India-born Parsi, Firdaus Kharas, receives Order of Canada

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The Governor-General of Canada Mary Simon, announced the appointment of India-born Firdaus Kharas as an Officer of the Order of Canada, Dec. 28, 2023. The Order of Canada is one of the country’s highest honors, and Kharas was among 15 others appointed to the ‘Officer’ level of the Order of Canada this year.

Kharas received the Officer-level honor “For advancing social change through human-centred media as a social entrepreneur, humanitarian and mass communications media producer,” the press release from Governor General Simon’s office said.

“I am deeply moved to receive this high honor, which is especially meaningful to me as an immigrant.  Although a high achieving community, Parsis are a minuscule community numbering only 3,600 in Canada, so it is extremely satisfying to be noticed in this way,” Kharas said about his honor.

Appointments are made by the governor general on the recommendation of the Advisory Council for the Order of Canada. Appointees will be invited to an investiture ceremony at a later date yet to be announced, to receive their insignia.

Kharas is a well-known producer of social and behaviour change communications. He founded Chocolate Moose Media  (chocmoose.com) in 1995, a social enterprise, to create mass communications to better the human condition.

His work has been used in 198 countries, including in several languages throughout India.

He is the recipient of 125 awards, including the prestigious Peabody Award and several honorary doctorates from universities.

On his website, Kharas says, “In my experience, lack of progress, particularly involving large groups of people, often boils down to ineffective communication.”

“His work focuses on creating innovative solutions for some of the world’s toughest issues by affecting societal and individual behavioral change through human-centered communications across many cultures and countries to better the human condition,” the website says.

Among the areas impacted by his work is culture, education, environment, governance, health, capacity building, housing, human rights, migration, etc.