Tavaana: E-Learning Institute for Iranian Civil Society

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Tavaana: E-Learning Institute for Iranian Civil Society provides free online training and Persian and English learning resources to Iranians. Tavaana – meaning "empowered" and "capable" in Persian – was launched in 2010 with a mission “to support active citizenship and civic leadership in Iran through education and civil society capacity building.” [1][better source needed]

The initiative uses blended civic education via live e-classrooms, correspondence learning, satellite television, and social networks to provide Iranians with education on democracy, women’s rights, religious freedom, civic activism, and more.[2][better source needed] In addition to online courses, the site offers case studies, interviews, translations, public service announcements, e-books, and an online resource library.[3][better source needed] TavaanaTech is a Persian-language service providing guidance on circumventing internet censorship and keeping safe online.

History

According to Tavaana’s website, the project seeks a “free and open Iranian society, one in which each and every Iranian enjoys equality, justice and the full spectrum of civil and political liberties.”[4][self-published source?] Tavaana was founded by Akbar Atri, a former student leader and drafter of a referendum for a democratic Iranian constitution, and Mariam Memarsadeghi, who previously headed Freedom House’s Middle East and North Africa programs.[5]

Tavaana was originally incubated as a project of the Center for Liberty in the Middle East through a seed grant from the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor.[6][better source needed] In 2011 Tavaana became a project of the E-Collaborative for Civic Education (ECCE), a US-based non-profit organization with a mission to leverage technology to promote civic learning and democratic political life internationally.[7][self-published source?]

Activities

Tavaana’s instructor-led courses take place on a live interactive platform. Live sessions are supplemented by a discussion forum, podcasts, video lectures, readings, and assignments. Tavaana has trained over 2,400 students in live classrooms, with 10,700 more learning via correspondence since its launch.[8][self-published source]

Tavaana produces video interviews with Iranian and international activists, such as Vaclav Havel and Azar Nafisi, and case studies on civic movements for human rights, democracy, and Internet freedom worldwide, including the Velvet Revolution and the American Civil Rights movement. There are also translations of democracy classics and texts written by Iranian civic leaders, pedagogic resources, public service announcements, and a virtual library of Persian and English resources.[9][unreliable source?]

Tavaana partners with Iranian cartoonist Mana Neyestani to produce an exclusive series of cartoons titled “Moderation Place,” a satirical look at policies and political developments under Iranian President Rouhani.[citation needed]

Tavaana’s social network includes pages on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Instagram, Soundcloud, and YouTube. Tavaana’s Facebook page has 350,000 followers as of December 2014.[10][unreliable source?] Tavaana video programming is also broadcast several times weekly over satellite television stations including Andisheh, Raha TV, and Rojhalat.[citation needed]

Courses

Tavaana’s offerings include classes on democracy and human rights advocacy, citizen journalism, philosophy of law, NGO management, women’s rights, labor organizing, minority rights and the politics of inclusion, LGBT rights, the environment, and religious freedom. The project offers several digital safety and technology activism courses.[11][unreliable source?]

TavaanaTech

In 2012, Tavaana launched TavaanaTech, an open platform for Iranian Internet users to ask questions about digital technology and online safety and receive updates on circumventing censorship, such as through Psiphon. TavaanaTech includes sections on digital safety, computer and Internet news, the Internet in Iran, social networking, and mobile phones and tablets.[12][self-published source]

Partnerships

Tavaana has curricular partnerships with several civic education and human rights organizations. Through a joint initiative with Freedom House and the Albert Shanker Institute, Tavaana offers the Democracy Web e-course, translated to Persian. Tavaana partners with The Center for Civic Education/CIVITAS for the translation, adaptation and instruction of the Foundations of Democracy e-course and translation of other curricula.[13][better source needed] Tavaana has also collaborated closely with the New Tactics in Human Rights Project, Heartland Alliance for Human Rights and Human Needs, George Washington University’s Graduate School of Political Management, the Iranian Queer Organization, and the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.[citation needed]

Faculty

Prominent Tavaana faculty members include:[14][self-published source]

Funding

The Tavaana project was launched with a seed grant from the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor. Tavaana has since secured additional funds from the Department of State as well as funding from the National Endowment for Democracy, the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the U.S. Agency for International Development, and Google, in addition to individual donors.[15][self-published source]

External links

References

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