Caroline Davies reports in The Observer:
‘Life for artists in Iraq has turned into hell. We have been forced to stay in our homes and to stop working. I don’t remember the last time I saw an exhibition, or a singer at a club, or an actor at a local theatre. All of us have been [...]

Soulbird would like to wish all mothers around the world a very Happy Mother’s Day!  In the United States, Mother’s Day began as an anti-war rallying cry in 1870 (the American Civil War lasted between 1861 and 1865).  We salute the millions of women around the world who continue the struggle for peace and the [...]

This month’s Soulbird Profile is Octav Popescu, the 2008 INKLUSIV Film Festival organizer in Bucharest, Romania.
The power of the network is in the speed and strength of its connections. The Soulbird network can be very useful in finding the ideas and resources necessary for tackling our problems…
Read the profile here.

Aside from cash donations, the CAMP UNITY documentary project is also looking for in-kind donations for travel and equipment expenses. If you would like to help out by providing your frequent flyer miles for the crew to fly to Iraq, or providing camera equipment, or would like to learn about other ways you can help [...]

CAMP UNITY documentary project has begun fundraising on IndieGoGo. Please visit http://www.indiegogo.com/CAMPUNITY to learn more about the film and how you can help support the film’s July 2008 production in Kurdistan, Iraq.
 
CAMP UNITY is the story of music, dance, and theater students from different areas and ethno-religious backgrounds of Iraq attending an American performing arts academy [...]

Soulbird is pleased to announce its sponsorship of Ryan White’s Camp Unity, a film that will document the courage, spirit, and celebration of American Voices’ 2008 Unity Academy in Erbil and Suleimaniya, Iraq this July.  Ryan White is a gifted filmmaker and environmentalist, specializing in documentary films of ecological subject matters.  He is currently working freelance in Bangkok, Thailand [...]

Bahar Forouzandeh, a new Soulbird, submitted this article to us. If you are interested in contributing to Soulbird’s Projects Blog, please contact us for more information. We’re looking for articles, eye-witness accounts, photos, videos, and anything else that will contribute to our cause.
Make Art, Not War: Iran’s Gay Movement
By Bahar Forouzandeh
I fundamentally oppose [...]

The concert version of Edalat Square: Opera in One Act at Wichita State University has moved to Friday, April 25, 2008, which was originally scheduled for next Friday the 28th.  More details to come soon.

Welcome to our new home! Explore the new Web site and get involved - Be a Soulbird!
Here’s a video from the Iranian Queer Organization to celebrate the Persian New Year (Nowrooz).

Mehdi Kazemi, a gay Iranian refugee, was to be deported from Europe after his application for asylum was turned down.
An Iranian homosexual man who has said he will be executed if he is deported from the Netherlands has had his claim for asylum overturned.
Medhdi is now safe after an intervention by European Parliament.
After the [...]