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.
Htela bih da vas pitam šta ove tri osobe imaju zajedničko? Verovatno prepoznajete prvu osobu. Sigurna sam da ste svi strastveni pratioci "Američkog idola". Ali možda neće prepoznati Ajdu Al Džahani, koja je takmičar, zapravo finalistkinja, takmičenja "Pesnik miliona", koja se emituje iz Abu Dabija, i gleda širom arapskog sveta. Na ovom takmičenju, učesnici moraju pisati i recitovati originalnu poeziju, Nabati vrste, koja je tradicionalna beduinska forma. Lima Sahar je bila finalistkinja takmičenja u pevanju "Afgan 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, pre nego što nastavim, da, znam da je sve počelo sa "Britanija ima talenat", ali moj cilj o diskutovanju ovoga je da vam pokažem -- nadam se da ću uspeti kako ova takmičenja, bazirana na zasluzi, sa istim pristupom za sve, gde se pobednik bira putem SMS glasanja, menjaju plemenska društva. Fokisiraću se na Avganistan i arapski svet Emirata, kako menjaju plemenska društva, ne uvodeći ideje sa Zapada, već integrišući ih u jezik ovih mesta.
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 uživanjem. Video: Kasnimo na "Afgan star". Idemo da gledamo "Afgan star". Kasnimo. Kasnimo. Moramo da gledamo "Afgan star". Sintija Šnajder: Ove emisije dopiru neverovatno duboko u društvo. U Avganistanu, ljudi su spremni na puno toga da bi gledali ovu emisiju. I ne morate nužno imati svoj televizor. Ljudi ga gledaju širom zemlje i na javnim mestima. Ali ovo ide i dalje od gledanja, jer je deo ovoga, takođe, zastupanje kandidata. Ljudi se toliko angažuju, da imaju volontere, poput volontera u politici, koji idu po provinciji i promovišu svog kandidata. I takmičari se aktiviraju.
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 određen stepen etničke pripadnosti, ali ne u potpunosti, jer je svake godine pobednik bio iz druge plemenske grupe. Ovo je otvorilo vrata posebno ženama. U poslednjoj sezoni su bile dve žene u finalu, jedna je Lima Sahar, iz paštunskog dela Kandahara veoma konzervativnog dela zemlje. Ona ovde govori, u dokumentarcu o "Afgan Star", kako su je prijatelji odgovarali od ovoga i govorili da ih napušta zbog demokratije. Ali ona priznaje da zna da pripadnici Talibana zapravo šalju SMS poruke i glasaju 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.
Ajda Al Džahani je takođe rizikovala takmičući se u takmičenju "Pesnik Miliona". Moram da priznam da ju je suprug podržavao od početka. Ali njeno pleme i njena porodica su je odgovarali od takmičenja i bili su veoma protiv toga. Ali, kada je počela da pobeđuje i oni su je podržali. Ispostavlja se da je takmičenje i pobeđivanje univerzalna ljudska vrednost. Ona se i danas predstavlja; Njene pesme su o ženama i o njihovom položaju u društvu. Dakle, samim svojim predstavljanjem i takmičenjem sa muškarcima -- ovo je proces glasanja u ovom programu -- ona šalje važnu poruku mladim ženama -- ovo su te mlade žene koje sede u publici -- u Abu Dabiju, ali takođe i među gledaocima.
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.
Mislili biste da "Američki Idol" uvodi mnogo Amerikanizacije. Ali zapravo, upravo se suprotno dešava. Koristeći popularni format programa na tradicionalnu i lokalnu kulturu, u Zalivu se ubrzava oživljavanje i interes za Nabati poeziju kao i tradicionalni način oblačenja, ples i muziku. U Avganistanu, gde su Talibani zabranili muziku na mnogo godina, ovi ljudi obnavljaju svoju tradicionalnu muziku. Oni ne pevaju pop pesme, oni pevaju avganistansku muziku. Naučili su kako da budu časni gubitnici bez da se svete pobedniku. (Smeh) To je velika 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)
Poslednja vrsta ostvarenja ovog formata preuzetog od "Američkog idola" koji se pojavio u Avganistanu, jeste novi program pod nazivom "Kandidat". U ovom programu, ljudi predstavljaju političke ideje o kojima se potom glasa. Mnogi od ovih ljudi su suviše mladi da bi išli na predsedničke izbore, ali predstavljajući probleme, oni utiču na predsedničke izbore. Za mene je ovo nevidljiva sila rijaliti televizije koja utiče na realnost. Hvala. (Aplauz)