Our Mission
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Our Vision
Iranian Youth Connections is a youth-led organization dedicated to creating a welcoming space for Iranian youth to connect and bond one another, learn more about Iranian culture, and gain the skills to become successful leaders in their community. Through monthly virtual meetings where we bring in successful Iranian role models such as medical professionals, entrepreneurs, artists, educators, and more we hope to promote Iranian diaspora and empower young Iranians.
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Partnership with IASAz
Iranian Youth Connections is currently working in partnership with Iranian American Society of Arizona to help grow and promote our mission. We are so proud to be partnered with IASAz a non-political, non-religious and non-profit organization. Their vision is to enrich the lives of Arizona residents by promoting an awareness of the Iranian culture, heritage, language, history and contributions through education, music, dance, theater, art, food and sense of community. IASAz is an amazing organization that aligns with our mission and advocates for similar issues. You can learn more about them on their website:
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Our Inspiration
From the Founder: "There are two main issues that motivated me to create this organization. Firstly, I felt that there wasn't a space for first/second generation Iranian teenagers like myself to come together and connect over our similar backgrounds and culture. I found that I struggled to find a club or organization for Iranian teens to bond with one another and feel a sense of belonging especially admist this difficult time we are navigating through.
Secondly, I wanted to address the issue of cultural assimilation within western nations. Oftentimes immigrants who move out of their native country are forced to try to fit into their new community by conforming to the new cultural norms. This stigmatization is popularly perpetuated through the common analogy of the 'melting pot'. In the United States, we have created this mentality of an ideal American immigrant, and rather than honoring the vastly different immigrant populations within the United States we try to create a melting pot in which immigrants are expected to become more like other Americans.
This push for assimilation compels immigrants to give up their names, traditions, beliefs, and ancestral language. In fact, in 2009, Golnaz Komaie published a dissertation where she conducted 51 interviews of generation 1.5 (those who came to the United States under the age of 13) and the second generation (those born in the United States to at least one immigrant parent) of Iranian Americans in southern California. She found the second generation was more likely to self-identify as “Persian” and to downplay their ties to Iran after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 even though none of the perpetrators of the attacks were of Iranian origin. This study speaks to the larger issue of Iranians immigrants feeling the need to conceal their identity in order to be accepted which ultimately leads to many of them losing their ancestural language and traditions.
Unfortunaetly, oftentimes immigrants and refugees are even viewed as national security threats. This became evident in March of 2018 when the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services changed its mission statement from “America’s promise as a nation of immigrrants" to "protecting Americans," alluding to an 'othering and unwelcoming nature. Unfortunately, this unwelcoming behavior does not only pertain to the United States. I hope to bring attention to these issues by promoting Iranian culture and diaspora rather than concealing it.
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So, a few months ago when I began brainstorming ideas for my Gold Award Project for Girl Scouts I immediately knew I wanted to create a project to help the Iranian community. As stated on the Girl Scout website, 'The Girl Scout Gold Award is the highest award Girl Scout Seniors and Ambassadors can earn. Seniors and Ambassadors who earn the Gold Award tackle issues that are dear to them and drive lasting change in their communities and beyond.' I look forward to growing this project and tackling these issues." - Founder: Misha Ghafouri
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I would greatly appreciate your support!
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