Revision 930154447 of "Firdaus Kharas" on enwiki

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{{Infobox person
|name = Firdaus Kharas
|image = Nicholaskharas.jpg
|birth_date = {{birth date and age|1955|11|18|df=y}}
|birth_place = [[Calcutta|Calcutta, India]]{{cn}}
|nationality = [[Canadians|Canadian]]{{cn}}
|education = 
|occupation = [[television producer]], [[animation|animation producer]], [[film producer]], [[social entrepreneurship|social entrepreneur]], [[author]]
|notable_works = The Three Amigos<br/>

|website = http://www.chocmoose.com
}}

'''Firdaus Kharas''' (Fir-dose Kha-RASS) is a [[social entrepreneur]]<ref>{{cite news | url = https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2013/10/talking-condoms-make-safe-sex-campaigns-acceptable-in-conservative-countries/280616/ | publisher = [[The Atlantic]] | last = Morin | first = Roc | date = 18 October 2013 | title = Talking Condoms Make Safe Sex Campaigns Acceptable in Conservative Countries}}</ref> and media producer.<ref>{{cite web|last=Firdaus Kharas|title=Carleton University|url=https://carleton.ca/fpa/story/firdaus-kharas}}</ref> He founded Chocolate Moose Media in 1995 to produce content for film and television aimed at progressive behaviour change.

He was born November 18, 1955{{cn}} in [[Calcutta, India]]{{cn}}, and is now Canadian.{{cn}} His TV series and [[documentaries]] have focused on [[global health]], [[children's television series]], [[human rights]], [[dementia]] and [[refugees]]. He has won 110{{cn}} international awards, three humanitarian awards{{cn}} and two honorary doctorates.<ref>{{cite web|last=Doctor of Laws|title=Carleton University|url=https://newsroom.carleton.ca/archives/2015/06/11/firdaus-kharas-receives-honorary-doctorate-from-carleton-university}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Honorary Doctorate|title=Thiel College|url=https://www.thiel.edu/about/honorary-degree-recipients}}</ref> His notable works include 46 [[public service announcement]] campaigns (PSA) and series targeting health and social issues, primarily in developing countries.<ref>{{cite web|last=Activism Through Animation|title=Darpan|url=https://www.darpanmagazine.com/magazine/spotlight/firdaus-kharas-activism-through-animation}}</ref>

Prior to his media career Kharas worked in the Canadian public service{{cn}} dealing with immigration and refugee policy and on [[United Nations]] affairs.{{cn}} He has travelled to 140 countries{{cn}} and frequently speaks at international conferences{{cn}}, trains animators{{cn}} and sits on media festival juries.<ref>{{cite web|last=The Animated Activist|title=Unite For Sight|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2TzOXyB9FWs}}</ref>

== Government service ==

After graduation Kharas served for five years as executive director of the United Nations Association in Canada.{{cn}}  He then focused on refugees by serving as policy adviser{{cn}} to [[Barbara McDougall]], Canada's Minister of Employment and Immigration, before being appointed{{cn}} Assistant Deputy Chairman of the Immigration and Refugee Board, where his mandate{{cn}} was to reduce the backlog of more than 100,000 refugee claimants from 115 countries. In 1995 his desire to improve social problems in the community drew him into the private sector.{{cn}} Kharas began to use mass communications for social change.<ref>{{cite web|last=Animating Public Service and Social Justice|title=Rabble|url=https://rabble.ca/news/2012/07/firdaus-kharas-animating-public-service-and-social-justice}}</ref>

== Media ==
[[File:Firdaus Kharas and Desmond Tutu watching The Three Amigos.jpg|right|thumb|Kharas watching The Three Amigos with Desmond Tutu]]
Chocolate Moose Media was founded that year in Canada but set up its first production facilities in Singapore and Malaysia to train locals and produce animated and dramatic television series. Kharas created City of the Rich, Asia's first English-language daily soap opera and then focussed on children's programming that was purchased and licensed by HBO, the Disney Channel, Animal Planet and Nickelodeon], among others. He also created a series in Arabic for the Al Jazeeera Children's Channel called Hind and Hamza that tackled such sensitive topics as racism and gender equality and illustrated how the media form can reach youth and adults alike.<ref>{{cite web|last= HBO makes Historic Magic Acquisition|title=Animation magazine|url=https://www.animationmagazine.net/tv/hbo-makes-historic-magic-acquisition}}</ref>

His move into activism started with short, animated spots for UNICEF's Cartoons for Children's Rights and then for the UN General Assembly Special Session on Children].  In 2004 his first major PSA series called [[The Three Amigos Campaign]] aimed to educate people about the use of condoms to stop the spread of HIV/AIDS. It has been translated into 45 languages that can reach 5.5 billion people in 150 countries.<ref>{{cite web|last=Pitching Rubbers|title=The New Yorker|url=http://www.newyorker.com/archive/2004/05/24/040524ta_talk_mcgrath}}</ref> The series won the a 2006 [[Peabody Award]].<ref>{{cite web|last=Peabody Awards|title=2006 winners|url=http://www.peabody.uga.edu/winners/winners_2000s.php#2006|url-status = dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20111031044823/http://www.peabody.uga.edu/winners/winners_2000s.php#2006|archivedate=2011-10-31|df=}}</ref> Subsequent series included malaria protection (Buzz and Bite, 2008) and domestic and sexual violence protection (No Excuses, 2011).<ref>{{cite web|last=Press Briefing On "Three Amigos"|title=United Nations|url=https://www.un.org/press/en/2005/HIV_AIDSbrf050111.doc.htm}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Press Conference to Launch Animated Campaign against Domestic Violence, Abuse|title=United Nations|url=https://www.un.org/press/en/2011/110418_Kharas.doc.htm}}</ref>

Other campaign subjects include solar power,{{cn}} diabetes,{{cn}} values{{cn}} and violence against children in Malawi.{{cn}} In response to the [[Ebola virus epidemic in West Africa]] in 2014, Kharas produced three videos dealing with prevention and discrimination: Ebola: A Poem For The Living, In Praise of Prevention and Beyond Survival.{{cn}} The Huffington Post cited its "courage and intelligence." <ref>{{cite web | last= A New African Super Girl Confronts Ebola | title=Huffington Post | url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/georgianne-nienaber/a-new-african-super-girl_b_9369342.html}}</ref> Recent work has targeted rape in the Democratic Republic of the Congo,{{cn}} discrimination against refugees,{{cn}} asbestos-caused diseases{{cn}} and support for migraine sufferers.{{cn}}  Multilingual versions are much more effective in global social activism, according to University of Ottawa professor Luisa von Flotow.<ref>{{cite web | last=The (Globalized) Three Amigos: Translating and Disseminating HIV/AIDS Prevention Discourse | title=von Flotow | url=https://www.erudit.org/en/journals/ttr/2005-v18-n2-ttr1679/015770ar}}</ref>
He has also produced six documentary films and has spoken at numerous conferences on global health, communications and behaviour change.<ref>{{cite web|last=Firdaus Kharas: Activism Through Animation|title=United Methodist Communications|url=https://www.umnews.org/en/news/firdaus-kharas-activism-through-animation}}</ref>

== Honors ==
* CV Magazine Canadian Business Awards: Best Social Change Media Production Company (2019),{{cn}}
* Honorary Doctorates: ([[Thiel College]], 2009; [[Carleton University]], 2016),{{cn}}
* TMT Awards Best Global Short Film Producer (2016),{{cn}}
* Guardian International Achievement Award (2015),{{cn}}
* Malaria Foundation International End Malaria Award (2013),{{cn}}
* [[American InterContinental University]] Honorary Fellow (2009).{{cn}}

== Awards ==
* Humanitarian Awards: Accolade Global Film Competition (2018); Best Shorts Competition (2018, 2019); IndieFest Film Awards (2018),{{cn}}
* Remi Awards: 2018, 2017, 2015, 2005,{{cn}}
* One Reeler Film Competition: 2018,{{cn}}
* Best Shorts: 2017, 2016,{{cn}}
* Pixie Awards: 2017,{{cn}}
* Accolade Global Film Awards, 2017,{{cn}}
* Indiefest: 2017,{{cn}}
* U.S. International Film and Video Festival: 2016,{{cn}}
* Telly Awards: 2016, 2015, 2014, 2012, 2007, 2006, 2005,{{cn}}
* PR Daily Video Awards: 2016,{{cn}}
* World Media Festival: 2009,{{cn}}
* CINE Golden Eagle: 2009, 2007, 2005, 2004,{{cn}}
* Aurora Awards: 2008,{{cn}}
* Fade-In Awards: 2007,{{cn}}
* New York and World Media Festivals: 2007,{{cn}}
* George Foster Peabody Award: 2006{{cn}}
* Chicago International Children's Film Festival: 2006,{{cn}}
* Columbus International Film and Video Festival: 2006,{{cn}}
* Berkeley Film and Video Festival: 2006,{{cn}}
* Trailblazer Award: 2005,{{cn}}
* Chicago International Film Festival: 2004.{{cn}}

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== External links ==
{{Commons category|Firdaus Kharas}}
* [http://www.chocmoose.com/ Official Website]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kharas, Firdas}}
[[Category:1955 births]]
[[Category:Canadian television producers]]
[[Category:Canadian television directors]]
[[Category:Artists from Ottawa]]
[[Category:Film directors from Ottawa]]
[[Category:Parsi people]]
[[Category:Social entrepreneurs]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Cathedral and John Connon School alumni]]
[[Category:Canadian animators]]
[[Category:Canadian animated film producers]]
[[Category:Canadian animated film directors]]