The Zahir Foundation for the Arts
Shabnam Humphrey, Founder
Shabnam is the founder of Zahir Foundation. Shabnam is an advocate to empower artists and preserve Afghanistan's culture and heritage. Her mission is to continue her father's and grandfather's pursuit in freedom, unity and creativity.
She is currently pursuing her Masters at Wake Forest University and holds a bachelors degree in English with a minor in Sociology. She has more than a decade of experience in graphic design, creative writing, digital media and photography.
Since 2014, Shabnam has also been advocating for Copyright Protection for Afghan Artists around the world. Shabnam and the Arts & Entertainment Advocacy Clinic at Scalia Law School worked alongside the Embassy of Afghanistan in Washington D.C. to raise awareness on how Afghanistan does not have any treaties in place with the U.S that include copyright law with international standards. Their efforts were paid off. On June 2, 2018, Afghanistan became a member of the International Union for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works founded by the Berne Convention. This is a remarkable accomplishment for Afghanistan's artists. Now, Afghanistan is part of the same copyright laws that protects artists from all over the world.
Omar Sultan, Officer
Mr. Sultan has contributed to the arts and preserving Afghanistan's culture and heritage for years. He was a former bandmate of Ahmad Zahir and one of his best friends. He has immense knowledge in music, Afghanistan's culture and history. He was the Former Deputy Minister of Culture in Afghanistan and currently the Ambassador of Afghanistan in Greece. Recently, he spoke briefly about Afghanistan’s fostering of “a culture of toleration” and the necessity of protecting Afghan oral heritage and folklore. “Today we need the revival of the arts…Our new generation has raised its heads from the flames.”
Negine Khpalwak, Officer
Negin Khpalwak is Afghanistan's first female conductor and leading the Zohra - the first all-female orchestra in Afghanistan from ANIM. She is a vocal advocate for women’s access to education and employment. She wants to empower women who want to pursue a profession in the arts.
Dr. Ahmad Sarmast, Officer
Dr. Sarmast is an Afghan-Australian ethnomusicologist. He is the founder and director of the Afghanistan National Institute of Music (ANIM). Dr Sarmast set his sights on promoting music talent in the war-ravaged nation, founding ANIM in 2010. It was representative of a new country where boys and girls studied together and played to audiences across the world. ANIM’s focus is on the musicians of the future with many already noticing the impact it has had on their lives. “If I was not in the music school, I wouldn’t have this much courage. Actually, I wouldn’t have been able to talk to a person, let alone perform to thousands of people in a hall,” says 18-year-old Rabia who plays the lute-like instrument known as a Rubab.
Omaid Sharifi, Officer
Omaid Sharifi is a patron of the arts, curator and President at ArtLords, Wartists and Rebel Art Cafe. ArtLords is a grassroots movement of artists and volunteers motivated by the desire to pave the way for social transformation and behavioral change through employing the soft power of art and culture as a non-intrusive approach.
Mr. Sharifi is a Millennium Leadership Fellow with Atlantic Council, Asia Society 21 and American Foreign Relations Council/Rumsfeld Fellow. Mr. Sharifi is Winner of Best Animation for Peace and Tolerance Award from MiSK-UNDP Youth Forum, Anti-Corruption Excellence Award Winner from Ban Ki-Moon and Emir of Qatar and Afghanistan’s Social Media Award Winner for encouraging offline action and European Union Innovation Award for Fighting Corruption in 2017, 2016 and 2015 respectively. He co-founded the famous “I See You” campaign against corruption, Hamdeli (Empathy) Network for bringing joy to Afghan citizens and Sela Foundation in Afghanistan. Mr. Sharifi is U.S. State Department International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) alumni.
Mr. Sharifi started as a kid selling cookies and cigarettes in the streets of Kabul when he was only 12, he was part of the small team and aide to President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani at Transition Coordination Commission and a Program Manager for Tawanmandi – a multi-million-dollar challenge fund for strengthening civil society in Afghanistan.
Mejgan Massoumi, Officer
Dr. Massoumi received her Ph.D. in History from Stanford University. She is currently a Teaching Fellow in the Civic, Liberal, and Global Education (COLLEGE) Program, also at Stanford University. Her work incorporates questions regarding technology and citizenship, transnationalism and the fluidity of identity, gender and performance, and critical approaches to global history, postcolonial studies, and sensory history. In addition, she is also working on her first monograph tentatively titled The Sounds of Kabul: Radio & the Politics of Popular Culture in Modern Afghanistan, 1960-79.
Having earned previous degrees in Architecture (B.A.) and City Planning (M.C.P) from the University of California at Berkeley, the foundation of her scholarship is built upon a cross-cultural and interdisciplinary perspective. Dr. Massoumi's study of the past is informed through the study of sounds broadcast in and beyond the built environment.
As a scholar and educator, and refugee and immigrant, she is committed to advancing a culture of equity and inclusion within academia through my activism and advocacy for diversity as well as my teaching and scholarship focused on the study of history through the experiences of marginalized peoples, places, and cultures.
Hilmand Dehsabzi, Project Manager + Archivist
Hilmand has been working diligently on archival material for the production. With a degree in architecture and solid experience in large scale Urban Development projects, Hilmand has the strong skills required to navigate the complex and fragmented archival landscape of pre-war Afghanistan. He is a first-generation Afghan Australian, based in Sydney and this is his debut in film production.
Yalda Sarwar, Officer
Yalda is an expert on issues of Afghanistan, Afghan politics, human rights, women's rights, poetry, humanitarian work, community organizing, and advocacy. She is an Afghan-Canadian journalist, poet, human rights advocate, and community organizer. She is currently working with young leaders on a campaign called Canadian Campaign for Afghan Peace. She wears multiple hats with this campaign; including that of a Media Spokesperson, and Committee Adviser Researcher. She also acts as a liaison with Afghans on the ground and internationally, as the Afghanistan crisis continue to cost Afghans, Afghan-Canadians, and the world.
She has been actively aware of the political and humanitarian conflicts around the world, including those in Canada and her homeland Afghanistan. She is a 2021 Daughters of the Vote delegate and has been involved politically in Canada. She has also written and appeared on national and international media speaking about Canada and Afghanistan. She has also tirelessly reported about both nations. Her media experience includes working with CBC News Toronto, and multiple News networks in Afghanistan.
Yalda's lived experience includes being born in Afghanistan, experiencing the Afghan war firsthand, and being active, in politics and in journalism, both in Canada and globally.
Sam French, Film + Media
An Oscar-nominated filmmaker, Sam spent five years living and working in Afghanistan, where he produced and directed documentaries for the UN, NGOs, aid organizations, and the media, including HBO, BBC, CNN, Channel 4 News and Al Jazeera. He wrote and directed the Academy Award nominated short film “Buzkashi Boys,” which was the first narrative film since 2001 to be filmed entirely on location in Afghanistan.
Sam is back in Los Angeles and is writing and developing both narrative and documentary feature film projects. Sam believes in the power of storytelling to connect people across different cultures, and that if we lift up our voices and share our stories we can change the world.
Dr. Thomas E. Gouttierre , Officer
Dr. Thomas E. Gouttierre was the longtime Dean of International Studies & Programs at the University of Nebraska at Omaha and Director of the Center for Afghanistan Studies, serving from 1974 until his retirement in 2015. He was born in Maumee, OH. He received a B.A. and an M.A. from Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, OH. In 1987, Professor Gouttierre received the UNO Chancellor's Medal.
"Mr. Gouttierre is widely regarded as one of the leading experts on Afghanistan and U.S.-Afghan relations in the Western Hemisphere. Prior to assuming his present position in 1974, Mr. Gouttierre lived and worked for nearly 10 years in Afghanistan, serving as a Peace Corps volunteer, a Fulbright fellow, Executive Director of the Fulbright Foundation, and Head Coach of the Afghan National Basketball Team. He was also seconded by the U.S. State Department to serve as Senior Political Affairs Officer on the United Nations Peacekeeping Mission to Afghanistan in 1996 and 1997. Mr. Gouttierre speaks, reads, and writes Dari, Farsi, and Tajikistani Persian. His publications include numerous articles about Afghanistan society, culture, and politics. He co-authored the two-volume language textbook Dari for Foreigners and a bibliography of Persian works in English. He also writes original Dari poetry and serves as an internationally recognized authority on Central Asia’s cultures and conflicts, appearing in news articles and broadcasts worldwide.
"Mr. Gouttierre also has decades of experience with the languages and cultures of other Central Asian countries, and he has long been involved in an ongoing dialogue about U.S.-Russia relations. In his role as Dean of International Studies & Programs, he has traveled widely and worked with students and faculty from all over the world.
Leslie Knott, Officer
Leslie Knott is an Oscar and Emmy-nominated filmmaker who has worked in Afghanistan for over a decade. She was first introduced to Ahmad Zahir’s music while setting up a radio station for women in the northern village of Maimana. She is currently the executive producer for ZAHIR documentary. Her first feature documentary film, ‘Out of the Ashes’ (BBC Storyville), was executive produced by Sam Mendes and went on to win a Grierson Award. Leslie’s subsequent films can be seen on Netflix, Channel 4, BBC, PBS, CNN, ITV, NBC and at the Annenberg Space for Photography.
In 2013 Leslie was nominated for an Academy Award for “Buzkashi Boys” which was co-produced by the Afghan Film Project, a non-profit NGO that Leslie co-founded with Sam French in 2010 to help train Afghan filmmakers and foster Afghanistan’s film industry.