The Society of Iranian-American Women for Education (SIAWE) held a General Assembly and Scholarship Presentation on Saturday, March 29, 2008, at J. W. Marriott Hotel in Houston. The guests enjoyed an afternoon tea while Faranak Zafarnia, SIAWE President, gave a brief description of last year's activities, introduced the Board of Directors and Officers and talked about their duties. Scholarship Presentation began as the recipients introduced themselves and shared with the audience their major, their GPA and the school they attend, 34 students recognized and awarded.

SIAWE congratulates all the recipients and appreciates the generosity of the supporters of this program.

We proudly announce that on June 19, 2007, Congressman Nick Lampson, representing the 22^nd District of Texas, recognized the Society of Iranian-American Women for Education on the floor of the United States House of Representative with the following speech:

“Madame Speaker, I am honored to recognize the great work and contribution of the Society of Iranian-American Women for Education, a scholarship fund in southeast Texas that serves the greater academic community.  The Society's mission is to promote Iranian culture through educational seminars, films, lectures, and exhibitions, but their most important goal is to provide educational support and assistance through scholarships for hard-working students.  To date, more than 170 such scholarships have been awarded to students attending schools in Texas.  The Society is also dedicated to strengthening relationships and deepening the understanding between Iranians and Americans, and has hosted many esteemed speakers, including Noble Laureate Dr. Shirin Ebadi, and Anousheh Ansari, who recently completed her own space flight.  I salute the Society for their dedication to academics and achievement, and wish them future success with all their wonderful endeavors.”

Anousheh Ansari - First astronaut of Iranian descent

On September 18, 2006, Anousheh Ansari earned a title in space travel history as the first female private space explorer, the fourth private space explorer, and the first astronaut of Iranian descent.  She served eight days aboard the International Space Station as a member of the Expedition 14 crew of the Soyuz TMA-9.

To honor Mrs. Ansari's accomplishments within the Iranian-American community, on June 18, 2007, The Society of Iranian-American Women for Education sponsored a public lecture complimentary to students at the Junior League of Houston, Texas, featuring Mrs. Ansari as its honored speaker.

Over 250 guests attended her inspirational presentation.  Many had traveled from out-of-state to join in-state visitors from Dallas, Austin, College Station, and the Clear Lake-NASA area. 

The evening proved to be enlightening for guests of all backgrounds, ages, and ethnicities.  Noteworthy was Mrs. Ansari's observation that from space, national borders on Earth were not visible, that all mankind shares the same home, and that we all should collaborate to preserve our only home, planet Earth.

To read more about Anousheh Ansari, please visit www.anoushehansari.com

We're All Neighbors

On Thursday, March 29, 2007, The Society of Iranian-American Women for Education (SIAWE) co-hosted the “We’re All Neighbors” luncheon with Houston’s First Lady, Andrea White at the Rouge Restaurant.  The luncheon served as a celebration of the Persian New Year, Nowrouz, and to introduce Iranian culture to the Houston community. One hundred fifty guests dined on gourmet Persian cuisine, listened to Persian music and visited the beautifully decorated traditional "HAFT SEEN"* set by Ladan Bina.  Zora Spevak’s fascinating speech, titled Persian Poetry and the Renaissance of the Persian Identity, was welcomed by a standing ovation. The celebration concluded with a beautiful Persian dance performance by a talented junior high school student.

* HAFT SEEN:    A ceremonial table display or spread of seven items, all beginning with letter S in Farsi, is usually set several days before Nowrouz.  These seven items are:

Nowrouz Celebration and Scholarship Presentation 2007

Iranian Film Festival

The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston presented the 14th Iranian Film Festival in January 2007. The Society of Iranian-American Women for Education was a proud co-sponsor of this event. Shohreh Aghdashloo, Oscar nominated actress, appeared as a special guest during the festival. The following movies were shown: Cease Fire, Sounds of Silence, When Fish Fall in Love, Willow Tree and Two Iranian Artists on Film.

Niki Karimi

Niki Karimi, an award winning filmmaker, was a guest of the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston at the showing of her movie "A Few Days Later" on Tuesday, December 05, 2006 at the Museum. The sold out screening was co-sponsored by the SIAWE and the Asia Society, Texas.

Skin Care Lecture

The Society of Iranian-American Women for Education presented a Lecture on Skin Care with Dr. Suzanne Bruce of Suzanne Bruce and Associates on Thursday, October 19, 2006 at the Houston Racquet Club, 10709 Memorial Drive, Houston, Texas at 6:00 PM. This presentation was free and open to the public.

19th Century Persian Tiles & Paintings, the Qajar Period (1796-1925)

The Society of Iranian-American Women for Education was one of the co-sponsors of a symposium honoring Persian art in coalition with The Asian Society. The Co-chairs of the program were Lily and Hamid Kooros.

The event was held on Saturday, September 9, 2006, at 2:00 P.M. at the Brown Auditorium Theater, Museum of Fine Arts, The Caroline Wiess Law Building, 1001 Bissonnet, Houston. A reception followed the lectures.

Ms. Jennifer M. Scarce, talked about the role of tile work in the social culture and art of Qajar in Iran and Dr. Layla S. Diba, spoke via video about the origins of modern Iranian painting.

The symposium was free and open to the public.

Nowrouz Celebration and Scholarship Presentation 2006

The Society of Iranian-American Women for Education held its Annual Nowrouz Celebration and Scholarship Presentation Dinner on Saturday, March 25, 2006, at the Junior League of Houston. The celebration started at 7:00 pm with an hour of "Deed-O-Bazdeed" (social hour), before guests were directed to the beautifully decorated main ballroom for the remainder of the Gala.

The guests were enlightened by the beautiful, angelic voice of Monika Jalili and the majestic performance of her musicians.

Seventeen students attending the Houston Community College Systems, Rice University, The University of Texas at Austin and Texas A&M University were awarded scholarships ranging from $1,000.00 to $2,500.00.

The evening was a great success both as a wonderful gathering for the guests and as a successful fundraiser event. A colorful, traditional "Haft Seen" table was set up for the guests' viewing throughout the evening.

2003 Nobel Laureate, Dr. Shirin Ebadi

Dr. Shirin Ebadi talked to over 170 people at the J. W. Marriott Hotel in Houston on Saturday, February 4th. It was a great honor for the Society of Iranian-American Women for Education to present Dr Ebadi. She is the first Iranian to receive a Nobel Prize in any field and the eleventh woman to receive the Nobel Peace Prize. Her speech was presented in both Farsi and English.

Iranian Studies Endowment at The University of Texas at Austin (UT, Austin)

In order to promote a deeper understanding of the Iranian culture, the Society of Iranian-American Women for Education has been supporting the Iranian Studies Program at The University of Texas at Austin by making contributions to the Iranian Studies Endowment Fund since 2004. To find out about this program please contact Professor M. R. Ghanoonparvar at UT, Austin.

Dr. M. R. Ghanoonparvar
Tel: (512) 471-1365
Fax: (512) 471-4197
Email address: mghanoon@uts.cc.utexas.edu