AINA (organization)
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AINA is a French-based NGO founded by world renown photojournalist REZA, who works mainly for National Geographic Magazine and some young French entrepreneurs. Aina, dedicated to developing Civil Society, by creating independent Afghan media, training local journalists, men and women, in all media, Photojournalism, video production, design, radio, ... publishing educational magazine for children "PARVAZ" (supervised by Claudine Boeglin), and "Les Nouvelles de Kaboul", a monthly magazine published in French, Dari and Pashto. The latter was funded by Bernard-Henri Lévy, set-up and managed by Olivier Puech in 2002 and 2003 then by Eric Delavarenne in 2004. The word "Aina" means mirror, which expresses the goal of the overall project.
AINA trains Afghani journalists and photojournalists, men and women, and provides classes in camera skills and script writing.
AINA also produces Afghani-made films. One of the films is a documentary entitled "Afghanistan Unveiled," which was made by thirteen Afghan women, including Jamila Emami and Gul Makai Rangbar under the direction of Brigitte Brault, a French journalist. It premiered July 16, 2003 at a luncheon at the National Geographic Society in Washington, DC. The National Geographic Society then provided AINA a grant of $50,000 to fund a children's magazine, Parvaz.
Another project in Afghanistan run by AINA and funded by the United Nations, the International Organization for Migration, Britain's Department for International Development and the European Commission, involves mobile cinemas. In five-month periods in both 2002 and 2003, eight mobile cinemas travelled Afghanistan, bringing educational films to nearly a million people across the country. It is estimated that in 2002, the program reached 450,000 people in six weeks. Under the direction of coordinator Nicolas Delloye, the 2003 goal was to reach twice that. To reach the goal, eight mobile cinema teams were to spend five months roaming Afghanistan, reaching 1,000 villages. The three 30-minute education films involved ("Our School" by Ahad Zhwand, "The Afghan Cultural Heritage" by Waheed Ramaqh, and "The Voice of the Heart" by Mirwais Rekab) were made under Afghan Films.
AINA estimates that less than 20% of Afghanis have ever seen a film before. Films and most other forms of entertainment were banned under the Taliban rule between 1996 and 2001. Furthermore, less than 10% of Afghanistan's population has access to electricity.
