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?

 

 

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.

 

 

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 also grown in terms of its mission. Having held two more successful conferences in the spring of 2005 and 2007, IAAB is currently working on a number of other 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 three international conferences in 2004, 2005 and 2007 provided unprecedented opportunities 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 encouraging dialogue across our diasporic borders, as well as across borders within our own communities. For more information, please see our Project Descriptions. In addition, with it’s youth and leadership initiatives, IAAB addresses the new generation of young, hyphenated Iranians – meaning youth that are raised and sometimes born outside of Iran, yet still share elements of Iranian or hybridized culture and way of life.

 

5. Is IAAB politically or religiously affiliated?

No, IAAB is a non-partisan, non-profit, non-governmental organization with no religious affiliation.

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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?

DVD copies of IAAB’s Third International Conference on the Iranian Diaspora are currently available here. In addition to that, you may find the schedules and presenter bios of the 2004, 2005 and 2007 conferences by clicking on the appropriate year.

 

8. How can I contact IAAB?

Please use the contact us page 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 2006, IAAB’s central focus was on further addressing and implementing some of the ideas that resulted from the dialogue begun during conferences in 2004 and 2005. Through our experience, we found that the conferences are most productive if they serve not only as space for open dialogue on issues affecting our community, but also as key opportunities to develop concrete ideas for how to address those issues, and then put those ideas into practice. Therefore, beginning in 2007, IAAB’s International Conferences on the Iranian Diaspora will be held bi-annually in different cities across the United States, and we hope eventually beyond, in order to give time for circumstances to develop, new ideas to crystallize, and earlier ideas to be put into practice. In so doing, IAAB hopes to encourage a more widespread engagement with action-based initiatives 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 a passion for Iranian diaspora issues and community, 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 between otherwise disconnected communities within the Iranian diaspora, as well as between those communities and communities 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 alongside which we live. 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); the NYU Persian Cultural Society, as well as 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 go directly towards carrying out current projects.

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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 [at] 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 a variety of 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.