music in the 1990s.
Dr. Sarmast is joined by Nico Daswani, Head of Arts & Culture at the World Economic Forum, and moderator Jessica Lustig, Managing Director of 21C Media Group, who together, will highlight the groundbreaking performance of the “Zohra” Orchestra in Davos in 2017, as an example of the positive effects of cultural diplomacy in helping to challenge cultural norms and change attitudes around the world.

Kindly supported by Monash University and Gramophone/Mark Allen Group.