Events

The US-Iran Program has taken the initiative to produce, facilitate, and sponsor a number of cultural events in the United States and Iran. These events serve to broaden public awareness of the commonalities between the two countries, as well as enlighten the audiences on the different cultures and traditions.

January 2007
On January 8th, 2007 Search for Common Ground’s US-Iran program co-sponsored a dialogue “Re-building US-Iran Relations” featuring Nobel Peace Laureates and co-founders of the Nobel Women’s initiative, Dr. Shirin Ebadi and Professor Jody Williams. Dr. Ebadi, Professor Williams and the participants explored initiatives that could lead to better relations between Americans and Iranians, focusing on the power of civil society in ensuring that current tensions do not escalate into armed conflict.

Dialogue Conference, September 2004
SFCG and The International Society for Iranian Culture co-sponsored a conference on US-Iran relations on September 27, 2004 titled "The Call for a New World Order: Dialogue Among Civilizations Revisited". The full-day meeting began with remarks by Ambassador William Miller, Senior Advisor to the US-Iran Program, followed by three panel sessions: The Role of Interfaith Dialogue, Rethinking the New World Order, and The Role of Diplomacy in Dialogue Among Civilizations. Iranian Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi gave the keynote address. Speakers included Ambassador Javad Zarif (Iranian Permanent Representative to the United Nations), Ambassador Thomas Pickering (The Boeing Company), Seyyed Hossein Nasr (George Washington University), Rev. George McLean (The Catholic University of America), Rev. James P. Morton (Interfaith Center of New York), David Pollack (Jewish Community Relations Council), Javad Faridzadeh (Former Director, Iranian Center for Dialogue Among Civilizations), R.K. (Ruhi) Ramazani (University of Virginia), Richard Bulliet (Columbia University), Fred Dallmayr (Notre Dame University), and Shireen Hunter (Center for Strategic and International Studies). The event was held at the Harvard Club of New York City.

Iran's UN Ambassador Visits Washington, January 2004
Iranian Ambassador to the United Nations, Mohammad Javad Zarif, visited Washington, DC in January 2004 after fifteen months of back-channel work by the US-Iran Program. Ambassador Zarif attended a private dinner on Capitol Hill with a small group of US Senators and Congressmen, hosted by Senator Arlen Specter (R-PA) and Congressman Robert W. Ney (R-OH). The dinner was preceded by a private talk at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars with a number of representatives from local NGOs and think tanks. The visit was approved by US and Iranian government officials and was arranged by the US-Iran Program in cooperation with the Woodrow Wilson Center, Senator Specter, and Congressman Ney. This was the first visit to Washington by a high-level Iranian official since 2001 and only the second such visit since Iran’s 1979 revolution. Click here to read article.

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