ABOUT CHOCOLATE MOOSE MEDIA

Chocolate Moose Media is an animation and documentary creator specializing in social and behaviour change media productions to better the human condition

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Firdaus Kharas

Firdaus Kharas is a Canadian humanitarian, social entrepreneur, media creator, author and speaker. He is an Officer of the Order of Canada (OC), a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (FRSA), and the recipient of honorary Doctor of Humanities (D.Hum) and Doctor of Laws (LL.D.) degrees.

Born in Calcutta, India, Kharas was exposed to humanitarian issues from childhood. His mother took him to Mother Teresa’s Home for the Dying, where she volunteered, and as a boy he later established a small school in a Bombay slum and taught there regularly. His interest in creative communication also began early through writing and performing in plays.

Before entering media, Kharas built a career in international affairs and Canadian public service. At 26, he became Executive Director of the United Nations Association in Canada. He later served as Policy Adviser to Canada’s Minister of Employment and Immigration and as Assistant Deputy Chairman of the Immigration and Refugee Board, Canada’s largest administrative tribunal, where he led a division dealing with a major backlog of refugee claims.

In 1995, Kharas left public service and founded Chocolate Moose Media. His earlier work in international affairs, refugees, human rights and public policy would shape the direction of his subsequent career.

Kharas has studied at institutions including Carleton University, Harvard University, the London School of Economics, Stanford University, Thiel College, the University of Ottawa and the University of Waterloo. His graduate research focused on an international convention against torture. He has travelled to 146 countries and has worked extensively with communities, humanitarian organizations, governments and media professionals around the world.

He is also the author of Creativity: The Key to A Remarkable Life and earlier wrote extensively on international affairs, including disarmament, development, immigration and the United Nations system.

Selected Animated Productions

  • Co-producer and Director of two videos designed to encourage universal birth registration
  • Creator and Director of several series on emotional health and wellness
  • Creator and Director of a video directed at refugees on the Coronavirus COVID-19
  • Creator and Director of a video explaining human rights, Think Human Rights Don’t Affect You?
  • Creator and Director of a video on COVID-19 vaccines, including community-based organizations
  • Creator and Director of a video on global Polio vaccination
  • Creator and Director of a video on how to interact with the police in the United States
  • Creator and Director of a video on liver disease prevention, Life After Liver Failure
  • Creator and Director of a video on perimenopause at work, Perimenopause: Be Cool and Aware
  • Creator and Director of a video on prevention of the plague
  • Creator and Director of a video on sexual harassment within churches worldwide, Whispering With Stones
  • Creator and Director of a video on the effects of rape on women in Africa, A Plea to My Father
  • Creator and Director of a video on the stigma felt by COVID-19 healthcare workers
  • Creator and Director of a video promoting cyber-security
  • Creator and Director of a video supporting universal vaccinations of children
  • Creator and Director of a video to reduce maternal mortality caused by hypertension in Africa and in Latin America
  • Creator and Director of audio podcasts on COVID-19 vaccines
  • Creator and Director of Buzz and Bite, a series to prevent malaria infection (launched at the United Nations in New York)
  • Creator and Director of four videos entitled Becoming Anti-racist based on research by the University of Ottawa
  • Creator and Director of Nan and Lili, the 300-episode first animated educational pre-school series in Arabic
  • Creator and Director of Nature for All, a video designed to get people to interact with nature
  • Creator and Director of several videos and audio podcasts on the United States refugee system, rights of refugees and cultural orientation for refugees
  • Creator and Director of three animated shorts to build awareness of migraine disease
  • Creator and Director of three animated videos to build community engagement for refugees in the US
  • Creator and Director of four videos on Ebola for both the West African outbreak and the current outbreak in the DRCongo
  • Creator and Director of two videos on the dangers of asbestos and eradication of asbestos
  • Creator and Director of two videos on violence and discrimination faced by teen-aged refugees in Ecuador
  • Creator and Director of videos on mental health, coping with stress and support services
  • Creator and Director of videos on nuclear disarmament, peace and development
  • Creator and Director of videos promoting vaccination, Don’t Wait: Vaccinate
  • Creator of a series of videos on the rights of children with Type 1 diabetes
  • Creator of a series on universal values for young children
  • Creator of a video on violence against children and in Malawi
  • Creator of No Excuses, a series to prevent domestic violence throughout the world (launched at the United Nations in New York)
  • Creator of The Solar Campaign series designed to get people without electricity to switch from harmful sources of light like burning kerosene to clean solar lights
  • Director and co-creator of The Three Amigos, a series to combat the spread of HIV/AIDS (launched at the United Nations in New York)
  • Director and Executive Producer of the Magic Cellar series, the first animated series based on African culture
  • Director of a series on preventing obesity in children
  • Director of eight videos on information for refugees and newcomers
  • Director of Five Steps for emergency and disaster preparedness
  • Director of five videos on housing options and safety for newcomers
  • Director of Spread the Jam, on children’s rights, for the UN Special Session
  • Executive Producer and Writer of Honk, Toot and Swo-Swoosh, the early learning pre-school children’s series
  • Executive Producer of Cartoons for Children’s Rights based on the Convention of Children’s Rights
  • Producer of the iconic television series George of the Jungle (distributed by DreamWorks)

    Selected Live Action Productions

    • Co-producer of a series of individual documentaries on Canadian children at risk
    • Creator and Director of a bilingual video on person-centred care in long-term care homes
    • Creator and Director of Mental Health Context for Afghan Newcomers, an educational documentary for service providers
    • Creator and Executive Producer of the 300-episode City of the Rich, Asia’s first English language daily soap opera
    • Director and Interviewer of Women Standing Up for Rights, Peace and Plurality, a compilation of interviews with 22 women activists from conflict zones in the Middle East and Asia
    • Director and Producer of Dementia: You Can Make A Difference, two videos on dementia
    • Director and Producer of Pedro: A Child Without a Country commissioned by OMNI channel on a child refugee claimant from Africa in Canada
    • Director and Producer of two documentary shorts on caregivers to people with dementia, No Thanks, We’re Fine (English) and Non Merci, Ça Va (French)
    • Executive Producer and Field Producer of Desert Riders, a feature-length documentary on child camel jockeys in the Middle East broadcast by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC),
    • Executive Producer of Canada’s Two Cents Worth, a documentary on the global Vitamin A program
    • Executive Producer of Let’s See, Let’s Learn, an educational series for children
    • Executive Producer of Odyssey: Behind the Myth a six-episode international documentary series based on Homer’s classic book
    • Executive Producer of Working Animals, the 26-episode series aired on Discovery and Animal Planet channels