“Adam wa Hawa” is another production of the Afghanistan National Institute of Music (ANIM), based in Portugal. Inspired by the pain, resilience, and hope of the people of Afghanistan, the work carries a message of freedom, human dignity, and the universal right to education and artistic expression.
Read MoreANIM will release “Adam wa Hawa” (Adam and Eve) آدم و حوا on 15 August 2026, the fifth anniversary of the Taliban’s return to power. The song, performed by the Afghan Youth Orchestra and its singers, brings together the voices of young Afghan women and men and speaks to freedom, equality, human dignity, hope and the right to learn and create.
Read MoreThe Afghanistan National Institute of Music in Portugal proudly presents the song “Banu: Her Voice, Her Freedom.” This work is a musical outcry against the Taliban’s gender apartheid and a call for the restoration of the fundamental rights of women in Afghanistan.
Read MoreAfghanistan Youth Orchestra and Afghanistan National Institute of Music in Exile Strongly Condemn the Burning of Musical Instruments by the Taliban in Parwan and Laghman Provinces
Read MoreOn this International Women’s Day, the Afghanistan National Institute of Music (ANIM) proudly honors the resilience, perseverance, and struggle of Afghan women in their pursuit of human rights, freedom, and equality. While women around the world celebrate their achievements, millions of Afghan women remain deprived of their most fundamental rights, subjected to systematic oppression, discrimination, and gender apartheid, under the rule of the Taliban.
Read MoreOn December 13, “Notes of Protest: Afghanistan’s Orchestra in Exile” will air at 10:30 p.m. ET on NBC News NOW.
Read MoreA press release by the Afghanistan National Institute of Music
Read MoreDr. Ahmad Sarmast will appear on the The Gould Standard podcast in conversation with the Glenn Gould Foundation CEO Brian Levine.
Read MoreSince its founding in 2010, the Afghanistan National Institute of Music has provided unique music training to Afghan children
Read MoreIn Afghanistan, music is being silenced—not by the gentle passing of time, but by deliberate destruction.
Read MoreThe Afghan Youth Orchestra was featured on the Today Show and NBC Nightly News this week.
Read MoreBraga, Portugal – The Afghanistan National Institute of Music (ANIM) strongly condemns the Taliban's recent destruction of more than 21,000 musical instruments in Afghanistan, which represents an unprecedented attack on the country’s rich cultural heritage and the rights of Afghan citizens to express themselves through music.
Read MoreFounder of the Afghan Youth Orchestra Dr. Ahmad Sarmast and members of the ensemble Zohra Ahmadi and Ali Sina Hotak tell CNN’s Bianna Golodryga about preserving Afghanistan's cultural legacy while it's being threatened back at home.
Read MoreANIM is featured in The New York Times profile of Carnegie Hall’s World Orchestra Week, which included more than 700 student musicians from 38 countries.
Read MoreAhead of their return to the US, and performances at Carnegie Hall (August 7) and the Kennedy Center (August 8), ANIM was featured on MSNBC and NPR’s All Things Considered.
Read More“The Last Song from Kabul,” produced by Paramount Pictures, tells the story of The Afghanistan National Institute of Music and the journey from Kabul to Portugal as the school fled Afghanistan after the Taliban returned to power.
Read MoreThe Afghan National Institute of Music’s story was shared in The Guardian ahead of the Afghan Youth Orchestra’s return to the United States in early August.
Read MoreThis summer, the Afghan Youth Orchestra (AYO) returns to the States for the first time since its historic U.S. debut in 2013.
Read MoreAfghan Youth Orchestra is denied Visa entry to perform in the UK
Read MoreANIM’s Azada Ensemble performs at the Førde Festivalen World Music Festival in Norway
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