Award-Winning Author, Speaker & Artist; Founder of Rumi with a View; Author of the Critically Acclaimed Book "A Girl Called Rumi"
Ari Honarvar Biography
Ari Honarvar is an award-winning writer, author, speaker, and artist dedicated to building bridges between the arts, social justice, and well-being. Her words have appeared in Parents, Teen Vogue, The Guardian, Washington Post, Newsweek, New York Times, and elsewhere. Her TEDx 2023 talk is "When Savoring a Pleasant Moment is a Radical Act."
Honarvar's critically acclaimed debut novel, "A Girl Called Rumi" is a BookFest Award Winner, a Nautilus Award Winner, a Locus Award Finalist, a Foreword INDIES Award Finalist and a Kirkus Reviews best books of 2022. She is the author and illustrator of Rumi’s Gift featuring an oracle deck and an accompanying book of original translations, meditations, stories, and artistic collaboration with the renowned illustrator, Carmen Costello.
As part of her ongoing mission to build bridges through poetry and music across war-torn and conflict-ridden borders, Ari serves as the Iranian Musical Ambassador of Peace. She dances with refugees and facilitates Resilience through Joy workshops for refugees and volunteers on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border and in Europe. Due to the program’s success, she now offers customized versions to educational institutions, groups, nonprofits, and corporations dedicated to social justice.
Her approach has garnered international attention including that of researchers at UCSD and Eberswalde University for Sustainable Development in Germany. As a musical ambassador, she has recently joined the Blueprint Initiative, a partnership between the Johns Hopkins International Arts + Mind Lab Center for Applied Neuroaesthetics and the Aspen Institute’s Health, Medicine & Society Program.
Ari’s recent Washington Post op-ed on Arranged Friendships has elicited an overwhelming worldwide response. She has been interviewed by different podcasts and publications on the subject including The Atlantic’s Friendship Files and is now helping facilitate other arranged friendship groups.
A celebrated speaker, Ari presents at conferences, universities, nonprofits, and other venues. Her live performances feature collaborations with musicians from diverse cultures, blending poetry, storytelling, and music into a dynamic and engaging program.
Ari is the founder of the Drop Poems Not Bombs project, sending musical love letters from American musicians to the people of Iran, and Dance for Freedom, a project garnering global support for Iranian protesters.
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Ari Honarvar Speaking Topics
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When Savoring a Pleasant Moment is a Radical Act
Because of the pervasive negativity bias, the relentless busyness of modern life, and our increasing dependence on devices, we have gradually lost the ability to savor and extend moments of genuine pleasure and contentment. Our attention is increasingly fixated on "what's wrong", intensifying stress and amplifying the cascade of problems that stress inevitably brings, all the while causing us to overlook and miss out on the most fulfilling moments of our lives.
In this talk, Ari Honarvar introduces the audience to the transformative practice of savoring intervention that gently shifts our attention to "what's right", freeing us to fully experiencing the best moments life has to offer. Drawing from her personal experience of growing up amidst war and oppression, as well as her extensive background in dancing with refugees, Ari vividly illustrates how embracing and savoring pleasant moments can significantly enhance our wellbeing, even in the most challenging environments and circumstances. She presents practical approaches to:
- Fostering a deep sense of embodiment.
- Enhancing the capacity to navigate challenges through simple joy-infused practices.
- Cultivating a stronger sense of camaraderie and ease when collaborating with other team members.
- Rekindling one’s relationship with imagination to promote well being, nurture creativity, and facilitating problem-solving.
- Prioritizing actions meaningful to our sense of purpose.
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Arranged Friendships—A Creative Solution for the Loneliness Crisis
As a species, we’ve prioritized relationships for millennia, but we’ve never had to contend with so many powerful opposing forces. Traditional and social media, the pharmaceutical, cosmetics, and diet industries, all profit from our disconnection from our bodies, our environment, and each other, while the busyness of life in a transactional world doesn’t leave much room to foster healthy relationships.
As a result, we live in an age of loneliness when the number of people with zero close friends has quadrupled since 1990 and our other relationship needs remain unfilled. This talk will explore the creative arranged friendship model (featured in the Atlantic, Washington Post, and Insider) for making new friends and how bringing more intentionality and structure to all our relationships frees us to prioritize what nourishes us.
Ari Honarvar Videos
Hafiz's Book of Life ~ Gary Gach & Ari Honarvar
Gary Gach & Ari Honarvar authors of Hafiz's Little Book of Life and A Girl Called Rumi share the wisdom & poetry of Rumi and Hafiz.
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How do I book Ari Honarvar to speak at my event?
Our experienced booking agents have successfully helped clients around the world secure speakers like Ari Honarvar for speaking engagements, personal appearances, product endorsements, or corporate entertainment since 2002. Click the Check Availability button above and complete the form on this page to check availability for Ari Honarvar, or call our office at 1.800.698.2536 to discuss your upcoming event. One of our experienced agents will be happy to help you get speaking fee information and check availability for Ari Honarvar or any other speaker of your choice. -
What are the speaker fees for Ari Honarvar
Speaking fees for Ari Honarvar, or any other speakers and celebrities, are determined based on a number of factors and may change without notice. The estimated fees to book Ari Honarvar are $10,000 - $20,000 for live events and $10,000 - $20,000 for virtual events. For the most current speaking fee to hire Ari Honarvar, click the Check Availability button above and complete the form on this page, or call our office at 1.800.698.2536 to speak directly with an experienced booking agent. -
What topics does Ari Honarvar speak about?
Ari Honarvar is a keynote speaker and industry expert whose speaking topics include Art & Design, Author, Civil Rights, Government, Immigration, Inspirational, Leadership, Middle Eastern Heritage, Motivational, Music, Performing Arts, Poetry, Resilience, Social Activism, Social Justice, TED, Women -
Where does Ari Honarvar travel from?
Ari Honarvar generally travels from San Diego, CA, USA, but can be booked for private corporate events, personal appearances, keynote speeches, or other performances. For more details, please contact an AAE Booking agent. -
Who is Ari Honarvar’s agent?
AAE Speakers Bureau has successfully booked keynote speakers like Ari Honarvar for clients worldwide since 2002. As a full-service speaker booking agency, we have access to virtually any speaker or celebrity in the world. Our agents are happy and able to submit an offer to the speaker or celebrity of your choice, letting you benefit from our reputation and long-standing relationships in the industry. Please click the Check Availability button above and complete the form on this page including the details of your event, or call our office at 1.800.698.2536, and one of our agents will assist you to book Ari Honarvar for your next private or corporate function. -
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Ari Honarvar is a keynote speaker and industry expert who speaks on a wide range of topics such as When Savoring a Pleasant Moment is a Radical Act, Arranged Friendships—A Creative Solution for the Loneliness Crisis, What I’ve learned from Dancing with Refugees and Breaking Free: Challenging the Inner and External Morality Police. The estimated speaking fee range to book Ari Honarvar for your event is $10,000 - $20,000. Ari Honarvar generally travels from San Diego, CA, USA and can be booked for (private) corporate events, personal appearances, keynote speeches, or other performances. Similar motivational celebrity speakers are Andrew Leon Hanna, Poet Ali, Misty Copeland, Ginny Priem and Tara LaFon Gooch, MBA. Contact All American Speakers for ratings, reviews, videos and information on scheduling Ari Honarvar for an upcoming live or virtual event.
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