US-Iran

Search for Common Ground has worked for more than ten years to improve relations between the United States and Iran. We believe that the lack of communication and diplomatic relations has created immense misunderstanding between these two great nations despite their many commonalities and shared interests.

When former Iranian President Mohammad Khatami's called for a "Dialogue of Civilizations" with the West, and with the United States in particular, we responded by launching our first citizen-to-citizen exchange, and we brought the American national wrestling team to Tehran. The visit sparked a great amount of interest and was referred to in the media as "wrestling diplomacy". Since then, we have organized exchanges in diverse areas of science, medicine, the arts, and the environment.

The Ploughshares Fund, Prospect Hill Foundation and the Rockefeller Brothers Fund generously support this program.

Film
The US-Iran Program sponsors the exchange of Iranian and American films, producers, directors, and actors. [more]

Environment
The environment is one of many areas where America and Iran have found common ground. The US-Iran Program has facilitated a number of exchanges among scholars and environmentalists between both countries. These exchanges have not only contributed to the improvement of relations, but have also increased knowledge for both sides on their respective environmental issues - which are fundamentally global issues. [more]

Health
We co-sponsored a videoconference in partnership with the Harvard School of Public Health and Isfahan University of Medical Sciences to address mutually beneficial issues related to health. Doctors from both institutions engaged in dialogue about their respective community Healthy Heart Programs. Following this, in April 2007, we worked in partnership with the Institute for Resource and Security Studies to take a Harvard medical delegation to a conference in Isfahan. The group met with numerous Iranian medical authorities and explored opportunities for both short-term and long-term academic cooperation between institutions in Iran and the US. Several areas of potential collaboration were identified, including joint research projects, faculty/student exchanges, and joint distance-learning courses. The visit attracted considerable media attention in Iran.

Polling
In conjunction with WorldPublicOpinion.com, Search for Common Ground has conducted two extensive public-opinion polls of the Iranian and American publics about the two countries' relations. The polls show that the majorities in both countries agree on a wide range of issues. [more]

Philosophy/Theology Exchanges
The perceived differences in philosophy and theology have been a major impetus toward the so-called "Clash of Civilizations" that has been expounded by pundits and scholars. The US-Iran Program has worked to de-mythologize the differences between Eastern and Occidental philosophy and theology. We have facilitated a number of conferences and exchanges searching for common ground on these two emotionally charged and highly effective areas. [more]

Education
Student Exchange Coordinators' Exchange and Zirakzadeh-Exploratorium Exchange. The US-Iran Programme facilitated two exchange visits to Iran from April 18-May 2, 2004: a student exchange coordinators' exchange hosted by the Iranian Ministry of Science, Research, and Technology, and a museum exchange between the San Francisco Exploratorium Museum and the Zirakzadeh Science Foundation (ZSF) [more]

Astronomy Exchange
Project Starshine 2002: The US-Iran Program has worked to spread the word and encourage Iranian participation in Project Starshine - a private astronomy project that allows students around the world to track Starshine satellites and record observations via the Internet. The most recent satellite to be launched, Starshine 3, is covered with student-built mirrors and is designed to study how solar flares affect the earth's atmosphere. Thousands of students from all over the world requested and received mirror-polishing kits and worked in their classrooms to polish the mirrors that were later mounted on the satellite. Now that the satellite is in orbit, students are able to observe the satellite's movements and study the satellite's data. A number of Iranian student groups are participating and we are ready to assist any organizations or individuals seeking our help with this project. [more]

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US-Iran Programme
Search for Common Ground
1601 Connecticut Ave. N.W., Suite 200
Washington, DC 20009
Phone: +1 (202) 265-4300
Fax: +1 (202) 232-6718
E-mail: sreines@sfcg.org