Education

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Persian and Iranian Studies

Since its inception, Peyvand has held cultural and fundraising events to support the University of Washington Persian and Iranian Studies Program (PISP). PISP is dedicated to promoting scholarship and thoughtful public discourse about all aspects of the history and culture of Iran and the Persian-speaking world. 

Directed by Professor Aria Fani, of the Department of Middle Eastern Languages and Cultures (MELC), the program's scope includes the diverse Persian and Iranian cultures found throughout the Middle East. Students in the program have the opportunity to study up to four years of Persian language, literature, history, and culture taught in both English and Persian. 

Our Impact

  • Ensuring the continuity of the Persian and Iranian languages, in partnership with the University of Washington

  • Endowments established to support Persian and Iranian studies

  • Supporting enrichment events at University of Washington, Seattle University and Bellevue College as well as public and private schools and public libraries throughout King County

Educational Events Sponsored by Peyvand

Upcoming Events

Past Events

Featured
موسیقی تلفیقی در ایران و دیاسپورا / "Intercultural Music in Iran and its Diaspora"
Oct 14
Education, Art and Culture, Youth Empowerment
موسیقی تلفیقی در ایران و دیاسپورا / "Intercultural Music in Iran and its Diaspora"
Education, Art and Culture, Youth Empowerment

This talk examines how Iranian musicians have turned to intercultural collaborations—since the aftermath of the 1979 Revolution and into the present—as a way to connect with the wider world. Through examples from Iran and its diaspora, it explores whether these encounters reflect modernization, inclusiveness, or both, and considers the line between cultural exoticism and genuine artistic exchange.

Hesam Abedini is an Iranian–American composer, performer, improviser, and educator whose work explores intercultural dialogue between classical Persian music, jazz, Western contemporary traditions, and computer music. A founding member of the Sibarg Ensemble, he is recognized for a polystylistic approach that integrates diverse musical languages through improvisation and new composition. His works have been performed by ensembles including the JACK Quartet, Del Sol Quartet, Eclipse Quartet, Hypercube, and loadbang.



Education, Art and Culture, Youth Empowerment
Tasnif-Khaani, تصنیف خوانی A Sing-along Night
Jun 6
Art and Culture, Education
Tasnif-Khaani, تصنیف خوانی A Sing-along Night
Art and Culture, Education

Get ready for a one-of-a-kind experience! Join Namad Ensemble's master musicians for an unforgettable, hands-on musical gathering. Sing along with beloved Persian songs, learn the secrets of classical Persian music, and experience the pure joy of making music together. This event is informal, interactive, and open to everyone. Don’t miss it!

Event in Persian. Registration Required.

Art and Culture, Education
Youth Nowruz Celebration & Activities at Newcastle Library
Mar 14
Youth Empowerment, Education
Youth Nowruz Celebration & Activities at Newcastle Library
Youth Empowerment, Education

A Youth Empowerment Event

Nowruz, an ancient celebration of nature’s rebirth, the first day of Spring. It is a time of renewal, joy, and community! 🌿

We invite you and your youth to celebrate with us through the cherished tradition of egg painting, symbolizing rebirth and new beginnings. Let your creativity shine as we decorate colorful eggs together, embracing the spirit of spring!

This is a free, youth event. Whether you're familiar with Nowruz or discovering it for the first time, we welcome you to join us in this vibrant celebration of culture, art, and togetherness.

Youth Empowerment, Education
Youth Nowruz Celebration & Activities at Issaquah Library
Mar 14
Youth Empowerment, Education
Youth Nowruz Celebration & Activities at Issaquah Library
Youth Empowerment, Education

Nowruz, an ancient celebration of nature’s rebirth, the first day of Spring. It is a time of renewal, joy, and community! 🌿

We invite you and your youth to celebrate with us through the cherished tradition of egg painting, symbolizing rebirth and new beginnings. Let your creativity shine as we decorate colorful eggs together, embracing the spirit of spring!

This is a free, youth event. Whether you're familiar with Nowruz or discovering it for the first time, we welcome you to join us in this vibrant celebration of culture, art, and togetherness.

Youth Empowerment, Education
Youth Empowerment Event: Nowruz Youth Storytelling at Lynnwood Library
Mar 11
Youth Empowerment, Education
Youth Empowerment Event: Nowruz Youth Storytelling at Lynnwood Library
Youth Empowerment, Education

Join us for a storytelling session at the Lynnwood Library

We will share the story of Nowruz, an ancient secular holiday celebrating the first day of Spring by 300 million people across the globe.

We will have children art and culture activities following the storytelling session.

Youth Empowerment, Education
Nowruz Celebration & Activities at Renton Highlands
Mar 3
Youth Empowerment, Education
Nowruz Celebration & Activities at Renton Highlands
Youth Empowerment, Education

Nowruz, an ancient celebration of nature’s rebirth, the first day of Spring. It is a time of renewal, joy, and community! 🌿

We invite you to celebrate with us through the cherished tradition of egg painting, symbolizing rebirth and new beginnings. Let your creativity shine as we decorate colorful eggs together, embracing the spirit of spring!

This is a free, adult only event. Whether you're familiar with Nowruz or discovering it for the first time, we welcome you to join us in this vibrant celebration of culture, art, and togetherness.

Youth Empowerment, Education
The Dawn is Too Far Stories of Iranian-American Life
Feb 18
Iran Film Initiative, Education
The Dawn is Too Far Stories of Iranian-American Life
Iran Film Initiative, Education

In “The Dawn is Too Far: Stories of Iranian-American Life” we share the powerful narratives of individuals from the Bay Area Iranian diaspora community, who contribute to and creatively respond to their history, and indeed add to the richness of this region.

At a time when immigrants, primarily from black and brown communities--from Mexico, to the Caribbean, and the Middle East-- have been vilified and stereotyped as criminals, drug-runners and terrorists, it is especially important to hear the real story of immigrants.

Q & A with the director following the show.

Iran Film Initiative, Education
THICKER THAN PAINT
Feb 9
Iran Film Initiative, Art and Culture, Education
THICKER THAN PAINT
Iran Film Initiative, Art and Culture, Education

This documentary is about the life of “Habibeh”, a self-taught painter who, according to her, has created 4000 works with her special tools and techniques during seven years. For “Habibeh”, art is a medium to endure the imposed and unwanted sufferings of her life. Habibeh’s works had not been widely displayed until the making of this film.

There will be a discussion session following the film.

Iran Film Initiative, Art and Culture, Education
MOUTH HARP IN MINOR KEY
Feb 8
Iran Film Initiative, Art and Culture, Education
MOUTH HARP IN MINOR KEY
Iran Film Initiative, Art and Culture, Education

A timely documentary film about exiles in America and the families they left behind, MOUTH HARP IN MINOR KEY sheds light on the dynamics of our contemporary times, beset by globalization and consolidation of capital and media, on the one hand, and by fragmentation and disruptions of nation-states, on the other.

In this film, Iranian filmmaker Maryam Sepehry follows the eminent film scholar Hamid Naficy in the United States and his family in Iran. It is a documentary portrait that elucidates the complexities of personal identity in a globalized world, where individual, national, and transnational forces interact.

Q & A with the director following the show.

Iran Film Initiative, Art and Culture, Education
Yalda for Kids
Dec 14
Youth Empowerment, Education
Yalda for Kids
Youth Empowerment, Education

Join KCLS & Peyvand Non-Profit Organization for a children’s storytelling and artmaking session that celebrates Shab-e Yalda (Yalda Night), a Persian holiday dating back thousands of years that welcomes the winter solstice & brighter days ahead triumphing light over darkness.

Youth Empowerment, Education
ALBORZ: WE CLIMB MOUNTAINS FILM SCREENING AND DIRECTOR TALK
Dec 8
Art and Culture, Youth Empowerment, Education
ALBORZ: WE CLIMB MOUNTAINS FILM SCREENING AND DIRECTOR TALK
Art and Culture, Youth Empowerment, Education

Join us on 12/8/24 4:00 pm at the UW Bothell Campus Discovery Hall 061 for the screening of Alborz: We Climb Mountains (2023, 86 mins.), which tells the story of the school during many tumultuous years in Iran’s modern history, from the perspectives of its graduates, teachers, and even Dr. Mojtahedi’s own voice from archival recordings; it tells it with humor, fondness, and nostalgia for a bygone era. It exemplifies what has been lost in the years since the 1979 Revolution and why today so many among the bright and promising young Iranians sound critical of current policies and administrative mishandling of one of their country’s once top educational institutions.

Art and Culture, Youth Empowerment, Education
 
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Related Event Series

Featured
Professor Aria Fani-Iran Colloquium Series Yale University
Education
Professor Aria Fani-Iran Colloquium Series Yale University
Education

Learn more on the contexts for translation in Iranian and Afghan literature as an institution and late 19th early 20thC literary journals. Second in the Iran Colloquium Series of 2021-2022 at Yale.

Education
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