Building Iran-Iowa Bridges Through Partnership with Persian Student Organization

At the beginning of this summer, PEACE Iowa initiated a partnership with the Persian Student Organization (PSO) at the University of Iowa.  Our aim is to promote cultural understanding between Iowans and Iranians/Iranian-Americans, and to foster more peaceful relations between the U.S. and Iran.

We began the partnership with two bridge-building events this summer.  The first event was a picnic held at City Park in Iowa City.  Highlights included kebabs by Yashar, and many delicious dishes prepared by PSO president Diana Mina’s mother!

The second bridge-building event of the summer was a screening of a recent Iranian film, "Our Times," at the Iowa City Public Library.  Members of PSO and PEACE Iowa facilitated an informal discussion after this moving film, which examined the role of women in Iranian society by following several women during and after the Iranian election of 2002.

This fall, we have begun a project in which kids in Iowa make drawings and write brief messages of peace and friendship to kids in Iran.  Those messages will be translated into Farsi and posted on our web site, with parents' permission.  Children in Iran will be exposed to the web site through friends and family of Iranian-Americans living in eastern Iowa.

PSO President Diana Mina (on the right) and friends -- Yashar grills Persian kebabs