Deeyah Khan awarded Telenor Culture Prize 2016

Telenor Group's annual Culture Prize, "Boundless Communication" 2016, will be awarded to music producer and film director Deeyah Khan for her artistic achievements which touch on some of the most important themes of our own times.

Telenor's Culture Prize is given annually to performing artists or organisations that have made an extraordinary contribution within culture in Scandinavia, but who also are established internationally.

This year's winner, Deeyah Khan, is an acclaimed music producer and Emmy and Peabody award-winning documentary film director. Her work for women's rights, freedom of expression and increased cultural understanding has made her to a demanded speaker. Deeyah Khan is also the founder of the media company Fuuse.

"The jury awards Telenor's Culture Prize "Boundless communication" to Deeyah Khan this year because she has a wide international reach which touches on some of the most important themes of our own times." says Ingrid Kindem, leader of the jury.

"We congratulate Deeyah Khan as this year's winner of Telenor's Culture Prize. She has established herself as a brave voice, and through her artistic work she has contributed to bring forward voices of the misunderstood or the ignored. She has also helped establish arenas for dialogue across and within cultures," says Telenor's President and CEO Sigve Brekke.

"I am very thankful to receive this recognition by Telenor which reinforces my commitment to the importance of inter-cultural communication. I will use the prize to further the work I do in Norway and internationally through my media company Fuuse which puts women, people from minorities and third culture kids at the heart of telling their own stories," says prize winner Deeyah Khan.

The prize of 500 000 NOK will be presented and the winner will be celebrated during a gala performance in Oslo Konserthus (Oslo Concert Hall) Monday on 19 September.

Picture of Deeyah Khan

Contact:
Ingrid Kindem, leader of the jury
Mobil: + 47 995 31 630

Kai Rosenberg
Telenor Group
Mobil: + 47 915 54 357

Deeyah Khan can be reached via:

Jett Mall
Fuuse
Tel: +44 7595 249 438
Mail: jettinder.mall@fuuse.net

About Deeyah Khan
Her skill as a multidisciplinary artist led her to music and film as the language for her social activism. Born in Norway to immigrant parents of Pakistani ancestry, the experience of living between different cultures, both the beauty and the challenges, dominates her artistic vision.

She has received several awards for her work supporting freedom of expression, human rights and peace, including the Ossietzky prize by Norwegian PEN, the University of Oslo's Human Rights Award and lately the 2016 Peer Gynt Prize from the Parliament of Norway. 

Deeyah is the founder of Fuuse, a media and arts production company established in 2010 to let women, people from minorities, and third culture kids tell their own stories. One of the most recent Fuuse initiatives is sister-hood, a digital magazine and a series of live events spotlighting the voices of women of Muslim heritage.

Deyaah Khan is also a well-recognized speaker at international human rights events and platforms including the United Nations.

Deyaah Khans own web-site
http://deeyah.com/about-deeyah/

The jury of 2016
Ingrid Kindem, musician, composer, and leader of the jury; Lars Saabye Christensen, author;  Henrik Mestad, actor; Martin Eia-Revheim, house manager at Sentralen; Jo Strømgren, choreographer, artistic director and Kai Rosenberg, Telenor Group's representative.

About the Culture Prize
Telenor Group's Culture Prize, "Boundless Communication" is a central element in Telenor's comprehensive culture programme, which has as one of its aims to bring together artists from different genres in Scandinavia, other parts of Europe and Asia.This is the 21th time the prize is awarded.

Learn more about Telenor's cultural activities
Overview of previous winners.