I'd like to ask you, what do these three people have in common? Well, you probably recognize the first person. I'm sure you're all avid "American Idol" watchers. But you might not recognize Aydah Al Jahani, who is a contestant, indeed a finalist, in the Poet of the Millions competition, which is broadcast out of Abu Dhabi, and seen throughout the Arab world. In this contest people have to write and recite original poetry, in the Nabati form of poetry, which is the traditional Bedouin form. And Lima Sahar was a finalist in the Afghan Star singing competition.
Htjela bih vas upitati, što ovo troje ljudi ima zajedničko? Vjerojatno prepoznajete prvu osobu. Sigurna sam da ste svi strastveni gledatelji "Američkog idola". Možda nećete prepoznati Aydahu Al Jahani, koja je natjecateljica, zapravo finalistica u natjecanju Pjesnik milijuna, koje se emitira iz Abu Dahbija, i gleda se širom arapskog svijeta. U ovom natjecanju ljudi moraju pisati i recitirati originalnu poeziju, Nabati vrstu poezije, koja je tradicionalna beduinska forma. A Lima Sahar je finalistica u pjevačkom natjecanju Afghan Star.
Now, before I go any further, yes, I know it all began with "Britain's Got Talent." But my point in discussing this is to show you -- I hope I'll be able to show you how these merit-based competitions, with equal access to everyone, with the winner selected via voting by SMS, are changing tribal societies. And I'm going to focus on Afghanistan and the Arab world with the UAE, how they're changing tribal societies, not by introducing Western ideas, but by being integrated into the language in those places.
Sad, prije nego što nastavim, da, znam da je sve počelo s "Britain's Got Talent". Ali cilj moje diskusije o ovome je pokazati vam – nadam se da ću vam moći pokazati kako ovakva natjecanja na temelju sposobnosti, s jednakim pristupom svima, s pobjednikom kojega se bira glasanjem putem SMS-a, mijenjaju plemenska društva. I usredotočit ću se na Afghanistan i arapski svijet s Ujedinjenim Arapskim Emiratima, kako mijenjaju plemenska društva, ne uvodeći zapadne ideje, već integracijom u jezik tih mjesta.
It all begins with enjoyment. Video: We are late to watch "Afghan Star." We are going to watch "Afghan Star." We are late. We are running late. We must go to watch "Afghan Star." Cynthia Schneider: These programs are reaching incredibly deeply into society. In Afghanistan, people go to extraordinary lengths to be able to watch this program. And you don't necessarily have to have your own TV set. People watch it all over the country also in public places. But it goes beyond watching, because also, part of this is campaigning. People become so engaged that they have volunteers, just like political volunteers anyway, who fan out over the countryside, campaigning for their candidate. Contestants also put themselves forward.
Sve počinje s uživanjem. (Video): Kasnimo na Afghan Star. Gledat ćemo Afghan Star. Kasnimo. Već kasnimo. Moramo ići gledati Afghan Star. CS: Ovi programi prodiru nevjerojatno duboko u društvo. U Afganistanu, ljudi su spremni na puno toga da bi mogli gledati ovaj program. I ne morate nužno imati vlastiti televizor. Ljudi emisiju gledaju širom zemlje i na javnim mjestima. Ali idu i dalje od gledanja, jer je dio ovoga, također, i vođenje kampanja za kandidate. Ljudi su toliko angažirani da imaju volontere, kao i volonteri u politici, koji se rašire po provinciji, i vode kampanju za svojeg kandidata. I natjecatelji se također ističu.
Now, of course there is a certain degree of ethnic allegiance, but not entirely. Because each year the winner has come from a different tribal group. This has opened up the door, particularly for women. And in the last season there were two women in the finalists. One of them, Lima Sahar, is a Pashtun from Kandahar, a very conservative part of the country. And here she relates, in the documentary film "Afghan Star," how her friends urged her not to do this and told her that she was leaving them for democracy. But she also confides that she knows that members of the Taliban are actually SMS-ing votes in for her.
Naravno, postoji određeni stupanj etničke pripadnosti, ali ne sasvim. Jer svake godine pobjednik dolazi iz druge plemenske skupine. Ovo je odškrinulo vrata, naročito za žene. A u zadnjoj sezoni, dvije su žene bile među finalistima. Jedna od njih, Lima Sahar, je Paštunka iz Kandahara, vrlo konzervativnog dijela zemlje. Ovdje ona priča, u dokumentarcu o emisiji Afghan Star, kako su je prijateljice nagovarale da to ne čini i rekle joj da ih napušta zbog demokracije. Ali ona se i povjerava da zna da čak i pripadnici Talibana šalju SMS-om glasove za nju.
Aydah Al Jahnani also took risks and put herself out, to compete in the Poet of the Millions competition. I have to say, her husband backed her from the start. But her tribe and family urged her not to compete and were very much against it. But, once she started to win, then they got behind her again. It turns out that competition and winning is a universal human value. And she's out there. Her poetry is about women, and the life of women in society. So just by presenting herself and being in competition with men -- this shows the voting on the program -- it sets a very important example for young women -- these are young women in the audience of the program -- in Abu Dhabi, but also people in the viewing audience.
Aydah Al Jahnani također je riskirala, i izložila se, natječući se u natjecanju Pjesnik milijuna. Moram reći, njezin suprug ju je podržao od početka. Ali njezino pleme i obitelj je tražilo od nje da se ne natječe i bili su snažno protiv. Ali, jednom kad je počela pobjeđivati, tada su je podržali. Ispada da su natjecanje i pobjeđivanje univerzalne ljudske vrijednosti. A ona je tu. Njezina poezija je o ženama, i o životu žena u društvu. Samo se predstavljajući, i natječući se s muškarcima -- ovo pokazuje glasanje u emisiji -- ona pokazuje važan primjer mladim ženama -- to su mlade žene u publici ove emisije -- u Abu Dahbiju, ali i ljudima koji gledaju emisiju.
Now you'd think that "American Idol" would introduce a measure of Americanization. But actually, just the opposite is happening. By using this engaging popular format for traditional, local culture, it actually, in the Gulf, is precipitating a revival of interest in Nabati poetry, also in traditional dress and dance and music. And for Afghanistan, where the Taliban banned music for many years, it is reintroducing their traditional music. They don't sing pop songs, they sing Afghan music. And they also have learned how to lose gracefully, without avenging the winner. (Laughter) No small thing.
Pomislili biste da će "Američki idol" uvesti oblik amerikanizacije. No, zapravo, događa se baš obrnuto. Koristeći ovaj zabavni popularni format u tradicionalnoj, lokalnoj kulturi, on, u stvari, u Zaljevu, pokreće oživljavanje zanimanja za Nabati poeziju, kao i za tradicionalne nošnje, plesove i glazbu. A za Afganistan gdje su Talibani zabranjivali glazbu godinama, posljedica je ponovno uvođenje njihove tradicionalne glazbe. Oni ne pjevaju pop glazbu, oni pjevaju afganistansku glazbu. Također su naučili i graciozno gubiti, bez da se osvećuju pobjedniku. (Smijeh) Nije to mala stvar.
And the final, sort of, formulation of this "American Idol" format, which has just appeared in Afghanistan, is a new program called "The Candidate." And in this program, people present policy platforms that are then voted on. Many of them are too young to run for president, but by putting the issues out there, they are influencing the presidential race. So for me, the substance of things unseen is how reality TV is driving reality. Thank you. (Applause)
A posljednja, na neki način, formulacija ovog formata „Američkog idola“, koja se pojavila u Afganistanu, je nova emisija po nazivu "Kandidat". U ovom programu ljudi predlažu političke platforme o kojima se onda glasuje. Mnogi od njih su premladi da bi se kandidirali za predsjednika. Ali isticanjem problema u javnosti, oni utječu na utrku za predsjednika. Za mene, suština u onome što ne možemo vidjeti, je kako reality televizija pokreće stvarnost. Hvala vam. (Pljesak)