Community Engagement to Expand Understanding
From Kerry Segel, session coordinator
The Peace Corps Iran group is truly unique in relation to the people of Iran. We have a long living history with the Iranian people– over fifty years. Collectively, we have served throughout Iran and number in the hundreds– no other U. S.-based organization can match our scope and size. Finally our mission– to support and learn from the people of Iran– is unparalleled by any other institution.
We must face another reality– that we are decreasing in number without similarly- minded persons to replace us. Also, in the current political climate, the humanitarian aspects of the Iranian culture have been lost in the din of sanctions, war, and public hatred.
This session is about how we, individually and collectively, can more effectively share our experience and insight about Iran and the Iranian people. This will be a working session– in which we should come away with concrete ideas we can work on individually, as well as collaborative programs we can develop with other organizations. We also need to see how we can best share our talents and resources to engage in effective advocacy beyond this session and this conference.
Finally, a request: If you can, please send to Jeanette Gottlieb (jeanette@peacecorpsiran.org) prior to the conference, brief summaries of any Iran advocacy experience, future presentation ideas, and questions/ concerns/ suggestions regarding advocacy. If you’ve created materials, digital presentations and the like, please mention that as well. Xali sepaas gozaram.