IAAB's Second Annual International Conference to be Hosted by ISF at University of Maryland

Iranian Alliances Across Borders is proud to announce its Second International Conference on the Iranian Diaspora will be held on April 23-24, 2005 at the University of Maryland, College Park. The Conference will be hosted by UMD’s Iranian Students’ Foundation, to whom we extend our deepest thanks for their support.

We have been working hard to make this year’s conference a diverse and engaging event, and the range and quality of presentations promise to make this an important event.

The issues we plan to cover at this conference are a continuation of the themes explored at our first conference, as we also attempt to touch upon new topics of interest. Some of these issues include the following:

The definition and significance of a diaspora community

The issues of ethno-religious identity

The trend of return migration to Iran

Artistic representations of hybridized identity—through written, visual, spoken, and theatrical media

Issues of civil liberties that Iranians face in a post-9/11 world

The involvement of Iranian-Americans in American political life

Sexuality in the Iranian diaspora

We have an exciting group of participants on the agenda, and the confirmed list of speakers is growing. If you are interested in participating in the conference as a presenter, we encourage you to submit a paper for consideration by January 15, 2005. Please see our Call for Papers for more information.

We look forward to seeing you all at the conference in April!

IAAB Fundraising Campaign Gets Cooking

Now that IAAB has expanded from a student organization to an official non-profit NGO, we are no longer affiliated with an academic institution. As a result, we have stepped up our fundraising efforts in order to raise the $30,000 needed for the conference. We have made substantial progress through the generous donations of individuals who care about issues related to the Iranian diaspora and wish to support IAAB's endeavor to facilitate community building.

In addition to collecting individual donations, we are planning fundraising events in the Washington D.C., New York and Boston areas. In the Boston area, the Molana restaurant (Watertown, MA) will be donating all their profits from the evening of November 18 to IAAB. We are extremely grateful to the Molana Restaurant and would like to ask all of our supporters in the Boston area to join us for a night of delicious Persian cuisine. (Molana Restaurant is located at 5 Spring Street, Watertown, MA) IAAB will also hold an evening of music and poetry for Shab-e Yalda in the Washington D.C. Metropolitan area - details regarding this event will be available soon.

If you have questions and/or suggestions concerning fundraising, or would like more information regarding how to donate to IAAB and help make this year's conference possible, please contact Sogole Moin, IAAB’s Director of Development, at sogole@iranianalliances.org or (781) 283-4696. Also, donations can be made online here and checks made payable to IAAB can be mailed to: Sogole Moin; Wellesley College; 106 Central St.; Wellesley, MA 02481.

IAAB Seeks Alliances with NGOs in Bam, Iran

In its efforts to build alliances across borders, IAAB is currently seeking opportunities to set up a volunteer teaching program with NGOs in Bam, Iran. IAAB's co-Executive Director, Narges Bajoghli, recently returned from a trip to Bam where she visited numerous Iranian NGOs that have built schools and cultural centers in the earthquake-stricken city. IAAB is currently in talks with a U.S.-based educational NGO about the possibility of expanding its programs to Iran, and Bam in particular.

IAAB's goal is to set up summer group-teaching volunteer opportunities in Iran where college-aged youth in the Iranian diaspora can come together with local teams to teach interactive and dynamic lessons in the schools of Bam. We are very optimistic about this endeavor and will keep you updated as plans become finalized.

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