Our History

In 2006, Dr. Ahmad Naser Sarmast, then a Research Fellow at the Monash School of Music and Asia Institute, of Australia’s Monash University, returned to Afghanistan to assess the situation after many years of living in exile.

That assessment led to initiating the Revival of Afghan Music (ROAM) project. ROAM made nine recommendations, including the establishment of a dedicated vocational music education entity as a pilot project where Afghan children could receive a general education as well as specialist training in Afghan and Western Classical music.

With a strong belief in the power of music and music education, a second trip was made in 2007 to discuss the implementation of the pilot project with the Afghan authorities and more precisely, the rebuilding of music education through establishing a dedicated music school for the most disadvantaged children of Afghanistan.

In April 2008, after two years of negotiations with Afghan authorities, Dr. Sarmast went again to Afghanistan to lead and implement the establishment of the Afghanistan National Institute of Music (ANIM). Along with the full support of the Afghan government, the vision of ANIM was well-received by the donor community. The first positive and generous response was from the World Bank, the German Foreign Office, and the National Association of Music Manufacturers (NAMM). As fundraising continued, Dr. Sarmast began establishing ANIM by converting the music department of the School of Fine Arts into an independent entity with all the prerequisites and facilities of a music education program, comparable to any international music education program globally.

After four years of hard work, ANIM was inaugurated on June 20, 2010 before an audience composed of members of the civil society, government officials, diplomatic missions, and students.

Since then, ANIM and its students are progressing with excellence and making a tremendous influence on the social and cultural life of Afghan society through its education program, extracurricular activities, and international collaborations, visits, and tours.