Annual Reports & Accomplishments

Public Policy Center Initiatives: 

• In April, IA-100 released its fifth Annual National Public Opinion Survey of Iranian-Americans and has since used this unique survey in meetings on Capitol Hill with members of Congress and their staff, at the White House, at the Department of State, and with other U.S. agencies.
• IA-100 actively educated members of Congress and administration staff regarding the importance of a direct banking link with Iran to ease the transfer of humanitarian assistance, family remittances, and student tuition/living expenses. We were pleased that the interim agreement between the P5+1 and Iran included language that supported the establishment of such a link.
• To assist Iranian students in dire financial need, through a matching grant from the International Institute of Education, IA-100 raised over $100,000 and provided grants to over 63 students, many of whom were able to pay for, complete, and obtain their degrees.
• As it has done in previous years, IA-100, in conjunction with Congressman Michael M. Honda (D-CA), Congressman J. Randy Forbes (R-VA), Congressman Frank Wolf (R-VA), and Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), hosted Nowruz on Capitol Hill, our annual Nowruz reception for members of Congress and congressional staff on Capitol Hill. In attendance were eleven members of Congress, including House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), as well as more than a hundred congressional staff and special guests.
• To ensure that the Iranian-American community is well-informed on the application of sanctions law, in October, IA-100 released its first video in an educational video series. The series provided information on the sanctions against Iran and what Iranian-Americans need to know about how these sanctions may impact their lives.

Launched Youth Initiatives: 

• On August 2-4, PAAIA NexGen held its inaugural NexGen Leadership Conference (NLC) at the Harvard Kennedy School in Cambridge, Massachusetts, bringing together over sixty Iranian-American young professionals and students from across the United States with the goal of creating a strong network of future leaders in our community.

• Through the 2012-2013 Mentorship Program, more than 30 members of the next generation worked with accomplished Iranian-American mentors for a 9-month dialogue around how to identify and pursue their desired career and professional goals.

• The new Opportunities for Growth, High Achievement and Betterment (OGHAB) Internship Program placed four young Iranian-Americans in internships all over the country, giving them an opportunity to learn about and gauge their interest in their field of study through hands-on experience in a structured work environment.

• The Capitol Hill Internship Program (CHIP) placed five qualified young Iranian-Americans in Congressional, federal or local administration offices, where they learned more about the legislative process firsthand.

Promoted Culture and Heritage Initiatives: 

• IA-100 is the proud sponsor of an exhibition celebrating Persian literature and language at the Library of Congress. This first-ever exhibition, A Thousand Years of the Persian Book, opening in March 2014, will provide a glimpse into the Library’s unique Persian collections and the important role that the Persian language has played in world history.
• IA-100, through the generous sponsorship of Hamid and Christina Moghadam and Bita Daryabari and Dr. Reza Malek, was one of the proud sponsors of the San Francisco leg of the Cyrus Cylinder Tour at the Asian Art Museum. Hundreds of people joined IA-100 for the exhibition’s opening weekend activities, which included PAAIA’s annual gala and award ceremony, annual trustee retreat and dinner reception, and the world premiere of “The King Cyrus Symphonic Suite: From Birth to the Proclamation of Human Rights” by Loris Tjeknovarian.
• PAAIA Inc. was instrumental in the introduction of the Cyrus Cylinder and Nowruz Resolution presented by members of Congress. The resolution acknowledged that the Cyrus Cylinder has, over the centuries, come to symbolize one of mankind’s first documents on human rights and connected the Iranian New Year to the values of human rights.

Launched Programs for the Community: 

• In March, as part of its Nowruz Project, IA-100 provided a new set of resources for elementary school Iranian-American families and parents wishing to provide information about Nowruz to their child’s school. To date, over 2,000 students and educators have benefited from the resources provided through the Nowruz Project.
• PAAIA NexGen and IA-100 chapters throughout the United States celebrated Nowruz, the Persian New Year, by participating in a number of local events, including participating in the Sackler Gallery of Art Nowruz celebrations (Washington D.C.), joining with the Iranian Cultural Foundation of Houston to celebrate Nowruz with dancing, music, and other entertainment (Houston), and participating in the annual Nowruz Parade through the streets of New York City. In Los Angeles and other cities, members were at hand to celebrate Nowruz Resolutions that were introduced and passed through various city councils.
• In January, IA-100 hosted a screening on Capitol Hill of the documentary The Iran Job, the real-life story of an American basketball player in Iran. The event was organized by IA-100 specifically for Congressional staff, as well as administration officials and individuals working for non-governmental agencies in Washington, D.C.
• IA-100 teamed up with the Noor Iranian Film Festival (NIFF), the first Iranian film festival competition outside of Iran, to bring the Best of Noor Iranian Film Festival to sold-out crowds in San Francisco and San Diego.
• PAAIA and Noor Iranian Film Festival brought world-renowned filmmaker Mohsen Makhmalbaf’s The Gardener to Los Angeles for a week-long run from August 2-August 8, 2013.
• In commemoration of the Cyrus Cylinder tour, IA-100 hosted a screening of the documentary, Recreating Pasargadae, produced by historian Farzin Rezaeian. The documentary provides a glimpse into Cyrus the Great’s palace and offers a graphical view of how the building and grounds had been developed and maintained.
• IA-100 was the proud sponsor of the Iranian-American Women’s Foundation Leadership Conference held in New York City in October, where around 600 Iranian-American women gathered to hear and learn from their peers, many of whom shared their professional and educational insights with the audience.
• PAAIA chapters joined forces to celebrate Thanksgiving, Persian style. As in years past, volunteers in Houston and San Diego “adopted” a local shelter, food kitchen, or other public entity and prepared and served food to shelter/food kitchen guests.

PAAIA INC. Accomplishments: 

• In April, PAAIA INC sent a letter to the Obama administration urging the president to implement recommendations to establish clear channels for humanitarian trade and family remittances to and from Iran. The ITR was updated in June and we were pleased that in September, OFAC issued two licenses that authorized humanitarian-related activities by nongovernmental organizations in Iran, as well as athletic exchanges between Iran and the United States.
• Through the year, we communicated our concerns for the well-being and continued education of these students to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS). We were pleased that the interim deal brokered between the P5+1 and Iran included language regarding assistance for Iranian students.
• Our relationships on Capitol Hill were of significant value during the latter part of November, when the consideration of new sanctions legislation in the Senate threatened to undermine the P5+1 negotiations with Iran. PAAIA INC. was the author of a letter sent to leaders in the Senate, signed by numerous other Iranian-American organizations, which strongly recommended the pursuit of a diplomatic option at this juncture in Iran-U.S. history.
• Throughout 2013, PAAIA INC. mobilized our community to support legislation acknowledging Nowruz and the Cyrus Cylinder as well as the establishment of a national museum of the American people, which would include immigrant populations such as Iranian-Americans.
• In October, IA-100 contacted Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Representative Trent Franks, (R-AZ/8th) and numerous other members of Congress to express our concerns about the introduction of legislation that, among other things, would authorize the president of the United States to use military force against Iran.
• In 2013, PAAIA joined a broad coalition of organizations and scholars in requesting that the Census Bureau consider a category for people of Middle Eastern or North African (MENA) origin in the 2020 Census. In October of 2014, the U.S. Census Bureau announced that it will for the first time test a new distinct category for respondents of MENA heritage as part of its mid-decade research. The national test will be held in the fall of 2015 with the aim of testing new strategies for the official 2020 Census.

The Iranian-American Political Action Committee Initiatives:

• In 2013, the Iranian-American Political Action Committee (IAPAC), the affiliated PAC of PAAIA, contributed $40,000 to a bipartisan group of members of Congress, congressional party committees, and Iranian-American candidates for public office. It also helped raise an additional $240,000 for our endorsed candidates.
• IAPAC played a key role in promoting the campaigns of various Iranian-American individuals, such as Darius Shahinfar of New York, who on November 5th was elected as the City Treasurer for Albany. The election marked the second time an Iranian-American has been voted to public office in the state of New York.