Update Feature: US-Iran Project

Search for Common Ground with Iran (SCGI) seeks to build bridges of understanding and mutual respect between Iranian and American citizens by providing meaningful contacts through track-II, unofficial, people-to-people exchanges.

Search for Common Ground launched the US-Iran Project in 1998 as a response to the call of newly elected Iranian President Mohammed Khatami for a "dialogue of civilizations." Within weeks of President Khatami’s speech to the American people calling for increased contact and mutual understanding, SCGI initiated its first citizen-to-citizen exchange between the US and Iran by sending the USA Wrestling team to Tehran to participate in an international wrestling tournament.

Since that first project, SCGI has continued to seek and find areas of common ground shared by Iranians and Americans, and has organized and facilitated a series of activities toward that goal. Below are highlights of these efforts.

Art. SCGI is assisting the Meridian International Center of Washington, DC, on a project that will bring Iranian art to the United States for a nationwide tour. Efforts are also being made to take Meridian’s exhibition of contemporary American art to Tehran in the near future.

Astronomy. In August 1999, Alan Hale (co-discoverer of the Hale-Bopp Comet), Apollo astronaut Russell "Rusty" Schweickart, and a group of American astronomers visited Iran with the assistance of SCGI to observe the last solar eclipse of the millennium. The American scientists made presentations at several universities and received extensive coverage in the Iranian press.

Business. SCGI is working toward creating a US-Iran Chamber of Commerce in anticipation of the resumption of normal commercial relations. The joint chamber would facilitate mutually beneficial business ties once economic sanctions against Iran are lifted.

Capitol Hill Conference. In April 2000, SCGI and the ILEX Foundation of Boston co-sponsored a one-day conference titled "Building Bridges Between the United States and Iran." Held on Capitol Hill with the support of Congressman Bob Ney (R-OH), the conference brought together American and Iranian experts on history, culture, film, philosophy, poetry, and engagement between Iran and the U.S.

Environment. Ten Iranian environmental scientists and activists came to the US in November 1999 to meet with a number of American counterparts in Washington and the western US. They discussed issues such as environmental monitoring, urban pollution, bio-diversity, alternative technology, and NGO management. A reciprocal environmental conference on Urban Environmental Management and Development in Tehran is planned for this summer. The trip will include environmental monitoring on-site visits, networking with Iranian counterparts, and visits to natural areas.

Film. SCGI’s work in this high-profile, high-impact field continues to expand into new areas of cooperation. Recently, the project obtained a license from the US Treasury Department for an Iranian-American film co-production – the first such license of its kind.

Past film activities include: co-hosting an Iranian film series at the Smithsonian Freer Gallery in Washington, DC (January-February 2000); meetings in France of leading Iranian and American film professionals following the Cannes Film Festival (1998 and 1999); organizing, with Internews, a two-way spacebridge satellite link between Iranian and American film professionals (February 1999); and bringing a delegation of prominent Iranian women filmmakers and actresses to New York and Chicago (November 1998).

Religious/Philosophical Dialogue. Dr. Elahi-Ghomshei, one of the most popular speakers in Iran, spoke at the Capitol Hill conference in April about the relationship between literature and philosophy in the Eastern and Western traditions.

Past philosophical exchanges include a September 1999 visit by an Iranian Ayatollah to the National Cathedral in Washington, DC, and a visit in December 1998 by the influential Iranian theological philosopher Abdolkarim Soroush, who also spoke at the National Cathedral.

Website/On-line Information Resource. In partnership with Columbia University’s Gulf/2000 Project, the SCGI website serves as the central repository for information on track II activities between the US and Iran. The website can be found at .

Other Areas. SCGI is currently exploring possibilities for Iranian-American exchanges in other fields, including student exchanges, mountain climbing, and journalism.

For additional information, contact Ms. Stacy Heen, Program Director, Search for Common Ground with Iran, 1601 Connecticut Avenue, NW, Suite 200, Washington, DC 20009, USA; phone (1-202)265-4300; fax (1-202)232-6718; e-mail .