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Persia Educational Foundation Hosts an Exclusive 16 Days of Activism Reception Marking Iran’s Woman Life Freedom Movement

Written by kangal.naz on . Posted in Exhibitions & Presentations, Scholarships.

London, UK | 25 November – Persia Education Foundation announces an exclusive event featuring three efforts that celebrate Iran’s Woman Life Freedom Movement, on Monday, December 2, 2024, in Covent Garden, London. 

It features the screening of In the Eye of Freedom a groundbreaking documentary that brings together survivors of Iran’s Woman Life Freedom uprising. Directed by journalist and filmmakerPantea Modiri, this powerful 50-minute documentary captures an unprecedented gathering where activists who were targeted during protests meet face-to-face for the first time, sharing their experiences, pain, and determination for change. It also includes the launch of the Persian translation of Women Life Freedom, Let’s Talk About That by Fahimeh Robiolle, an award-winning Franco-Iranian former nuclear engineer and consultant on women’s rights and Nogaam Publications. Last but not least, Persia will announce the winner of its Ansari Scholarship for Human Rights and Public Service for the coming academic year.

“This documentary represents a crucial moment in the ongoing struggle for human rights in Iran,” says Dr. Tahirih Danesh, the Executive Director of Persia Education Foundation. By bringing together In the Eye of Freedom with a book and a scholarship, we do not only celebrate those brave individuals who have given so much to the Woman Life Freedom movement, but we also demonstrate the enduring spirit of this community through nurturing the next generation of protagonists shaping the greatest drama in search of equality.”

The event will be attended by:

  • International media representatives
  • Human rights advocates
  • Academic leaders
  • Distinguished guests from the Iranian diaspora community

Members of the press are invited to attend this significant event. Interview opportunities with the filmmaker, and foundation representatives can be arranged upon request.

EVENT DETAILS:

  • Date: Monday, December 2, 2024
  • Time: 18:00 – 20:00
  • Address: RSVP is essential for this exclusive event. Please direct all press inquiries to receive
    address and other details by return email to Persia Educational Foundation at info@persia.education

Celebrate “The Last King”: A Historic Persian Adaptation of Stephen King’s

Written by kangal.naz on . Posted in Community, Exhibitions & Presentations.

Persia Educational Foundation is pleased to help mark the first-ever non-English film adaptation of a Stephen King short story.

This historic adaptation of the world-renowned author’s work will be in Persian, a giant feat for the Persian-speaking world.

After five years of concerted effort, Iranian-Canadian producer, Ali Mashayekhi, brings together a stellar international cast to Stephen King’s The Doctors Case, including Maz Jobrani, Shiva Negar, Marshall Manesh and Tara Grammy among others. The international premier of this unique rendition, The Last King, will be screening at London’s Raindance Film Festival.

Following two successful short film festivals in 2023, Persia Educational Foundation is pleased to celebrate this once-in-a-lifetime experience within the Iranian diaspora at a soiree featuring Ali Mashayekhi, other cast and crew members, as well as artists and filmmakers taking part in Raindance Film Festival.

Please see the dedicated Eventbrite page to reserve your spot at the Wednesday 19 June, 5:00 pm event. The soiree is taking place at the global hub for changemakers, Covent Garden’s The Conduit Club. Business casual attire is highly recommended.

Pioneering Interdisciplinary Doctoral Student Wins Persia’s 2024-2025 Mirzakhani Scholarship

Written by kangal.naz on . Posted in Scholarships.

(London, 12 May) – An exceptional doctoral student at the UCL Centre for Doctoral Training Programme in Transformative Pharmaceutical Technologies is selected to receive the Mirzakhani Scholarship for the academic year 2024-2025. 

By combining her expertise in pharmacy and crystal engineering, Diba Keyhanfar is working on transforming drugs with unpleasant taste or odours into more flavourful forms, that are more appealing to children. Intersecting various aspects of chemistry and drug formation, Persia’s latest Mirzakhani scholar also sees it as a priority to make her work accessible to a global audience in order to incorporate her research into the pharmaceutical industry.

Influenced by Maryam Mirzakhani as a young student, Ms Keyhanfar has pursued her studies in both Iran and the UK in order to ‘achieve extraordinary things even during the toughest times’ as a means to overcome life’s obstacles. 

In addition to her outstanding academic research, Persia Mirzakhani’s independent selection panel welcomes Ms Keyhanfar’s commitment to training the younger generation in scientific research methods as part of her services to the Iranian community.

In 2017, Persia Educational Foundation established the Persia Mirzakhani Scholarship in remembrance of the first woman to win the prestigious Fields Medal in mathematics, the late Stanford Professor, Maryam Mirzakhani. Since then six outstanding Iranian women have been awarded this scholarship.  

The Mirzakhani scholarship is GBP 1500. Each year, an independent panel selects the recipient of the Persia Mirzakhani Scholarship from among eligible applicants. The results are announced around 3 May, marking the anniversary of the birth of the late Maryam Mirzakhani (12 May 1977 – 14 July 2017). The scholarship is designed to empower Iranian-descent women studying Sciences, Technology, Engineering or Mathematics at UK’s top research university, UCL.

Persia Educational Foundation is a non-governmental UK-registered charity. Its mission is to provide scholarships and educational opportunities to Iranian descent students in the UK and beyond. To support more students, please contribute to the Persia Mirzakhani Scholarship. Please note 100% of your donations benefit from our Gift Aid scheme and are awarded to support the eligible students at top UK universities. 

To find out more and arrange contributions towards the scholarship, please visit us at: https://www.persia.education/donate/ or email us at: info@persia.education. 

We Are One #Iran Short Film Festival Announces Winners

Written by kangal.naz on . Posted in Community.

During an Instagram Live session, Persia Educational Foundation’s Director was joined by Iranian-British journalist, filmmaker and human rights activist, Tara Aghdashlou, to announce the winners.  

A distinguished panel of judges reviewed the 100 nominations selected from among more than 1100 submissions from 90 countries in 15 different languages for this festival and cast their votes for winners in 14 different categories. In addition to Ms Aghdashlou, the judges include some of the brightest among established and emerging Iranian-descent artists, including Armin Amiri (HBO’s Just Like That), Necar Zadegan (NCIS: New Orleans), Pooneh Ghoddoosi (BBC), Nima Soofi (Qube Film), Isabella Djalili (Tiny Speck Productions), Elika Ashoori (British-Iranian actress & activist), Negar Mojtahedi (Global BC News), Ali Mashayekhi (Landed Entertainment) and Bijan Daneshmand (The Diplomat). 

The winners of the We Are One #Iran Short Film Festival are:

1. Best Iranian Film

The Bird Shot | Iran | Sara Salehi

2. Best Iranian Animated Film

The Melody of Loneliness (2022) | Iran | Samira Azimian 

3. Best International Film

Roman | France | Directors: Nina Calori, Valérie Piola Caselli

4. Best International Animated Film

Algeria Violet | Turkey | Emrah Yükselir 

5. Best Documentary Film

Yarmouk’s last poem | Iran | Kioumars Mohammadchenari

6. Best Director

Viva | Iran | Azam Shahdoost 

7. Best Actress

9 Hours with Hana | Iran | Aisan Riahi (actress name)

8. Best Screenplay

Lonely | Iran | Tahereh Fard & Elyas Askarpour

9. Best Production Design

Fond Anew | Russia | Andrew Krechetov

10. Best Original Music

Bisotun | Iran | Composer: Milad Movahedi 

11. Best Editing

Dazed | Iran | Sohrab Mohammadi 

12. Most Popular Short Film

Continuity | Iran | Director: Solmaz Nazari

13. Best Experimental Production

 I’m Pregnant with Time Here (2022) | Iran | Mohammad Hasani

14. Special Mention

Mother Father | Iran | Director: Elena Turkamand

Watch Winners Announcement with Festival Judge Tara Aghdashlou

Launched during the 16 Days of Activism in London, New York and San Francisco, Persia and its partners, Kayhan Life, Film Buzz Festival and The Courtauld Institute in London; The Bridge and Tunnel & The New School in New York; and the Diaspora Arts Connection in San Francisco are pleased to provide an opportunity to view the winners and nominations. 

Honouring the lives of Mahsa Jina Amini and other young Iranians, all proceeds from Vimeo viewings go to Persia Educational Foundation Scholarship Fund to support Iranian-descent students studying at UK universities.

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For Press Queries:

London: To arrange interviews please email info@persia.education

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We Are One #Iran Short Film Festival

Written by kangal.naz on . Posted in Community.

Following a successful short film festival last June, the Persia Educational Foundation and Film Buzz Festival have joined forces with The Courtauld Institute of Art in London, The Bridge and Tunnel, as well as The New School’s New University in Exile Consortium in NYC, and Diaspora Arts Connection in San Francisco to offer an international short film festival focussed on the Woman, Life, Freedom movement in Iran.

The central theme, “Woman, Life, Freedom,” underscores the protests against Iran’s compulsory hijab laws and other laws that impede women’s freedom and rights. Motivated by the poignant death of thousands of innocent Iranians seeking freedom and equal rights for women and men of all backgrounds, the festival seeks to intensify the call for rights during the 16 Days of Activism designed to raise awareness on violence against women on a global scale. The 16 Days span across the international days marking Elimination of Violence Against Women and Human Rights Day. Through the lens of films created by or about Iranian women, the festival offers a stage for their stories of resilience, challenge, and optimism.

The festival will commence with a hybrid launch hosted in London on 29 November, followed by online viewing of a selection of 100 short films out of more than 1100 submissions between 29 November and 10 December. Selections are based on 10 different categories:

  1. Best film
  2. Best Actress
  3. Best director
  4. Best Screenplay
  5. Best Original Music
  6. Best Cinematography
  7. Best Animation
  8. Best Design
  9. Best Editing
  10. Most Popular Short Film

Selections in each category are judged by an independent panel. On Wednesday, 24 January 2024, the International Day of Education, festival organisers’ will announce the results of the winner in each category.

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Key dates for the festival are as follows:

  • London Festival: Persia Educational Foundation, Film Buzz Festival and the Courtauld Institute will host a launch on November 29 at 6 p.m. This in-person panel of experts and inaugural viewing will be complemented by a global live cast.
  • NYC Festival: Organised by The Bridge and Tunnel, the event is being held on December 7 at The New School, 7-9 pm EST, featuring 7-10 short films followed by an expert panel discussion.
  • San Francisco Festival: Organised by Diaspora Arts Connection, the event unfolds on December 10, featuring 7-10 short films.
  • Online Screenings: November 29 to December 6, during the “16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence” in association with media sponsor Kayhan Life.

Receiving an impressive 1100+ short film submissions, the “We Are One #Iran Short Film Festival” anticipates delivering an enlightening array of narratives to global viewers.

About the Festival: 

A symbol of hope and unity, the festival emphasises the quest for gender equality in Iran and throughout the globe. Honouring Jina Mahsa Amini and countless other brave Iranians who have lost their lives since September 2022, it endeavours to remember their sacrifices and drive transformative change.

About Film Buzz Festival

Film Buzz Festival has been created by London-based Festival Director, Jesse Cooper, to provide filmmakers & screenplay writers of diverse backgrounds and/or with diverse stories a place to showcase their voice to a large audience and help further their careers as an artist. To learn more and to join Buzz Film Festival please see: filmfreeway.com/FilmBuzzFestival

About Persia Educational Foundation

Established in 1997, Persia Educational Foundation is a non-governmental UK-registered charity. Persia provides educational support to Iranians worldwide who have the ambition to give back to their communities through the pursuit of public service. To learn more please see: www.persia.education

Persia Educational Foundation & Film Buzz Festival

Written by kangal.naz on . Posted in Community.

Celebrate Iranian Women Filmmakers at First-Ever Festival in London

The festival opened with a screening of 10 short films on Friday, 23 June, at the Curzon Cinema in London’s Victoria, followed by a VIP reception for guests including the Iranian-German actress Nicole Ansari Cox. Ms. Ansari was joined by Festival director Jesse Cooper, Persia Educational Foundation’s Executive Team, dozens of VIP guests and a prominent group of artists, fans, diplomats, academics, civil society actors, business leaders and changemakers.

The reception was also attended by independent journalists and media personalities from Kayhan Life, The Independent, and BBC. Featured as ‘the top event of the week’ by fashion and culture magazine Hunger, it was opened with welcoming remarks by Persia Educational Foundation co-founder Nazenin Ansari. Festival Director Jesse Cooper then gave a brief history of this powerful new initiative. Persia Trustee Dori Dana-Haeri welcomed special guest Nicole Ansari Cox, who remarked on the high degree of creativity and talent demonstrated by female Iranian filmmakers. She also said she hoped to continue her collaboration with the festival in the near future to spotlight the short films, but also help raise more funds through Persia’s scholarships for Iranian students studying at UK universities.

Given the films’ focus on the challenges faced by women in Iran – which have led many to join the Woman Life Freedom movement, or to flee to the West — the second day of the festival welcomed newly arrived refugees and asylum seekers who were filmmakers.

The festival had a diverse range of participants and served as a bridge between those living in Iran and those living outside who are curious to learn more about the country. The promising inaugural event pointed to a bright future for the festival and its upcoming events in London and elsewhere.

The festival welcomes all forms of support and educational and artistic expression around the Woman, Life, Freedom movement as well as relating to the Our Story Is One campaign.   

“Having delivered this first-ever event with great success, the festival now also welcomes expressions of interest in terms of partners, sponsors, and film submissions from among the Iranian diaspora,” said Dr. Tahirih Danesh, the Executive Director of Persia Educational Foundation. “Those interested are invited to contact the Foundation at info@persia.education”.

To continue to donate to the Mahsa Jina Amini drive for Persia scholarships, which support Iranian-descent students at UK and internationally recognized universities, please see: www.persia.education/support

About Nicole Ansari

Nicole Ansari is an actor, director, writer and producer. Nicole’s career started in European theatre and film, expanding to other countries, languages and cultures. She performed with the famed Theatre du Soleil under Ariane Mnouchkine, and has starred in numerous plays in Vienna, Zurich, London and NY. Nicole had a key role in Tom Stoppard’s “Rock N’ Roll,” directed by Trevor Nunn at the Royal Court in London, and she went on to perform in the West End and on Broadway.

In addition, Nicole starred in Joshua Sobol’s “Sinners” at the Playground Theatre in London, directed by her husband, the Emmy Award-winning star Brian Cox.

In addition to directing several outstanding productions, Nicole worked with Shirin Neshat and Shoja Azari on their feature film “Land of Dreams” and joined the cast of “Law and Order” in a recurring role.

A Vanja Exerjian Award for Empowering Women awardee, Nicole created the multimedia show “She/ her” featured in several prominent spaces, including the 2023 Edinburgh Fringe Festival, with an Iranian Women’s Voices version to follow later in the year.

Nicole is the founder of an online community for creators called “Actors Rising“.

Learn more about the delightful Nicole Ansari at: www.nicoleansari.com or on IMDB.

About Film Buzz Festival

Film Buzz Festival has been created by London-based Festival Director, Jesse Cooper, to provide filmmakers & screenplay writers of diverse backgrounds and/or with diverse stories a place to showcase their voice to a large audience and help further their careers as an artist. To learn more and to join Buzz Film Festival please see: filmfreeway.com/FilmBuzzFestival

About Persia Educational Foundation

Established in 1997, Persia Educational Foundation is a non-governmental UK-registered charity. Persia provides educational support to Iranians worldwide who have the ambition to give back to their communities through the pursuit of public service. To learn more please see: www.persia.education

Women Life Freedom Short Film Festival – London

Written by kangal.naz on . Posted in Community, Exhibitions & Presentations.

The first London festival of its kind since the inception of the Women Life Freedom movement in September 2022, Film Buzz and Persia are pleased to bring together an incredible array of short films celebrating the world’s first women-led revolution.

 The selection of short films by Iranian women explores a range of dimensions and realities of life in Iran of today that offer insights into the recent events in Iran and around the globe since the induced death of young Kurdish-Iranian woman, Jina Mahsa Amini.

 Following a call for submissions, Film Buzz Festival received an overwhelming number of short films from women in Iran. Together with Persia Educational Foundation, the films are made available as a means of attracting attention to this important movement. 

Official selection of films by Film Buzz Festival recognises well-made films, no matter the subject matter, genre, or artist’s background. The festival serves to curate an occasion of inspiring and empowering edutainment.

Featuring a rich selection of films in Persian with English subtitles, lasting a total of 4 hours, will provide a space for elevated conversations and commitment to the cause of ending gender apartheid and other human rights violations by the Islamic Republic in Iran. The festival is held on Friday, 23 June, 3 pm to 5 pm, and on Saturday, 24 June, from 10 am to 12 noon, at Curzon Theatre in Central London. In addition, there will be a VIP reception featuring the incredible Nicole Ansari, as well as a range of changemakers in academia, politics, law, business and the arts. The VIP reception will take place on Friday, 23 June, 5-7 pm at the Curzon.

In light of the concerted series of gas poisoning of girls and women attending schools and universities in Iran, the submissions were donated by Iranian women with the explicit aim of raising funds to enable Iranian women to attend UK universities.

Inspired by the example of those making the submissions, Persia and Film Buzz are donating resources to organise the festival. All proceeds from sale of tickets, and donations will go towards the special scholarship fund associated with this Festival, the Mahsa Jina Amini Scholarship for Iranian Students in UK. 

About Film Buzz Festival | Film Buzz Festival has been created by London-based Festival Director, Jesse Cooper, to provide filmmakers & screenplay writers of diverse backgrounds and/or with diverse stories a place to showcase their voice to a large audience and help further their careers as an artist. To learn more and to join Buzz Film Festival please see: filmfreeway.com/FilmBuzzFestival

About Persia Educational Foundation | Established in 1997, Persia Educational Foundation is a non-governmental UK-registered charity. Persia provides educational support to Iranians worldwide who have the ambition to give back to their communities through the pursuit of public service.

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Protecting culture

Written by kangal.naz on . Posted in Social Sciences, Webinar.

Wednesday, 29 March 2023, at 17:00 GMT (UK time)

Iranians all over the world are concerned about their culture and the manner in which we may preserve and promote our incredible heritage.

This is in line with our cultural rights, part of the positive human rights the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights promotes the world over. 

A top legal expert of the United Nations International Criminal Court, Dr. Hirad Abtahi, happens to be an Iranian-Canadian whose work enriches the work of the court as well as academic and educational circles, on cultural rights.

In his latest publication, he offers an incredible resource that compares and contrasts the practice of State responsibility-based or individual criminal responsibility-based mechanisms, with respect to the cause, means and consequences of attacks targeting culture. This study shows how, in most cases of use of violence, attacks targeting culture constitute “the elephant in the room”. It also looks at the direct or indirect targeting of culture’s tangible and intangible components, as a potent tool to either directly aim at eradicating undesired manifestations of culture or to indirectly instil fear within the adversary’s ranks. 

For the first time, a book dispels common misperceptions, emphasises state responsibility and offers a systematic review of the practices involved and how attacking culture may be both tangible-centred and anthropo/heritage-centred, in terms of both typology of damage and its victims. It proposes a set of tools to better process the adjudication of the causes, means and consequences of attacks targeting culture.

We will be discussing the importance of preserving and protecting culture during our webinar. Please feel free to submit questions by emailing info@persia.education. 

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About our Panelist

Hirad Abtahi

PhD, Leiden Law School, Grotius Centre for International Legal Studies, The Hague, The Netherlands

Hirad Abtahi has 25 years of experience in international criminal justice and currently serves as Chef de Cabinet at the Presidency of the ICC. He previously headed the Legal and Enforcement Unit of the Presidency for 16 years and served the Milošević trial chamber at the ICTY. Abtahi has lectured extensively in English, French, and Persian and authored numerous books, book chapters, and articles on public international law, international criminal law, international human rights law, and transitional justice. He recently published a book on the supranational adjudication of attacks targeting culture and serves on the boards of the International Criminal Law Review and the Forum for International Criminal and Humanitarian Law.

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Innovation & The Future

Written by kangal.naz on . Posted in Business & Innovation, Webinar.

Wednesday, 1 February 2023, at 17:00 GMT (UK time)

The recent events in Iran bring along fresh opportunities for Iranians everywhere to explore new ways of advancing life, liberty and development of our nation. Part of this process involves meaningful conversations with visionaries whose stellar records push the boundaries of developing the best in public and privates spaces.

Aviator, entrepreneur, and investor – Cyrus Sigari has committed his life’s work to extending the benefits of mobility to all of humanity. Sigari is considered one of the world’s foremost experts on the future of mobility, particularly Advanced Air Mobility(AAM), which is forecasted by Morgan Stanley to be a $1.4 Trillion market by 2040.

Sigari is Co-founder and Managing Partner of UP.Partners, a venture capital firm investing in technologies that move people and goods cleaner, faster, safer and at lower cost – on the ground, air, sea, and space. UP.Partners most recent fund which closed in October of 2021 saw commitments in excess of $230M with investors like Alaska Airlines and Toyota to name a few.

In support of his work at UP.Partners, Sigari led the creation of the UP.Summit, which has become the definitive gathering for leaders in the world of transportation – the most recent occurring in Bentonville, Arkansas in June of 2022 in partnership with the Walton family and Perot family. The prior year’s event generated over $500M of direct investments into the companies that presented at the UP.Summit.

In 2022, Sigari was appointed as Chairman of the Arkansas Council on Future Mobility by Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson. In this capacity Sigari has been charged with laying out and leading the statewide strategy for Arkansas to be prepared to support the rapidly changing world of future mobility.

Sigari is also a global leader in the business of private aviation. As the Executive Chairman and co-founder of jetAVIVA, Sigari grew jetAVIVA to be one of the largest sellers of business aircraft in the world, with annual sales in excess of $500M USD.

Sigari has been flying airplanes and helicopters for more than 30 years and has accumulated many thousands of hours of flying experience. He is an instructor pilot and rated on 13 different jets, including the Boeing 747. Sigari is a graduate of Purdue University’s prestigious Aerospace and Aeronautical Engineering program.

Sigari is also an Ironman triathlete and self-admitted adventure junkie.

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Ansari Scholarship Inaugural Recipients Marking Human Rights Day

Written by kangal.naz on . Posted in Scholarships.

Persia Educational Foundation established the Ansari Scholarship in remembrance of its Founder, Abdolreza Ansari, who believed investing in youth education would further global prosperity. This philosophy and his illustrious career inspired the establishment of the Persia Educational Foundation, to support and empower Iranian youth and young professionals in the UK and beyond.

Each year, an independent panel selects the recipient of the Persia Ansari Scholarship from among eligible applicants. The results are announced on or around 10 December, to help mark Human Rights Day and Mr. Ansari’s anniversary.

This year the panel chose Elaheh Eslami and Atoosa Khatiri. Elaheh is a Ph.D. student at Central European University examining the dynamics of the Iranian women’s movement. She is involved with academic projects designed to collect and preserve social media and visual resources. She is also spearheading an academic conference on ‘Social Media and Women’s Empowerment in the Global South’. Atoosa is a Ph.D. student studying justice and human rights in counter-terrorism at York Law School. She has a rich body of experience across civil, immigration, and asylum law as a volunteer. She is also active as a serial social entrepreneur assisting vulnerable populations to access justice. She works closely with individuals affected by conflict and injustice and plans to contribute to greater understanding and effective decision-making and policy.

Prior to the trustees, Reza and Nazenin Ansari, presenting the awards to the inaugural recipients, Professors Roja Fazaeli and Cameran Ashraf delivered powerful remarks regarding the current uprising in Iran inspired by women’s rights, and the future of human rights in Iran and around the globe. The Ansari scholarship is GBP 1500. Eligible applicants for the 2023-2024 academic year are required to submit their application to Persia Educational Foundation by 17 November 2023. For more information on the scholarship please visit Abdolreza Ansari Scholarship.

A UK-registered charity, Persia Educational Foundation provides educational support to Iranians worldwide who have the ambition to give back to their communities through the pursuit of public service. Its mission is to support Iranians worldwide who have the ambition to give back to their communities through the pursuit of public service.


To support Persia and scholarships for Iranian students please visit our Donate page or email info@persia.education.