Observations from Executive Director of CHI
I was privileged to be at the conference in Herat and it went extremely well.  There were over 200 people in attendance; it was very moving and inspiring, particularly the combination of music with the poetry; the conference was very well-received by Afghans and well covered by the media and lots of comments from Afghans who were either in attendance or heard about it; and it was superbly organized--the hotel said it was the best organized conference they had hosted and they host a lot of them!!  The prayers and support from so many people from around the world also helped immensely.

Quote from Sakena Yacoobi
"I really believe that to forgive and have love and share with one another - this is hard to do until you forgive you will not be able to give from your heart. I am trying to do that, I am trying to teach others to do that."
AIL  Love and Forgiveness Conference centered on the poetry of Rumi was held in Herat April 8-9 2012. It was a great success and well received by all.
Afghans are ready for an event such as this and want to reconnect with their country's history of peace.

April 10th -  Executive Director of CHI writes
I am writing from Herat.  The two day conference, drawing on the poetry and theosophy of Mawlana (Rumi) and covering topics of peace, equality, justice, women's issues, love and forgiveness,  started on April 8 and concluded on April 9 in the afternoon.  This conference was the first of its kind in Afghanistan and it was very well received and very successful with many people attending from six provinces of Afghanistan and various sectors of society, including government and NGO officials, parliament members, local council representatives, university representatives, foreign representatives,  poets, musicians, academics, educators, and civil society members. There were also messages from those who were unable to attend, including one from President Karzai. Today visitors toured the Gawhar Shad Complex, where AIL supports a library, and the Herat Museum and  renovated Herat Citadel, where AIL supports traditional craft classes.  Visitors were very impressed with the painting, calligraphy, glass (from glass blowing), tile work, carpets, silk products from the silk weaving and musical instruments that had been made by students of the various crafts.