Bam and Beyond:
Building Alliances Between Iranian and Iranian Diaspora NGOs, Universities, and Private Sectors
 

Iranian Alliances Across Borders (IAAB), presents Bam and Beyond: Building Alliances Between Iranian and Iranian Diaspora NGOs, Universities, and Private Sectors, to be held November 12, 2005 at Columbia University. This one-day seminar, which will be hosted by Columbia University’s Iranian Students’ Association (CISA), will bring together for the first time NGO leaders in Iran and the diaspora, scholars in the field of development, and business leaders from across the United States, Canada, Europe and Iran. The participants will discuss the positive role that Iranians abroad played in providing aid after the Bam earthquake and explore ways that Iranians abroad can become better involved in Bam and other projects in Iran. The seminar will also be followed by a different, parallel seminar in Bam, Iran in the winter of 2006.

These seminars will allow the participants to discuss development and aid in Bam and to create a forum for open discussion regarding cooperation and partnership between NGOs in Iran and Iranian NGOs abroad.

The seminar at Columbia University will provide a review of the reconstruction efforts in Bam from leading NGOs working on the ground as well as address questions such as:

• Can we identify and/or create mechanisms and structures of cooperation and coordination among Iranian and Iranian diaspora NGOs, the private sector and universities?

• Was the money that Iranians abroad raised after the Bam earthquake distributed through the most effective and efficient channels?

• How was this financial assistance used, and was it successful?

• Is there room for more and better partnerships between NGOs in Iran and Iranian NGOs abroad?

• How can Iranians abroad become better involved in development efforts in Iran?