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| Praised & Awarded by National Assembly November 22, 2010 |
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Recently, Farhad Darya's "Life is Beautiful!" journey has been highly and widely received and appreciated nationally and internationally.
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A "MEGA CONCERT" in HELMAND |
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British media compares Farhad Darya with Robbie Williams while American media channels call him Afghan Elvis. The artist called the people of Helmand alongside the entire South for Peace & Harmony. He performed for about 40000 enthusiastic and passionate men, women & children gathered in Lashkar Gah Stadium not only from most of the Southern provinces, but from Quetta, the capital of Baluchistan province in Pakistan. Lieutenant Colonel Dougie Graham, Commanding Officer of the of British forces currently based in the city of Lashkar Gah, said: “If ever proof was needed that things are improving in Afghanistan, then this is it.”
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Listen to The Banned |
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The CD was published by Norway’s most successful music label, Grappa Records, on 3 March 2010, and then in the United Kingdom on 8 August 2010 with The New Powerhouse as distributor. In USA, the CD is distributed by Valley Entertainment and was released on 25 August 2010.
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The Book of "Life is Beautiful!" |
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A Unique Event Ever |
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There has never been such a happy crowd of women for such a cause in the history of Afghanistan before; So enthusiastic, So cheered up, So ready to rock this loud and free of any worry specially after such dark and depressive years in the couple of last decades. It was a Historical Day without any doubt! And it was Farhad Darya who realized this dream for them.
He rocked Mazar with his world-famous song "Salaamalek" and said: "Women never cause any fire in Afghanistan, but burnet themselves because of us, proud men! That's why I am celebrating International Peace Day ONLY with women, with you!"
The concert was recorded by Tolo TV and was aired in prime time on the 16th of November, 2010. This way, the journey of "Life is Beautiful" is going on and takes him to more provinces on after other. On the way back from Mazar, they celebrated Darya's birth day on the air inside of the aircraft that took them to Kabul. September 22 was Farhad Darya's BD.
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Motivating People to Vote! |
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In the midst of the parliamentarian election crowd where Afghans were voting for their second parliament; among all positive and negative voices surrounding the elections, there was a loud voice who was trying to inspire and motivate people to rock their own destiny and take an authentic step for their own future and VOTE. This loud voice was Farhad Darya who had the same passion during the last presidential elections to encourage people to take a part in their own destiny. During both elections he made it clear to people that he is not supporting a particular candidates or a party, but instead he promotes and supports the culture of elections in Afghanistan. He gave tons of interviews and throughout the numerous media channels talked to people and inspired them to get out and vote.
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| "Rocking it Out in West Afghanistan" With Peace Caravan in Herat September 12-16. Herat, Afghanistan |
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About ten minutes after the show, there was a bomb blast outside of the stadium about 200 meters away from where Darya was moving out from the stadium. However Darya survived the explosion, 13 people got wounded and taken to hospital. No one has taken the responsibility of the explosion yet. The day after the show and explosion, people of Herat acclaimed that the real explosion was inside the stadium where Herat has never witnessed such a happy day in the past couple of decades.
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Fair binding Engagement - |
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After performing his world-known hit, "Salaamalek", he said to the aucience: "... This is time to change the wrong image that the world has from Afghanistan; the image that a beautiful and inocent country such as Afghanistan never desrve. Let's listen to Afghanistan beyond politics and media. There is a REAL life going on way different than what you imagin!"
The German State Secretary, Hans, Juergen Beerfeltz said to the audience: "I am pleased that so many celebrities involved in all areas of the event! I am delighted that among other things, Nadja Auermann, Sabine Christiansen, Farhad Darya, Anne de Wolff, Justus Frantz, Cherno Jobatey, Nia Kuenzer, Ann-Kathrin lens Hoff, Nena and Wolfgang Niedecken are with them."
This important event was organized by the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), the German Development Service (DED), German Agency for Technical Cooperation (GTZ), the International Training and Capacity Building (InWEnt) and the KfW Development Bank (KfW) and was sponsored by the City of Bonn and the United Nations in Bonn . The concert venue used to be the residence of the German Chancellors and Helmut Kohl (1982 to 1998) was the last one who lived there.
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Press Conference |
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"Peace Concert" |
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Farhad Darya’s Peace Concert took place on July 19, the eve of the Kabul International
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Producing new MUSIC: |
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Darya wrote six new songs in Kabul to encourage, inspire and motivate youth as well as to promote the culture of Peace & Tolerance. Therefore, he traveled to India, Germany, USA and Afghanistan to produce and record the songs. Some welknown poets and lyricists such as Dr. Samay Hamed, Ghafoor Lewal, Naser Nader, Asef Hossaini and Rasheed Taizai are collaborating with Darya in term of writing the lyrics on his songs. Following the audio work of the songs, Darya started shooting the first music video of the journey' Dosti" (Friendship) inside of Afghanistan which will be launched along with the official launch of the Life is Beautiful journey.
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| Visiting Kandahar & Mazar-e-Sharif: July 1-8, 2010 |
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 The first steps of the "Life is Beautiful" journey took Farhad Darya to Kandahar and Mazar-e-Sharif provinces. He met different groups of people particularly youth in both cities, interacted with people on the streets face to face, visited schools and universities such as Haji Mirwais Khan High School in Kandahar, Sultan Razia High School and Balkh University in Mazar, met with some tribal leaders and clerics and religious leaders, spread the questionnaire sheets from his survey amongst youth, gave interviews to the local media and held number of public talks. "The world has a wrong picture of Kandahar. As the citizens of this historical and prestigious city, please help me so that I showcase the real image of your city to the world. They should see YOU as the symbol of Kandahar!" Farhad Darya said to the graduated students of the Haji Mirwais Khan High School in Kandahar. |
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"Life is Beautiful" Program, |
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Lack of hope, joblessness, illiteracy, insecurity and dozens of other reasons are causing the young Afghans to lose their hope for a better future. Every day they are set back from social activities due to material, moral and political limitations or are pushed to the margin in the hardship of the gerontocratic Afghan society. The program “Life is Beautiful!” is a journey towards change and hope. In this journey, we do not promise work, salary or bread to our youngsters, but, with their own help, we will try to light a fire of hope for a better future into their distressed hearts. We also want to build a bridge between the Afghan youth and people, who have the first say in determining the future of Afghanistan, so that this distressed generation becomes visible and heard. As a consequence, we hope, that the tarnished colors and the flown away values will return to their lives and hearts.
Music: As the most appreciated phenomenon in young life, music with its very sensitive messages will play a key role in this program.
Meetings and discussions with young people: Will take place in the Capital and other provinces, in order to collect views and wishes of the youth. These meetings will allow us to gather a synthesis of their difficulties.
Bridging between youth and policy makers: We are paving the path to bridge between youth and policymakers who make decision on Afghanistan's their life and future. We are trying to become the voice of youth so that they get heard, seen and taken serious so that as the result, get response from all main stakeholders.
Surveys & Message Collecting Action: A broad survey will be carried out to collect messages and proposals from the Afghan youth. These messages, from all over Afghanistan, reconciled by a group of experts, will be presented to national and international policy makers by myself. With help and support of the media, the results of the survey as well as the answers gathered from the responsible parties will be communicated to Afghan public.
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Special Guest at Afghan Star |
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| Farhad Darya was invited to attend the grand finale of the Afghan Star as their special and VIP guest. It was Darya's second year in a raw attending this show and giving his supports to those young talents shined at Afghan Star. | |
Bank Accounts for Street Children |
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Farhad Darya handed over 169 bank cards to the widow families who are registered with the Kochah Organization. The bank accounts were opened by his nonprofit organization at the Kabul bank under the "Street Accounts" project to educate street children. Darya was accompanied by Ms. Amena Afzali, minister of the Labor and Social Affairs ministry, partner of Kochah Organization in. These widows of war withdraw $50 USD from these bank account once in a month and they are required to send the youngest kid to school. To secure the transparency, the sponsors transfer the money they would like to give to these needy families directly to the widow account without the Kochah organization's interference. The sponsors can also check the account balance and status online and can call the widow mother directly.
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Singer Of The Year 2009 Award |
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On December 5, ATN "Singer of The Year Award" was given to Farhad Darya recognizing his hard work and tireless effort during the year 2009. As Darya’s name was announced and he went to the stage singing the song “Atan”, the audience was standing, clapping and expressing their feelings for his achievement.
Darya’s feeling while performing the song “Atan” was very revealing that everyone could tell he has so much passion and enthusiasms when it comes to performing for the people of Afghanistan and rebuilding that wounded land. The “Best Singer of the Year 2009” Award was presented to the all time shining star, Farhad Darya by Engineer Ehsanullah Bayat. Following that, Darya had a brief speech to express his thoughts and feelings towards fans and his companions in his artistic life. The custom of ATN Award show is to recognize those who have worked hard for years and have gained fame by their generous contribution to musical industry.
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The Evening of Tolerance |
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The idea to make such an event became more and more evident after the security situation before the elections day dramatically escalated. Under these socially dramatic circumstances Farhad Darya came up with the idea to show the Nation and the international observers a peaceful and tolerant get-together of all presidential candidates under one roof. In a TV spot for the “Evening of Tolerance” Darya stated: “To promote the culture of Tolerance, I will ask all candidates to join me for our traditional green tea party; so that you all see the persons who fought the hardest election campaign against each other; can tolerate each other for you and for Afghanistan”. Farhad Darya explained his ideas to the Head of the Independent Election Commission Mr. Lodin, to President Hamed Karzai, to Dr. Abdullah Abdullah and all other candidates and he called them in for a get- together evening in the Serena Hotel in Kabul. 95% of the candidates followed his call, including Hamed Karzai and came to the Serena Hotel reception to drink the traditional Afghan green tea together. This was the very first day of holy Ramadan. A short selection of Farhad Darya’s speech at the Evening of Tolerance: “... This is the time of Tolerance; understand it “as a stream cannot go up easily”. Who will win the election is a different matter. However, the real heroes and winners are the people. The people who; with empty stomach, bare foot and injured hearts, despite all the treats, walked miles under the hot summer sun, just to get to their voting polls of fate. This election introduced us to two new cultures:
1) A beyond-the-ethnic culture
Tonight’s miracle is in you being next to each other and in peace with each other. Just that! Let’s shake the world with our Afghan tolerance! Let’s not allow our problems reach our neighbours and the entire world! With you leaders, Afghanistan can proudly survive the darkest experience and the sourest seasons of history!”
Mr. Lodin, the head of the Independent Election Commission, gave a five minute-speech. He said: “I strongly believe that the “Evening of Tolerance”, initiated and organized by Mr. Darya will become a custom in the future. This custom will lead us to tolerate each other after the electoral campaigns, to remember the good moments and forget the bad moments; and shake each other’s hands for the sake of Afghanistan at the end of day.” Many news channels all over the world have broadcasted the information about this extraordinary event and a new quality of the Culture of Elections in Afghanistan.
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| “DEWAALOONA” DVD album August 2009 |
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The “DEWAALOONA” (Walls) DVD including Farhad Darya’s three new Music Videos dedicated to elections & Afghanistan was distributed nationwide & around the world to further expand the impact of such a campaign for forthcoming elections in the country. |
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Darya Casted his Vote |
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Concerts in Jalalabad, Kabul & Mazar |
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Doors were open to the public and the concerts were free of any kind of charge. This was a part of the concept. Farhad Darya wanted the people to feel free and get inspired to join the concerts, to get mobilized as much as possible, to get in direct contact with him and listen his messages. Most of his songs sung at the concerts were about PEACE, REBUILDING, UNITY, REHABILITATATION, HOPE, TOLERANCE and AFGHANISTAN. People were singing along with Darya and dancing along with his patriotic songs.
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ROCKING THE VOTE! |
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“Let’s Think of Afghanistan”:
The campaign, which Farhad Darya called “Let’s think of Afghanistan!” started with recording of new Music Videos and continued with organizing musical Concerts in Jalalabad, Mazar-e-Sharif, and Kabul followed by producing and disseminating twenty TV & Radio Spots through national & international media, Press Conferences, public talks, enormous number of Interviews and disseminating a series of messages across the country via Billboards, Postcards, music videos, concerts, TV & Radio spots, interviews, public talks, press conferences throughout the Afghanistan.
“I don’t campaign for any of the candidates in particular, but rather promoting and supporting the CULTURE OF ELLECTIONS.” ”, Farhad Darya said, adding: “This is not a candidate winning or losing, it’s you, it’s me, it’s a nation, it’s Afghanistan winning or losing; therefore, let’s vote responsibly.”
Related Articles. National Public Radio, USA (NPR): BBC World: UNAMA Official Site: Rian News Agency (Russion): Berliner Zeitung (German):
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Development Seminar |
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Tour to Tajikistan |
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The crowd was extremely enthusiastic about their favorite artist and idol of the younger generations. Farhad Darya's songs and music have always been highly admired by two generations and have been sang by most of the well-known as well as young Tajik and Uzbek artists.
The live show was recorded by the Tajikistan National TV channel and aired in the country as well as internationally by other TV channels. Farhad Darya's tour opened up a wide opportunity for the younger generations of the Afghan artists to Central Asia's stages.
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After being awarded by the Afghan Parliament in November of 2010 for his recent achievements, Farhad Darya received an additional "Peace Building Award" for his brave dedication towards Peace in Afghanistan. Rewarded by the Ariana International Radio Television network, the Award was presented to Farhad Dray by a guest of honor Mr. Gulab Mangal, governor of the Helmand province - the stronghold of Taliban. "After Mr. Darya's brave appearance in Lashkar Gah stadium, people feel safer, and we all witness obvious security improvement in Helmand ..." Said Mr. Mangal. " 
Farhad Darya was praised by the head of the Lower House (Wolesi
It was an event many thought they would never get to see in Helmand province. One of the biggest musical events ever known in Afghanistan draw tens of thousands- even in Taliban strongholds - to Lashkar Gah Stadium for an evening of music and entertainment. 
Freemuse released "Listen to the Banned" album, a compilation of 14 songs performed by well known artists around the world such as Marcel Khalife, Farhad Darya, Lapiro De Mbanga, Amal Murkus and others who have suffered from music censorship. 
From the moment the journey of "Life is Beautiful" was launched, Farhad Darya started writing a book which is supposed to cover the memories of the journey. The book is going to be published and disseminated in the Spring of 2011. It will cover beyond the journey moments and will lighten Darya's past life as well.
On September 21, Farhad Darya performed only for the women of Mazar which took place at the sport-yard of the "Sultan Razia" high school- a girl school which was totally ruined during the time of Taliban who chose this place as their headquarter. 
Since many years, he is inspiring young generations to unite, strengthen their self-esteem and build peace with his music. The excited audience screamed, snag along with him and brook the security lines and approached the stage to enjoy the moment without any worry.
"Life is Beautiful" journey took Farhad Darya to Herat to motivate youth for Peace & Hope by singing for them and interacting face to face with them. He meet with different groups of youth, intellectuals, artists, religious leaders, authorities including the Mayor and defending forces of Herat, holding press conferences and giving numerous interview with national and international media channels during his five-day stay in Herat, but the highlight of his trip was his magnificent performance at the sport stadium of Herat for more than 60000 citizens. According to CNN news, "... Tens of thousands of young Afghans showed up to Herat Stadium this week to see their favorite singer. In fact, more people showed up for Afghan artist, Farhad Darya that they did for their own president during presidential campaigns last year in the same arena ..." 
Darya rocked the stage of the "Fair Binding Commitment" in Bonn, Germany where almost 2000 high-ranked German and international politicians, civil society delegations and human rights activists along with well-known artists participated. 
Farhad Darya officially announced and launched his "Life is Beautiful" program during a press conference at the Intercontinental Hotel pressroom in Kabul. This program supports youth of Afghanistan and tries to be the voice of youth so they can become heard, seen and bring into the attention of the policy makers. The implementer organizations are Kochah None Profit Organization and Darya Management. The entire journey continues for about a year and will take Darya and his teams to the most of provinces to listen to youth face to face and inspire them to take a better role in the future of Afghanistan. Darya launched his new music video, "DOSTI" (Friendship) towards the end of the press conference.
Conference, attended by several hundred Afghans and over 60 VIPs from the Afghan government, EU, and other foreign delegations. The concert was officially part of the program of the conference and was aired live on the Ariana International TV worldwide. Afghanistan hosted a key international conference aiming to show that the war-torn country is acting on past pledges. Furthermore, the conference aimed at following a process of transition after the tens of thousands of US-led NATO troops depart. In the last couple of years, Farhad Darya has been involved in so many major national and international efforts and initiatives to promote the culture of Peace and tolerance. 
Three decades of war, values and many shades of colors flew away or were tarnished from the pages of Afghan life. Today, with more than 20 millions of despairing, disheartened youngsters, Afghanistan can hardly hope to reach a desirable tomorrow.
During the program “Life is Beautiful!”, will take advantage of following means:
One of the absolute highlights of this campaign, initiated and developed by Farhad Darya himself was the “Evening of Tolerance” – an event which has never before taken place in Afghanistan. 
To encourage and motivate the people to GO OUT AND VOTE, Farhad Darya made a live casting of himself putting his vote in the voting box on the day of elections. The idea behind this was not only to demonstrate who and how is voting. This live report was made to demonstrate, that Farhad Darya himself, while promoting all the messages about taking responsibility for Afghanistan, is consequently doing what he is saying. This is what he stands for: being authentic and telling the people the truth about himself and his understanding of patriotism and development for Afghanistan. 
Farhad Darya participated the Development Seminar which was held in Potsdam, Germany on the 10th of May, 2009. He was one of the panelists and ended the seminar with his speech and answering to the journalists’ questions on the role of culture in development in Afghanistan. Along with Darya, Mohammad Ehsan Zia - the Development Minister of Afghanistan, Bern Mutzelburg - German special envoy on Afghanistan and Pakistan, German Development Minister and others were among the panelists. 
After many years of waiting, the passionate fans in Dushanbe witnessed Farhad Darya's breathtaking performance. He rocked the historical stage of "Kakh-e-Barbad" (Barbad Palace), the most prestigious and the biggest indoor venue in Tajikistan.