Personal Background and Motivation

• Sahba Aminikia: Iranian-American composer born in 1980s Iran
• Born during Islamic revolution and Iran-Iraq eight-year war
• Family follows Baha'i Faith
  • Relatives/friends constantly harassed, arrested, imprisoned by Iranian government
  • Subjected to show trials and executions
• Weekly gatherings at friend's house in north Tehran
  • Multi-generational Baha'i community meetings
  • Artistically active: music, singing, dancing, theatrical experiences
  • Created vital refuge for Baha'i community survival during persecution

2018 Nusaybin Experience

• Visited Nusaybin city near Syria border
• City center of conflicts between Turkish government and Kurdish militia
• 50 children gathered, wanted to speak English
• Asked children to sing songs one by one, recorded them
• Initially shy, then fought over who would sing
• Tanks roaming city forced departure (American citizenship safety concern)
• 100 children ran after car shouting "One more song, one more song"
• Realized conflict zones need his work more than Western connections

Flying Carpet Festival Operations

• First mobile festival for children in difficult places/conflict zones
• Primary operations around Mardin city
• Workshop offerings (up to 20 per day):
  • Dance, circus arts, live music, visual projection
  • Face painting, 2-hour storytelling, puppet performances
• Performance process:
  • Travel through city with children and puppet
  • People follow procession
  • Return to performing venue with 2,000 audience members
• Six-year established system enables travel anywhere
• Venue flexibility: small villages to gigantic cities
• Target remote locations with less possibility
  • Example: 70-resident desert village in Mesopotamia
  • Staff sometimes outnumber local population
• Regular city performances: 2,000-2,500 attendance normal
• Deliberately seeks most risky places
  • Children stuck with adults' decisions in communities

Artistic Philosophy and Social Impact

• Believes in exposing suffering children/communities to "extreme beauty"
• Art as closest thing to spirituality in current world
• Other approaches have "failed significantly"
• Art relevance for social/political progress
• Art shows "better version of ourselves"
• Prefers art that presents issues without prescribing solutions
• Allows human choice in perspective
• Believes no evil exists in world
  • Only misinformed/uninformed people
• Responsibility of knowledgeable people to educate
• Education only effective through love
• Rejects shouting/cursing as teaching methods

Unity and Human Connection Vision

• Goal: unite people from different backgrounds
• Remove ethnic/racial/cultural representative labels
• Create unity regardless of skin color, religion, background
• Serve as "one full soul"
• Ultimate power exists in unity
• Unity connects all humans
• Human connection transcends political divisions
• Separate from political thinking