Articles in this Issue:

IAAB Holds First Annual International Conference on the Iranian Diaspora
Summer Retreat Provides Opportunity for Reflection, Planning, and Enthusiasm
IAAB Turns Pro: From a Student Organization to Non-Profit NGO

Greetings from the Executive Directors of IAAB

Salaam!
We are excited to inform you about a new non-profit, non-partisan organization that seeks to address issues related to the Iranian diaspora community. Iranian Alliances Across Borders (IAAB) was created in 2003 by students at Wellesley College and Tufts University in Boston, Massachusetts to address these issues by facilitating community building, developing ways to better understand what it means to be part of a diaspora community, and helping members of the Iranian diaspora community to enhance connections with their new communities as well as maintain connections with their root community.

In order to explore issues of the Iranian diaspora community in depth, IAAB held its first International Conference on the Iranian Diaspora in April 2004, in Boston, Massachusetts. Our first conference was a huge success (see our article below, and visit our Archives for related news articles), and we are currently planning our second annual conference, which will be held in April 2005 in Washington, DC. We hope to build on the energy and enthusiasm of the April 2004 Conference and create an even bigger and more dynamic environment to further explore issues that relate to our community.

In this newsletter you will find information about the April 2004 Conference, as well the IAAB Retreat in June 2004. Please take the time to read through these, as they will further acquaint you with our organization. In addition, please be sure to browse our website and return often; we will be updating it regularly with news and plans for IAAB and our continued goal to build alliances across our various borders.

We look forward to working with you and hearing from you. Please do not hesitate to contact us with any questions, comments, or suggestions at info@iranianalliances.org and if you are interested in joining and supporting IAAB as a volunteer and/or donor, please contact us at join@iranianalliances.org

Thank you for your interest!

Warmly,
Narges Bajoghli and Nikoo Paydar
Co-Executive Directors
Iranian Alliances Across Borders

IAAB Holds First Annual International Conference on the Iranian Diaspora

Iranian Alliances Across Borders held its first International Conference on the Iranian Diaspora on April 17-18, 2004 at Wellesley College and Tufts University in Boston, Massachusetts. The conference was an extremely successful and powerful event that exceeded even our own expectations. (Click here to see the schedule of the 2004 Conference.)

Over one hundred presenters and participants from across the United States, Canada, and Europe engaged in candid discussions exploring issues such as the definition and significance of a Diaspora community; issues facing second-generation Iranians; the sociological and psychological implications of a community in Diaspora; the influence of hyphenated Iranians in their new societies; the growing influence of Iranians in their communities abroad; and the growing necessity for civic and political participation and alliance building within and across these communities.

Through these discussions, we discovered that there is no general consensus on many of these subjects, making it all the more important and meaningful for every individual Iranian to explore them and to consider their consequences. Dr. Maboud Ansari, Professor at William Paterson University and a presenter at the conference, described the weekend as “a breakthrough, a real turning point." I've been waiting for this moment,” Dr. Ansari continued, “when the young Iranian-American generation expresses its own views and ‘Iranianness.’”

Through artwork, film, song, spoken word, panels, workshops, and formal and informal discussions, this conference provided an opportunity for expression, definition, interaction, and learning. Conference panel discussions covered diverse topics ranging from identity in the first panel, Who are We? Where Do We Come From? And, How Do We Define Ourselves? to the reconciliation of second generation identity issues in the final panel, Going Back (Home?): Building Alliances in Iran. The event also included five smaller workshop sessions of 10-20 people, allowing for interaction and discussion in a more intimate setting. These workshops covered a variety of subjects, such as political participation in a panel led by members of NIAC, the media’s role in the formation of diasporic identities in a panel led by Niki Akhavan of the University of California, Santa Cruz, and socio-political responsibilities and activism in a panel led by Mahdis Keshavarz, an activist who has developed public relations campaigns regarding immigrant and women’s rights.

The artwork of Houman Mortazavi, Jairan Sadeghi, and Asasin, films by Taghi Amirani, entitled “Tehrangeles” and “Gaga Over Googoosh,” and the songs of Haale broadened the range of response during the conference from academic to artistic, and added great depth to the scope of the conference.The 2004 International Conference on the Iranian Diaspora was an event that made an impact and served as a catalyst for change. In an effort to respond to these changes and challenges, as well as to continue the discussions begun at the first conference, IAAB is currently planning the 2005 International Conference. You too can be a part of the 2005 conference, by volunteering, attending, contributing, and engaging in this project in whatever capacity that interests you. For more information, please click here.

Summer Retreat Provides Opportunity for Reflection, Planning, and Enthusiasm

On a bright weekend in mid-June, the staff of IAAB convened in bustling New York City for its first summer retreat. During this jam-packed weekend, the staff debriefed on the 2004 Conference on the Iranian Diaspora, remarking on its successes, elements to improve upon, and everything in between.

Following the lead of Executive Directors Narges Bajoghli and Nikoo Paydar, the staff first set out to brainstorm: What were the goals of the 2004 Conference and were they achieved? And now that we have established ourselves as an active and enthusiastic non-governmental organization, what are IAAB’s immediate and long-term goals? Finally, and perhaps most importantly, what are the goals of the 2005 Conference and how can we work to best achieve them?

As a student-led, non-partisan NGO organized by volunteers who are passionate about minority group issues and identity formation, it was therefore important for IAAB to establish what (and who) we represent and how best to represent our goals and ourselves as an organization. As a young NGO, IAAB aims to:

Bring people, particularly Iranians and those interested in Iran and diaspora studies, together to formulate discussion on the topic of diaspora issues;
Link different Iranian communities throughout the world;
Outreach to other minority groups in the U.S. in order to learn from their experiences in community building and diaspora identity formation;
Engage the younger generation of the Iranian diaspora to communicate with each other and learn from each other;
Create alliances with Iranian organizations and promote cultural exchange between Iranians both within Iran and in the diaspora.

In all, the weekend was very rewarding, serving as both a starting point for 2005 as well as an opportunity to organize, brainstorm, and challenge each other while bringing us closer together as a young organization.

IAAB Turns Pro: From a Student Organization to Non-Profit NGO

The idea of an organization which addressed the needs of the Iranian diaspora began in December 2002. After months of research and planning, Iranian Alliances Across Borders was officially formulated as a student organization at Wellesley College and Tufts University in September 2003, and expanded to include members and organizers in various colleges throughout Boston, New York, and Washington, DC. In organizing for the April 2004 Conference, we worked solely as a student organization and received funding for the conference through both Wellesley College and Tufts University.

After the success of the April 2004 Conference, members and organizers of IAAB realized the importance of continuing to bring about discussion of issues pertaining to the Iranian diaspora, and we began brainstorming ways to expand our work and better serve our various communities. IAAB’s Retreat in June allowed us time to reflect on the organization and begin planning for the upcoming year. Since many of our organizers graduated from college, or will do so shortly, we realized that the best way for us to continue our work is to create a sustainable organization. Thus, IAAB was officially incorporated as a non-profit, non-governmental organization in the Commonwealth of Virginia during the summer of 2004.

Our main project for this year includes organizing the second annual International Conference on the Iranian Diaspora, which will be held in Washington, DC in April 2005. In addition, we are also continuing to build our Resource Guide, which seeks to provide helpful information to hyphenated Iranians who are looking to do internships in Iran. Also, we are in the planning stages of developing a mentoring project, as well as a project which gives hyphenated Iranians the opportunity to build alliances with various communities and NGOs in Iran.

If you are interested in learning about ways to become involved, please email us at join@iranianalliances.org.

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