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Firdaus Kharas is a Canadian director and producer of animation, film and television media. His current work focuses on creating various types of media to educate, entertain, and effect societal and individual behavioural change through mass communications spanning across many cultures and countries to better the human condition. His work has currently been seen by over one billion people in over 150 countries.
An article on Kharas said "individuals can make a difference.... He is living testament to it". Canada’s national newspaper, The Globe and Mail, captured Kharas' philosophy well in a headline: “I’m just trying to make a small contribution”.
Two outstanding examples of his attempts to better the human condition through media are The Three Amigos and Buzz and Bite public service announcement (PSAs) campaigns.
The Three Amigos, directed and produced by Kharas, is a series of twenty world-class animated public service announcements created in forty one languages designed to stop the spread of HIV/AIDS throughout the world. The series has been awarded the George Foster Peabody Award as well as twenty nine other international awards. Nobel Laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu is a principal supporter of this PSA campaign. He referred to the series in an open letter as “a powerful communicating tool” and has written "in creating The Three Amigos PSA's [Mr. Kharas has] made an outstanding contribution to the campaign against HIV infection in providing material that can be easily understood by most people irrespective of language or culture".
Buzz and Bite is a series of thirty animated PSAs in twenty two languages to prevent the spread of malaria by mosquitoes. This series created, produced, and directed by Mr. Kharas is one of the world’s largest on any subject and recently gained recognition by Senator Mobina Jaffer. It is currently in use in over 50 countries.
His main avenues are short- and long-form animation, documentaries, and television programs. For a complete list of all Mr. Kharas’ media creations and current projects please visit his web site at www.kharas.ca.
Kharas has received several awards personally, including the United Nations Peace Medal from the UN Secretary-General, the medal of the World Federation of United Nations Associations, an Honorary Doctorate and the Distinguished Alumnus Award from his alma mater, Thiel College, a Global Development Award, and the ReelWorld Trailblazer award. In addition to the Peabody Award, Mr. Kharas' work has garnered over 60 international awards in just the last 3 years. These include the Cine Golden Eagle, the Telly award, the Platinum REMI Award, the Chris, the Hugo, the Golden Reel , the Gold World Medal in New York, Davey Awards (gold and silver), and First Prize at the Chicago International Children's Film Festival.
Magic Cellar, the first ever animated series based on African culture, has been acquired for broadcast in the United States by Home Box Office (HBO). The sale is historic, as no African animated television series has ever been acquired by a major American network before. Kharas was an Executive Producer and the Director of this series which received twenty nine international awards and thirteen international recognitions.
Kharas has been instrumental in strengthening the media industries in Holland, India, Malaysia, Singapore and South Africa, by creating original television series in each of those countries and training thousands of media professionals on his projects. His travels have taken Kharas around the world; he has been to over 100 countries in every major region, from the High Arctic to crossing the Sahara Desert. He has been to animation studios in the Far East, war zones in Central America, refugee camps in South-East Asia, and to many AIDS-related NGOs, hospitals and youth centres in urban and rural Africa. Kharas has participated in Canadian trade missions to several countries led by the Prime Minister and the Minister of International Trade. He has also had the opportunity to discuss broadcasting and content policies with ministers and senior government officials’ worldwide.
Many articles have been written about Mr. Kharas' work in using mass communications to better the human condition in such prestigious publications as The New Yorker (US), MacLean’s (Canada), the Independent (England), The Globe and Mail (Canada), De Telegraaf (Netherlands), Washington Times (US), The Nation (Thailand), The Times of India (India), ABC News (US), the Ottawa Citizen (Canada), the Toronto Star (Canada), Taipei Times (Taiwan), The Citizen (South Africa), Screen Africa and in wire stories by United Press International, Reuters, Associated Press among others. Kharas has also appeared on dozens of television shows and radio programs on every continent
| VITAL STATS | Firdaus Kharas Information:
| | Eye color: | | Height: | | Nickname(s): | | Notable feature(s): | | Education: Firdaus Kharas holds degrees and certificates from Harvard, Carleton, Thiel, American, Waterloo and Ottawa universities | | Family: | | Resides in: Ottawa Ontario Canada | | Religious affiliations: | | Political affiliation: | | Personal interests/hobbies: | | Charities/Causes: Saving lives through mass communications | | Other: | | |
