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I
Mission
I
Staff
I FAQ
I
IAAB FAQ
1. What is the Iranian “diaspora”?
2. Why was IAAB created?
3. How was IAAB created?
4. What sets IAAB apart from
other organizations? What does IAAB address that other organizations do not?
5. Is IAAB politically or
religiously affiliated?
6. Where can I find information
from previous IAAB events, including conferences?
7. Where can I find
transcripts/video from previous IAAB conferences?
8. How can I contact IAAB?
9. Why did IAAB choose not to
hold a conference in 2006?
10. What are IAAB’s mission and
goals for the future?
11. Who is IAAB?
12. Why “IAAB”?
13.
How can
I volunteer or intern with IAAB?
14. Whose needs does IAAB
address?
15. How can I purchase IAAB
merchandise?
16. Who has IAAB collaborated
with?
17. Where does IAAB get its
funding?
18. Where can I find IAAB’s
budget?
19. How can I donate to IAAB?
20. Why should I donate to IAAB?
21. Can I donate to a specific
project coordinated by IAAB?
22. When I make a general
donation, where does my money go?
23. How do you pronounce your
acronym?
1. What
is the Iranian “diaspora”?
Short answer:
The Iranian diaspora is comprised of Iranian émigrés and their families who
currently live outside of Iran. It is a global community with large
concentrations in
Los Angeles, Washington
D.C., New York, London, and Paris.
Long answer:
Diaspora, as a term, has resisted rigid definition despite numerous
scholars’ attempts to confine it, describe it, and quantify it. From its
earliest Greek usage, meaning “to sow widely,” or disperse, to its later
more common usage referring to the exile of the Jews (commonly described as
the Diaspora), the use of the term has since shifted to reflect changes
occurring to the subjects it describes. These relatively recent changes in
the conditions of new exile communities have inspired changes in the usage
of the term as it is applied to widely differing sets of populations.
For further reading:
Scholars such as James
Clifford, William Safran, Paul Gilroy, Robin Cohen, Nicholas Van Hear, Avtar
Brah, Smadar Lavie & Ted Swedenburg, and numerous others have written
prolifically on diaspora theory, while Hamid Naficy, Zohreh Sullivan, Asghar
Fathi, Mehdi Bozorgmehr, Maboud Ansari, Elham Gheytanchi, Arlene Dallalfar
and others have written about the Iranian diaspora experience in particular.
For more suggestions, please see our
Bibliography.
2. Why
was IAAB created?
After growing up (for the most part) in different cities of the United
States, Narges Bajoghli, Nikoo Paydar, and Amy Malek met for the first time
in London at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of
London. During this short but life-changing time, they noted the utter lack
of communication between their communities at home in the United States,
between those American communities and their British counterparts, and
between all of these communities and the Iranian community in Iran. Not only
was there not much communication, but it was felt that no one was talking
about these issues in a public forum. From this experience Narges and Nikoo
resolved to address these issues – and IAAB was born.
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3. How
was IAAB created?
Initially created as a student organization, IAAB’s first goal was to hold a
conference during which the Iranian diaspora could come together to present
their work on the Iranian diaspora, as well as to open up a space for
dialogue about various issues facing our community and thus create the
alliances across borders that seemed to be so lacking. The 2004
International Conference on the Iranian Diaspora, held in Boston on the
campuses of Wellesley College and Tufts University, marked the beginning of
a discussion about who the Iranian diaspora is, where we come from, where we
are headed, and how we can work together to get there. The overwhelming
success of this conference motivated our move from a student organization to
an official 501(c)3 non-profit non-governmental organization (NGO) in June
2004.
Since then, IAAB itself has grown across borders to include members from
Europe and the Middle East and has grown in its mission. Having held another
successful conference in spring of 2005, IAAB is currently working on
numerous projects that address the very issues brought up and discussed at
these informative and inspiring events.
4. What
sets IAAB apart from other organizations? What does IAAB address that other
organizations do not?
IAAB
is the first NGO of its kind created by second-generation hyphenated
Iranians to address issues related to our diaspora. Our two international
conferences in 2004
and 2005 provided an
unprecedented opportunity for our community members to gather in a public
setting and openly discuss issues that pertain specifically to our
widespread community. From the open dialogue shared at these conferences,
new challenges and issues have been raised and IAAB has begun to address
these in the creation of several new projects, aimed at both encouraging
dialogue across our diasporic borders, as well as across borders within our
own communities. For more information, please see our Project Descriptions.
5. Is
IAAB politically or religiously affiliated?
No,
IAAB is a non-partisan, non-profit, non-governmental organization.
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6. Where
can I find information from previous IAAB events, including conferences?
For
information on all of IAAB’s projects, past and present, please visit our
Projects page.
7. Where
can I find transcripts/video from previous IAAB conferences?
We
hope to soon be able to provide transcripts and/or video from our previous
International Conferences on the Iranian Diaspora. Until then, please find
the schedules and presenter bios of 2004 and
2005 conferences.
8. How
can I contact IAAB?
E-mail us at
info@iranianallinaces.org or snail mail us at:
IAAB
7764 Brandeis Way
Springfield, VA 22153
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9. Why
did IAAB choose not to hold a conference in 2006?
In
order to benefit from the dialogues begun at the 2004 and 2005 conferences,
IAAB has begun to address and concentrate upon on the important issues
facing the Iranian diaspora that were discussed and debated in this open
forum. Therefore, beginning in 2007, IAAB’s International Conferences on the
Iranian Diaspora will be biennial events that will be held in various cities
across the United States and eventually in Canada and Europe as well. In so
doing, IAAB hopes to encourage action as well as dialogue among our
communities.
10. What
are IAAB’s mission and goals for the future?
Our mission statement outlines IAAB’s mission and goals and can be found
here.
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11. Who
is IAAB?
IAAB’s staff includes professionals, students, and interns in the United
States, the UK, Germany, and Iran who share in their passion for Iranian
diaspora issues and communities, and who generously devote their time on a
volunteer-basis. For more information, please see our
Staff page.
12. Why
“IAAB”?
IAAB
stands for “Iranian Alliances Across Borders” which we feel expresses our
goal of creating connections both among otherwise disconnected members of
the Iranian diaspora as well as between the Iranian diaspora community and
the community of Iranians within Iran. Our vision is truly global in focus
and our mission is to bring Iranians from all parts of the globe into
communication with one another, to build our communities, and to welcome
those not of Iranian-ancestry to embrace our culture, history, and community
presence.
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13.
How can I volunteer or intern with IAAB?
IAAB
welcomes any and all who are interested in helping us achieve our goals.
Please email us at
join@iranianalliances.org.
14. Whose needs does IAAB address?
IAAB
strives to provide programming and support for the diverse and
multi-generational members of the Iranian diaspora, a large community spread
across the globe. As such, we believe it is important to be inclusive of all
members of this diaspora as well as those in our diaspora space, i.e.
the communities with whom we live in diaspora. To do this, we have created
programming that crosses many types of borders – geographic, social, and
cultural. Please see our project descriptions for further details.
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15. How
can I purchase IAAB merchandise?
IAAB
merchandise can be purchased online or at any
of our events.
16. Who
has IAAB collaborated with?
IAAB
has been fortunate to collaborate with individuals and groups in the U.S.
such as Maryam Ovissi and Evolving Perceptions, the Iranian Studies Group at
MIT, the Iranian Students’ Foundation and the Center for Persian Studies at
the University of Maryland, College Park, the Columbia Iranian Students’
Association (CISA) as well as with numerous groups and individuals in the
European Union and Iran.
17.
Where does IAAB get its funding?
IAAB
gets all of its funding from in-kind donations. Since IAAB’s staff
is comprised entirely of volunteers, all donations are used solely on
the projects we are working on.
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18.
Where can I find IAAB’s budget?
For a breakdown of all donations and our costs, please email Ramin Bajoghli
at raminb@iranianalliances.org.
19. How
can I donate to IAAB?
Donations can be made
online or by check made out to IAAB and mailed to:
Iranian Alliances
Across Borders
7764
Brandeis Way
Springfield, VA 22153
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20. Why
should I donate to IAAB?
IAAB
is a non-profit/non-governmental organization dedicated to raising awareness
about Iranians and Iranian culture, connecting Iranians and hyphenated
Iranians (Iranian-American, Iranian-Canadian, Iranian-German, etc.) across
vast borders, and promoting leadership in our various communities. We
achieve these goals through various projects. However, in order to
successfully implement programs that support our
mission, we need donations from individuals and organizations who feel
passionate about issues related to the Iranian diaspora. If you are
interested in donating to a specific program, please contact our Director of
Development,
Ramin Bajoghli. All staff members are unpaid volunteers and your
donations will only be used to fund our specific programs. Donations to
IAAB are tax deductible as we are a 501(c)3 non-profit organization.
21. Can
I donate to a specific project coordinated by IAAB?
Absolutely! If one of our projects speaks to you more than the others,
please feel free to note your desire to donate to that specific project on
your check or in the note option of the online donation process. For more
information, please contact our Director of Development,
Ramin Bajoghli.
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22. When
I make a general donation, where does my money go?
Because IAAB is a non-profit organization run entirely through the efforts of
volunteers, we have no overhead costs, and no salaries to pay: every cent
donated to IAAB goes towards our programming and on-going projects.
23. How do you pronounce your acronym? After
two years of pronouncing our acronym in various ways -- from I-A-A-B
to the faster (and thus slurred) I-A-B to the more Persian-sounding
ee-yaab -- we decided it was time for consensus. In July 2005, the
staff of IAAB came together as an organization to rectify this fissure in
our community. After much deliberation, concentration, and even a little
taarof-ridden filibustering, we are pleased to have come to a happy
compromise in I – double A – B. No more slurring, no more eeyaabing
– we are I double A B!
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