Fighting Illiteracy in Afghanistan is No Laughing Matter to Torontonians Or Is It?

Centuries-Old Folk Hero Stars in Benefit Multicultural Laugh-Fest to Provide Books for Needy Afghan Children

TORONTO (Oct. 1, 2010) – Mulla Nasrudin, the centuries-old star of countless jokes in Afghanistan and other countries throughout Central Asia and the Middle East, will be the guest of honor at a zany cross-cultural extravaganza in Toronto to benefit needy children in Afghanistan. Afghans so love the Mulla's wacky wit that they claim him as their native son. But so do many other Middle Eastern, Central Asian and other cultures. Actually, nobody really knows who Nasrudin was or if he ever existed. But that's not stopping the Institute for Cross-Cultural Exchange (ICE) from celebrating his birthday on Nov. 13, 2010 from 7:30 to 10:30 pm at Emmanuel Howard Park United Church 214 Wright Ave., Toronto. Canada's finest musicians, jokesters, dancers and storytellers will perform at this madcap multinational mirth fest featuring Georgian, Afghan, Arabic, Jewish cultures.

ICE (www.iceeducation.org) is an all-volunteer Canadian charity that addresses family literacy and promotes understanding between cultures. So far, it has donated over 46,000 books to seventy Canadian non-profit literacy groups serving needy children Canada-wide. This year ICE is beginning a new initiative in Afghanistan, where literacy rates are among the lowest in the world. Its aim is to provide as many Afghan children as possible with their very own books. For at least 95% of them, these will certainly be the first books they own – and may well be tales that their grandparents recognize from their own childhood. We hope that repatriating these stories in book form will be a comforting bridge to literacy and a legacy for young Afghans and their future.

Proceeds from the Toronto fundraiser will provide beautifully illustrated Dari-Pashto versions of traditional oral tales from Afghanistan and Central Asia, collected and adapted for children by Afghan author Idries Shah (www.iceeducation.org/aboutIceHoopoe.html). These delightful multi-functional "Teaching Stories" stimulate insight, flexibility and other higher-order thinking skills. They help children and adults alike better understand themselves and their world. Similarly Nasrudin's outrageous multi-dimensional tales have provoked laughter and thought in young and old throughout the East for centuries (www.ishk.net/mulla_nasrudin.html).

On November 13, Torontonians will have a rare opportunity to share the same jokes and help some needy Afghan children learn to read. Please visit www.iceeducation.org/images/Nasrudin-Poster.pdf

For information about this event please contact Aubrey Davis (416) 653-6475, aubrey.davis@sympatico.ca.

To learn about ICE or Hoopoe Books, please contact: David Cottle (403-313-2796), director@iceeducation.org.

The November 13 event will feature:

George Sawa (www.georgedimitrisawa.com), an internationally acclaimed Qanun master & ethnomusicologist who received Egypt's highest lifetime achievement award for contributions to Arabic music

Drew Richardson (www.dramaticfool.com), a dramatic fool and clown from Fuzulistan, inspired by an ancient tradition of human imperfection

Dan Yashinsky (www.storytellingtoronto.org/Directory_Pages/Dir_DanYashinsky.html), storyteller, cofounder of the Storytelling Toronto, Jane Jacobs Prize Recipient (1999) for work making storytelling a part of community life

Eric Stein (www.beyondthepale.net/members/eric-stein), an award-winning, genre-bending multiinstrumentalist; leads klezmer/world fusion group Beyond the Pale; performs with many others

ZARI - [Shalva Makharashvili, Andrea Kuzmich & Reid Robins] (www.myspace.com/triozari), an outstanding musical trio specializing in folk music of the Republic of Georgia

Ray Dillard (www.rcmusic.ca/ContentPage.aspx?name=RAY_DILLARD), an acclaimed International principal percussionist; countless performances including Walt Disney's The Lion King

Aubrey Davis (www.aubreydavis.com), award-winning children's author; storyteller of Afghan, Jewish & Middle Eastern tales throughout North America

Suzanne Meyers Sawa (www.georgedimitrisawa.com/bio_suzanne.html), a percussionist and vocalist with the Traditional Arabic Music Ensemble since 1979, appearing at folk festivals across North America

Nada El Masriya & Rhythm of the Nile Dance Company (www.hannandance.com/rhythm.html), an award-winning Egyptian folkloric dancer, Nada is currently artistic director of this extraordinary traditional belly dance troupe

Sandra Carpenter-Davis (www.storytellingtoronto.org/Directory_Pages/Dir_SandraCarpenter-Davis.html), a storyteller of epics, myths, and folktales to people of all ages