NEWS ARCHIVE: 2002, 1999/2000, 2001, 2003

December 2002
 

IPM/IRANET PROVIDES INTERNET BANDWIDTH TO SAF: IRANET (http://www.iranet.ir), the networking unit of the Institute for Studies in Theoretical Physics and Mathematics (IPM, http://www.ipm.ac.ir) has generously provided SAF's SchoolNet program with a 512kb/128kb link. IRANET, founded in 1993, was the first ISP in Iran and continues to lead in the development of non-commercial Internet in the country. By now, IRANET has connected nearly a hundred universities, research institutes and other centers of learning to the Internet. The generous support to SAF provides a much faster connection speed for schools in Tehran, reduces Internet traffic and improves the quality of our services to the schools participating in our programs. IPM/IRANET is the official registrar of the '.ir' domains. The SAF team is most grateful for the continued support of IPM and its dedication to promoting better educational opportunities for Iranian students.

FIFTH SCHOOLNET CONFERENCE: The 5th SchoolNet Conference, hosted by Babol SchoolNet will be taking place on December 11-12.  Over 500 participants, including teachers, principals, school administrators, education officials and students, from across Iran will be take part in this exciting event.  The conference will feature over 30 workshops, where educators and students will be able to share their experiences and innovations in use of ICT in the classroom with their peers.  For more information about the conference take a look at:
http://www.schoolnet.ir/~conferences/

SAF CANADA DONATES 9,000 BOOKS TO SAF IRAN: SAF Canada shipped a 20-foot container with 9,000 high school and college textbooks (about 4.5 tons) to SAF Iran.  These books will be particularly useful resources for high schools across Iran, which have limited access to English language resources.

The books were received as part of a project sponsored by the University of British Columbia entitled "Book 4 Hope".  Many dedicated volunteers and SAF activists worked to make this project a success.  SAF Canada and SAF Iran would like to thank these individuals who are with their efforts have worked to ensure that Iranian students benefit from improved educational opportunities.

ICT CONFERENCE FOR PRINCIPALS IN THE 17th EDUCATION DISTRICT OF TEHRAN: Graduates of the Alzahra girls' high school & Hedayat boys' high school, in cooperation with the local Ministry of Education in the 17th District of Tehran, conducted a conference discussing the benefits of Information Communications Technology (ICT) and its impact on the current Iranian educational system.  The conference, which took place on the 3rd of November in the Meisam Center, was open to participation by all district 17 primary, middle, and high school principals.

Approximately 250 principals participated in the conference. Almost all of the presenters utilized electronic forms of media as a component of their presentations, and used this forum to promote further the use of ICT in the classroom.  The aim of the conference was to familiarize participants with new and dynamic ICT applications, designed to enhance the educational experience of youth, and to introduce educators to new and innovative teaching methods.

Speakers of the conference included Mr. Alavizadeh, Head of the local Ministry of Education, Dr. Tabesh, Executive Director of SAF Iran, students, teachers, and others who have benefited from SAF's support in their schools. Topics included discussion of the changes in high school education brought about by the Internet, presentations of new software and educational applications and SAF resources, which could be used in both academic and non-academic settings.  Participants were also provided with a presentation outlining SAF projects and anticipated changes to SAF's programs for the coming year were also discussed.  A question and answer session that brought together school officials, educators, and graduates to discuss and debate various aspects and uses of ICT in the classroom, was also a highlight of the conference.

The conference will be useful in planning and coordinating new SAF efforts throughout Iran.  The graduates of Alzahra and Hedayat high schools are planning other such events, including ICT trainings for site administrators, principals and teachers in the 17th Education District of Tehran, and free workshops will be taking place next week in the Bahan Center for teachers and administrators.  Additionally, the local Ministry of Education in District 17 in its commitment to promote the use of ICT in schools has purchased over 50 computers for distribution in high schools.  Hedayat boys' high school, supported by SAF, will provide many of these schools with Internet access and connect them to the SchoolNet network, through a wireless system. You can take a look at photos at:
http://www.schoolnet.ir/newsdev/shownews.php?id=hamayesh17

SCHOOLROBOT LAUNCHES NEW WEBSITE: SAF recently launched a website for its newest and most exciting project, SchoolRobot <http://robot.schoolnet.ir>. The SAF SchoolRobot project aims to develop programmable robots, for use by middle and high school students.  The robots will be able to carry out a variety of functions and interact with other robots. SAF will be providing training and technical support to educators and students in programming the robots.  Through this project, teachers will utilize both a hands-on learning process and competitive games to encourage creative thinking skills and teach a variety of solution strategies.  The website will provide simulations of many of the robotic programs and insight into some of the newest technologies and mechanisms developed in this field.  SAF's SchoolRobot team includes several former team members from the award winning Sharif University of Technology RoboCup team.  SAF has provided Iranian RoboCup teams with financial support to ensure that they are able to participate in international competitions for the past two years.  With this new initiative, SAF will be taking the project a step further to encourage research and development, spearheaded by young Iranians, in the field of robotics.  We also look forward to seeing many students from SAF supported schools on competitive Robot teams in the coming years.

SAF IRAN WELCOMES ITS NEWEST VOLUNTEER: SAF would like to welcome Behrad Mahdi, to its team of volunteers and activists across the world, who with their commitment of time and resources demonstrate daily their dedication to empowering the youth of the developing world.  Behrad is a second generation Iranian-American, in his junior year at Oberlin College, in Ohio, where he is working on a joint degree in Mathematics and Political Science. Behrad has worked as an intern and a volunteer with a number of outstanding organizations in the US and is committed to doing the same in Iran.  During his two-month internship with SAF in Iran, Behrad will work with the SAF team to develop public relations materials and public relations outreach strategies.  He will also provide support to a variety of other SAF programs, including, SchoolNet and the Zahedan IT Center.  Behrad has also generously agreed to provide English classes for SAF's team in Iran.  Welcome Behrad!

November 2002
 

FIFTH SCHOOLNET CONFERENCE: Babol SchoolNet will be hosting the 5th SchoolNet Conference, scheduled for December 11-12. It is anticipated that nearly 500 participants will take part in this event. The format of this conference will be different than previous ones, allowing participants to submit abstracts for presentations at the Conference. Participants whose abstracts have been selected for workshop or general presentations will be provided with an opportunity to share their knowledge and experience about the use of ICT in the classroom with their colleagues at the Conference. For more information about the conference take a look at:
http://www.schoolnet.ir/~conferences/

SAF SUPPORTS THE ESTABLISHMENT OF ZANJAN SCHOOLNET: The Zanjan SchoolNet was inaugurated on the 23rd of October 2002, with two new schools joining the SchoolNet Program. The Science and Arts Foundation (SAF) provided each of these schools, Shahid Beheshti boys' high school and Farzanegan girls' high school with a modern computer site. Meetings were also held with the local Ministry of Education in Zanjan, during which a training program was designed for Zanjan's SchoolNet program. Take a look at the homepages of these schools at:
http://zanjan.schoolnet.ir

SAF SUPPORTS THE ESTABLISHMENT OF QAZVIN SCHOOLNET: The Qazvin School Information Center (SIC) at Payam-e Nour University of Qazvin was set up and launched in August 2002. As a first step toward establishing the SchoolNet project in Qazvin, Farzanegan and Tohid girls' high schools and Shahid Babaee and Bokharaee boys' high school as well as the House of Mathematics, all of which have exhibited outstanding educational achievements, were provided with modern computer sites andInternet connection by the Science and Arts Foundation. Each new site has been provided with 1 server, 1 printer, 1 scanner,1 CD-RW, 1 Webcam, Network capabilities and also furniture (tables and chairs). Currently each site has 10 well-equipped workstations. Also, Hamyaari Organization, an ISP associated with the Qazvin Municipality, has expressed interest in providing Internet connection to SchoolNet programs in Qazvin. Take a look at photos from the Qazvin SchoolNet project at:
http://qazvin.schoolnet.ir/

iEARN-iRAN WEBSITE LAUNCHED: Upon returning from the iEARN (www.iearn.org) conference in Moscow, in July 2002, several teachers expressed an interest in becoming more actively involved in iEARN projects in general and the Good Hopes Projects (www.goodhopes.org) specifically. These teachers volunteered to serve as coordinators of the Good Hopes Projects, the topics of which were decided upon jointly with other iEARN conference attendees in Moscow in July. In an attempt to promote the Good Hopes Projects and the iEARN Forum among all SchoolNet programs in Iran an exclusive iEARN-iRAN Website has been launched (http://iearn.saf.ir). Each coordinator has agreed to take on the responsibility of engaging other Iranian schools in their projects as well as coordinating activities with participating schools from around the world.

Each Good Hopes' Project has a dedicated website where projects by Iranian students as well as joint projects between Iranian students and their international counterparts can be displayed. Also, the Projects each have a dedicated forum, where students from around the world can engage in dialog and exchange opinions. The forums support both Farsi and English entries.  Take a look at the site and the projects and post a message for students in the forums of projects that interest you most at:
http://iearn.saf.ir/.

Websites are being updated on an ongoing basis and projects by students will be posted on each of the relevant websites as they are completed.

GRADUATES OF SAF SUPPORTED SCHOOLS CONDUCT OUTREACH AND ICT TRAINING FOR EDUCATORS: The Graduates of two SAF supported schools, Alzahra girls' and Hedayat boys' high schools, are working jointly to conduct ICT training in south Tehran for education officials, school administrators and teachers. This innovative outreach campaign to train educators in the use of ICT provided 50 hours of training to 70 educators working in the 17th district of Tehran.

Sixteen graduates of Alzahra and Hedayat high schools, ranging in age between 19-23 years, served as trainers and the intensive training program, which spanned ten days, covered Windows, Word, Power Point, and Internet and Email. Hedayat, Alzahra and Metanat high schools and the Teachers' Training Center of the Local Ministry of Education, collaborated with the team to provide space for the training. The first portion of the training included 20 hours of theory, which was conducted by SAF master trainer, Mr. Akbar Zahiri. The second portion included 30 hours of hands-on-computer training, conducted by the graduates of Alzahra and Hedayat high schools. These graduates plan to conduct similar trainings across south Tehran and possibly in other provinces of Iran.

"The ultimate goal of this project is to create innovation in the educational system, through the use of ICT in classroom curricula," says Mostafa Vaghefi, SAF team member and a member of the Graduate Training Team. "If we make ICT interesting and fun for the teachers, they will pass on the knowledge to their students and in turn make the learning process more interactive and fun as whole," adds Vaghefi. "If we are to impact the educational system positively and to create change and innovation, then training and capacity building efforts need to begin at the bottom of the pyramid, with the teachers and school administrators. We engage the teachers, so that even if they don't know anything about ICT, they become excited about learning something new" adds Hamed Yaghoubi, a SAF team member and a member of the Graduate Training Team. Mr. Vaghefi goes on to add, "Besides the innovation it creates in the classroom, these training opportunities serve as a positive experience for the graduates, who get a chance at testing and developing their own professional skills, in ICT, in classroom management and in team work in general." Take a look at a full report of the training in Farsi, along with pictures of the event at:
http://www.saf.ir/docs/News/reportp.DOC

 

October 2002
 
SAF LAUNCHES FREE VOICE BROWSER FOR THE VISUALLY IMPAIRED AND BLIND: To facilitate the use of computers for the visually impaired, SAF's technical team has developed Tarava, a voice browser in English, which enables visually impaired users to work independently with computers and the Internet. This software allows visually impaired and blind users to navigate the screen through desktop icons, start menu icons, menu bars in different windows, items within menus and dialogue boxes. All windows operating system utilities are accessible to blind users with this software, which works through a voice engine. Tarava allows visually impaired users to access valuable information on the Internet, use e-mail, search the web or access favorite sites and download FTP links.

Tarava will be distributed free of charge to educational institutions anywhere in the world for the blind and visually impaired. Considering the high cost of such screen readers, Tarava will serve as a breakthrough in facilitating the access of the visually impaired to computers and the Internet.

"With Tarava computers will be accessible for me and other visually impaired users like myself. Even though the Internet has always been greatly resourceful for sighted users it has remained inaccessible for people like myself. Tarava will be an entry point to valuable information and other resources stored on the web for the blind," says Behnam Glonezhad, a visually impaired student of Law at Shahid Beheshti University, who has collaborated with the SAF team at Sharif University to develop Tarava.

SAF SUPPORTS EDUCATIONAL CENTER FOR THE VISUALLY IMPAIRED:  Aba Basir, located in Isfahan, is a residential educational facility serving the needs of over 300 visually impaired and blind youth, both boys and girls. SAF provided this center with a computer site consisting of ten workstations, one server, one scanner and one brail printer. Aba Basir is also the first such educational facility to use Tarava, SAF's voice browser for the visually impaired. Take a look at pictures, a Flash film and news on Aba Basir at: http://www.saf.ir/docs/News/ or browse the photos here.

FARSITEX TEAM PARTICIPATES IN TEX USERS CONFERENCE, TRIVANDRUM, INDIA: Members of the FarsiTeX Project Team traveled to India to present two papers in TUG 2002, the 23rd Annual TeX Users Group Meeting and conference in Trivandrum, India, September 4-7, 2002. FarsiTeX, a Persian localized version of the famous TeX and LaTeX document preparation systems, is a free software project aiming to create an authoring language and a very high-quality typesetting system for preparing Persian ormultilingual documents containing technical and mathematical
text.

Further information about FarsiTeX can be obtained at the FarsiTeX website, where the FarsiTeX software can also be downloaded: http://www.farsitex.org/

Post-conference information about TUG 2002 can be found at: http://www.tug.org.in/tug2002/

The presentations by the FarsiTeX team can be accessed at:
http://www.farsitex.org/tug2002/ftexpaper.pdf;
http://www.farsitex.org/tug2002/ftexslides.pdf;
http://www.farsitex.org/tug2002/unicodepaper.pdf; and
http://www.farsitex.org/tug2002/unicodeslides.pdf.

The Science and Arts Foundation is currently the main sponsor ofthe FarsiTeX, which is an ongoing project.

FUNDRAISER CONCERT IN SUPPORT OF SAF IN LONDON: Ms Golriz Hashemi, a well-known Iranian pianist, will be holding a benefit concert at St James's Church in London on Saturday 19th October. All proceeds from the concert will go to support the activities of the Science and Arts Foundation in Iran. Ms. Hashemi's concert will include, Bach, Beethoven, Roussel, Rachmaninov and Aminollah Hossein. For more information and tickets please contact: ++44 (0) 20 7381 0441

SAF IRAN'S NEW WEBSITE: SAF Iran is pleased to announce its new website: www.saf.ir. Information about all SAF sponsored projects in Iran, as well as the SchoolNet site
(www.schoolnet.ir) can be accessed on this new site.
 

 
August/September 2002
 
IRANIAN DELEGATION PARTICIPATES IN THE 9th ANNUAL IEARN CONFERENCE IN MOSCOW RUSSIA: A SAF sponsored group of over 70 Iranian teachers and educators participated in this year's iEARN conference in Moscow in the week July 7-14. The 9th iEARN teachers' meeting and 6th youth summit covered a wide variety of subjects related to educational computing, the educational use of the Internet and links between teachers and young people from different cultures and countries.  The conference was delivered to delegates in the form of presentations and hands-on workshops.  The conference also offered many informal opportunities for educators and administrators from all over the world to meet and develop professional contacts and to exchange ideas about educational approaches. Workshops and presentations gave delegates the chance to learn about the innovative uses of technology in the classroom.  Nearly 700 delegates, representing over sixty countries, attended this year's iEARN conference.  Each team was individually announced at the opening ceremony and delegates could not fail to notice the size and enthusiasm of the team from Iran.
 
The Iranian delegation, which included school teachers, a dozen school principals, two heads of local education authorities and a dozen SAF educators, delivered over 25 presentations --the largest number of presentations by any delegation--which had a major impact on the conference as proclaimed by the some of the key organizers and founders of iEARN. Three Iranian born students from the University of California (Berkeley) and the University of Oxford, who had collaborated with SAF as volunteers this summer in Iran, had greatly helped to improve the presentations of the teachers. Many conference participants actively sought out the Iranian delegation to speak to and to improve their knowledge and understanding about Iran, its culture and to learn more about the innovative use of technology by Iranian educators in Iranian schools.  The delegation also took every informal opportunity to engage delegates from other countries in constructive dialog and participated enthusiastically in the second meeting of the Good Hopes Project (www.goodhopes.org) designed to develop collaborative projects between teachers and schoolchildren in an attempt to improve cultural understanding and promote dialog.  A formal plan of action and cooperation for the coming school year was developed during meetings on the good hopes project.
 
Participation in the iEARN conference has been a catalyst in promoting collaboration between Iranian educators and schools across the country.  Already, participants on their own accord are planning three conferences to share with their counterparts the knowledge gained.  SAF, in partnership with Roshd boys' and Roshd girls' high schools and Gol-e Yas Girls' Technical high school, in the 16th district of Tehran, will be holding a one-day seminar for schools from around the country to promote greater participation in the iEARN forum and to share lessons learned.  Alborz boys' high school will be conducting a three day seminar on integrating the use of ICT in classroom curricula and the next SchoolNet Conference, hosted by the Babol SchoolNet team, will emulate the structure of the iEARN conference and provide educators with the opportunity to train their counterparts from around the country and share their expertise in the form of workshops.  For a full report on the participation of the Iranian delegation at the iEARN conference, as well as pictures, take a look at:  http://www.schoolnet.ir/newsdev/shownews.php?id=iEARN_Moscow2002
 
HARDWARE ASSEMBLY TRAINING AT RA'AD REHABILITATION GOODWILL COMPLEX IN TEHRAN: The team at the Science and Arts Foundation conducted a hands-onhardware assembly training program for residents at Ra'ad Rehabilitation Goodwill Complex.  Ra'ad is a charity organization providing support, vocational training and rehabilitative services to people with physical and mental disabilities.  SAF has provided Ra'ad with modern computer sites as well as ongoing training and technical support.   Approximately 40 participants were trained during this 4-day training event, which included training on how to assemble PCs and install Windows.  "This project was one of the best training experiences I have experienced during my three years of cooperation with SAF," says Akbar Zahiri, SAF team member.  "The participants surprised us with their commitment to excellence and desire to learn, and demonstrated a strong belief in their own potential" adds Zahiri.  These trainings provide participants with solid skills, allowing them to seek employment in the ICT field.  In all 89 computers were assembled by the participants, who were divided into 12 working teams of 3-4 persons.  These computers were used for SAF projects in Tabriz, Qazvin and Shahid Motahari girls' high school in Tehran.  Each group assembled 7 or 8 computers.  Training Photos here.

The web site of Ra'ad is at http://www.schoolnet.ir/~raad/
 
EXPANSION OF TABRIZ SCHOOLNET PROJECT: In the second phase of the Tabriz SchoolNet Project, the Science and Arts Foundation provided Shahid Madani boy's high school, Farzanegan girl's high School, Shahid Rajaee Teachers' Training Center and a teacher's research and education facility with computer sites and Internet access by the Science and Arts Foundation.  In the first phase of the project in Tabriz, Bagher-ol-Oloom girls' and Sa'dee boys' high schools were provided with modern computer sites and Internet access by SAF.   The schools in Tabriz, besides receiving fully equipped computer sites, have also been provided with digital cameras, scanners, and CD writers.

In order to ensure that the Tabriz SchoolNet project operates at an optimal capacity, Mr. Zahiri and Mr. Mahjourian, SAF team members traveled to Tabriz to conduct an intensive 5-day training course for teachers, principals and other educators.   The training included a series of trainings on Windows, Web, Email, Word, FrontPage and Networking and web page design.  All training participants received an email account at tabriz.schoolnet.ir.  Take a look at the Tabriz SchoolNet Project at:  http://tabriz.schoolnet.ir/.
 
EXPANSION OF GUILAN SCHOOLNET: Shahed boys' and Shahed girls' high schools are the most recent members of Guilan's SchoolNet. These schools have been provided with computer sites from Guilan's local Ministry of Education and Guilan University has agreed to provide them with Internet connectivity. Guilan SchoolNet now has fourteen member schools. With the cooperation of Guilan's local Ministry of Education, intensive computer and Internet training seminars for students and teachers have been held throughout the province.  To this end, local area networks have been established within 4 high schools.  Guilan's local Ministry of Education has supported the costs of establishing LANs at Somayeh high school in Rasht and Tohid high school in Lahijan, while the costs for Somayeh in Kelachay and Efaf in Rasht have been covered by the Science and Arts Foundation. The SchoolNet team in Iran welcomes these newest members to our growing network of schools around the country.  Photos here.
 
July 2002
 
THE SCIENCE AND ARTS FOUNDATION SUPPORTS THE PARTICIPATION OF IRANIAN DELEGATES IN THE 9TH ANNUAL iEARN CONFERENCE: SAF, in a historic event, is supporting the participation of over 70 delegates in the 9th annual iEARN conference, scheduled for July 2002, in Moscow, Russia www.iearn.org. In fact, SAF is pleased to announce that it is an official co-sponsor of this important conference, which is drawing nearly 700 participants from 60 countries around the world.
 
Nearly 30 presentations on the innovative work of Iranian schools in IT are scheduled for the event.
 
"Certainly the result of this trip, in the first instance, is the sense of responsibility it will instill in participants, pushing them toward greater innovation in their work. More than anything, our educational system needs innovation. Technology, including the Internet, can serve as a catalyst in this respect. Interaction with educators from other countries as well as the opportunity to learn about their educational systems, can work to bridge the gap in educational achievements between Iranian students and students from other countries, particularly developed countries, as well as promote innovation in our educational systems," says Abbas Enayatpour, Principal of Roshd boy's high school in NaziAbad, Tehran, and iEARN conference participant.
 
SAF believes that this conference will serve to transform teachers' approach to education as well as their interaction with students. It will also promote more innovation in the use of ICT as a learning tool in SAF supported schools. Contributions in support of this worthy effort can be made by sending a check to:
 
Science and Arts Foundation
P.O. Box 18849
London SW7 2WB, UK
+44 (0) 207 594-8245
 
or to
 
Science and Arts Foundation
PMB 201, Suite A
4780 Ashford Dunwoody Road
Atlanta, GA 30338-5505 USA
 
or by credit card at http://www.science-arts.org/src/support/index.htm
 
IRANIAN TEAMS EXCEL IN ROBOCUP EVENTS: Over 100 Iranian students participated in the RoboCup 2002 competitions, which took place in Fukuoka, Japan, June 14-21 20002. Nineteen Iranian teams, representing seven universities, two youth robotics clubs and one high school, Allameh Helli boy's high school, which was possibly the only high school team participating in the competitions, took part in this exciting annual event. The Iranian teams and the categories in which they competed were as follows:
 
Simulation League: Sharif Arvand, Sharif University of Technology; UTUtd, Tehran University; PolytecS, Amirkabir University of Technology; Helli-Respina, Allameh Helli High School; Matrix, Shahid Beheshti University; Iranians, Iran University of Science and Technology; Perspolis, Farhangsarye Javan; Avan, Qazvin Islamic Azad University; and Thunder, Tehran University.
 
Rescue Simulation: Arian, Sharif University of Technology Rescue Real Robot: Emdad, Sharif University of Technology; and Kavosh, Farhangsarye Javan.
 
Small Robot League: Sharif CESR, Sharif University of Technology; and IUT Flash, Isfahan University of Technology.
 
Midsize Robot League: Sharif CE, Sharif University of Technology; and Persia, Isfahan University of Technology
 
The large number of Iranian participants in the event attracted a great deal of attention and prompted one of the major Japanese newspapers to conduct an interview with Dr. Jamzad from Sharif University of Technology. The Kavosh team from Farhangsarye Javan, the only robotics club not affiliated with a university or a sponsoring company, won the title of world champion in the Rescue Real Robot category of competition, excelling over university teams from Japan, New Zealand and Germany. Arian from Sharif University of Technology won the championship in the Rescue Simulation event, overcoming opponents from 6 Japanese universities, as well as the team from the University of Southern California. The Shahid Beheshti team won the visualization award and Allameh Helli high school students managed to capture the Silver medal in the Soccer Simulation - Online Coach Competitions. Emdad, from Sharif University of Technology, received a technical design award for their design of a Rescue Robot.
 
In the hardware competitions, IUT Flash from Isfahan University of Technology competing in the Small Robot League, managed to beat many opponents including some from German Universities. Unfortunately, this team lost to Big Red from Cornel that went on to become the world champions, in this competition.
 
Sharif CESR, competing in the Small Robot League events, despite defeating teams from France and Australia was eliminated in the early games. Sharif CE, competing in the Midsize Robot League competitions, managed to make it to the last two days of the competitions, but was defeated by the GMD-Musashi team, which happened to have a former Sharif team member on its team this year.
 
Overall 1,000 participants, comprising 188 teams and representing 29 countries took part in the competitions. The competitions in Japan drew over 100,000 spectators, which was an all time high for the RoboCup events. The Science and Arts Foundation USA provided travel and lodging support to many of the Iranian teams, as well as books and other informational materials. Photos here.
 
KASHAN SCHOOLNET CELEBRATES FIRST ANNIVERSARY: Kashan's SchoolNet program was inaugurated last July, with three schools being provided with modern computer sites and Internet access. Since its inception, the Kashan SchoolNet program has expanded to eight schools and plans are underway to provide computer sites and Internet access to all 20 high schools in Kashan. This endeavor will be carried out in partnership with local philanthropists.
 
During the month of June, which marked the end of the school year, 1000 students from SAF supported schools took part in computer exams, the results of which will be used to evaluate their competency levels and SAF's effectiveness in providing training within schools. Future trainings will address both beginner and advanced skill levels.
 
Through participation in a new project, titled Kashan Zamin, students in SAF supported schools will work collaboratively to conduct research on the rich and ancient civilization of Kashan. The results of their research and information on Kashan's rich history along with pictures from its historical sites will be compiled in a web page under the same name. Take a look at the Kashan SchoolNet site at: http://kashan.schoolnet.ir
 
SAF SWEDEN CONDUCTS FUNDRAISING DRIVE AND MEDIA OUTREACH PROGRAM: In a fundraising effort, designed to provide a modern computer site and Internet access to a girl's school in south Tehran, SAF Sweden conducted a media outreach campaign. The three-day campaign which was aired on the popular Radio Ava, a Farsi language radio program in Sweden, provided information about the innovative work of SAF in Iran and included interviews with Professor Abbas Edalat, the founder of SAF and Dr. Yahya Tabesh, the Director of SAF in Iran, as well as principals from SAF supported schools.
 
In all, 135 people pledged their support for this worthy cause and $10,000 was raised for this worthy project. Following the Campaign, Iranians from across Sweden have contacted SAF's offices, to express their support for SAF's activities.
 
 June 2002
 
THE SCIENCE AND ARTS FOUNDATION SUPPORTS IRANIAN TEAMS IN THE ROBOCUP COMPETITIONS IN JAPAN: Iranian students will be taking part in the RoboCup competitions for the 4th year in a row. Iranian university teams will be competing against the best in the world in this event, to be held in Fukuoka, Japan from June 19-25 (http://www.robocup2002.org).
 
Over the past three years, teams from Iran have achieved spectacular results in the games, becoming the world champions in the midsize league in 1999, European champions in 2000, third in the world in 2000, and attaining multiple world championships in 2001 in different leagues (see http://www.science-arts.org/src/projects/iran/robocup/ for details). In this process Iranian teams have beat teams from schools such as Carnegie Mellon, Cornell, Yale, USC, and others from Italy, Germany, and Japan.
 
The Science and Arts Foundation will be supporting the participation of Iranian teams in the RobuCup events again this year.
 
THE SCIENCE AND ARTS FOUNDATION SUPPORTS THE PARTICIPATION OF IRANIAN DELEGATES IN THE 9TH ANNUAL iEARN CONFERENCE: The SAF team in Iran has been working with teachers, principals and graduates to prepare for their historic participation in the 9th annual iEARN conference, scheduled for July 2002, in Moscow, Russia www.iearn.org. This will be the first time many of these individuals will have the opportunity to travel outside of Iran and as representatives of their country and their schools they have been working hard to prepare for an active participation in this very important event. In fact, preparations for this conference have paved the way for many of these schools to begin joint collaborative projects. For the very first time, schools in north Tehran are working with schools in south Tehran, the principals and teachers of boys' schools are collaborating with principals and teachers from girls' schools and schools in Tehran are working with schools in the provinces to prepare joint presentations for the iEARN conference.
 
"This is an opportunity for Iranian educators not only to share their experiences and innovations with their counterparts internationally, but to learn to work collaboratively with one another and across cultural and geographic boundaries, and to learn from their counterparts internationally," says Ms. Nasim Tayebi, SAF's coordinator of the iEARN conference in Tehran.
 
Some of presentations prepared jointly include: a presentation on the successful cooperation of model state schools with former students (graduates) in an attempt to achieve greater excellence among their students. This presentation was the result of collaboration between 6 principals at: Roshd, Dr. Hessabi and Hedayat boys' high schools and Roshd, Alzahra and Zeinab girls' high schools. Kherad girls' high school in Tehran is collaborating with Narjes girls' high school in Kashan, Nezam Mafi Girls Technical School (for the hearing impaired) and students in orphanages supported by SAF, are working on a joint presentation for iEARN on Dialogue Among Civilizations, a project of the Good Hopes. 
 
THE GOOD HOPES PROJECT: The Good Hopes Project (www.goodhopes.org) was established by Iranian teachers who participated in the iEARN conference, in South Africa last year. This was the first time a delegation of Iranian teachers to attend an international conference of this kind. In preparation for the upcoming iEARN conference in Moscow, July 2002, Iranian teachers and principals have encouraged their students to become actively involved in the Good Hopes forums. Kherad in north Tehran is collaborating with Zeinab in Shahr-e Ray in south Tehran to prepare a presentation on Good Hopes for the conference.
 
"The most significant impact this forum has had on Iranian students", according to Mr. Mohandespour from Mohtashami boys' high school in Kashan, "is to encourage the students to get out in the field and take pictures of the historic sites in their hometowns, and to come to appreciate the value of their heritage through hands on experience." "Good Hopes and the participation of teachers and principals in the iEARN conference has provided an opportunity for Iranian teachers to begin collaborating and sharing resources, which is an extraordinary and quite unexpected achievement" says Fariba Pakravesh, teacher at Kherad.
 
American students have also responded to projects and postings by Iranian students in the Good Hopes forum. One group of American students at Miami Country Day School, celebrated Chahar Shanbeh Soori or the Festival of Fire, which is celebrated on the eve of the last Wednesday the Iranian year, after reading postings from Iranian students on the Good Hopes Forum about this ancient Iranian custom. There are seven forums in the Good Hopes project, which include the following:

Students can post messages in both Farsi and English in this forum.

SAF PROVIDES TRAINING FOR THE AHVAZ SCHOOLNET PROGRAM: SAF Master Trainer, Mr. Akbar Zahiri, held an intensive training course for nearly 30 principals, teachers and administrators participating in the Ahvaz SchoolNet Program, last month. This successful training included: Windows and its installation, Word, Front Page for designing web pages, Internet and Email, networking and hardware assembly. Photos here.

The Ahvaz SchoolNet Program was inaugurated in May after students at Gol-e Yas Girls' Technical School, through a hands-on-training program provided by SAF, assembled PCs for use in Shahid Chamran University, which will serve as the Ahvaz School Information Center; Shohada, Dr.Hesabi and Shahid beheshti Boys' High Schools and Farzanegan Girl's High School. Each school supported through this project was provided with 10 PCs, 1 server, 1 scanner, and 1 printer. Besides being provided with computers and other necessary equipment, Shahid Chamran University also received a router, to ensure that it is able to provide dial-up access to the Internet for schools in the Ahvaz SchoolNet program. We want to welcome the Ahvaz SchoolNet program to our network of schools in Iran. Take a look at http://ahvaz.schoolnet.ir for more information on theses schools.

THE SCIENCE AND ARTS FOUNDATION HOLDS INFORMATIONAL MEETINGS IN THE UNITED STATES: SAF founder Professor Abbas Edalat held a series of informational meetings on the Science and Arts Foundation in late May and early June in the Washington, DC and New York areas, Connecticut, and at MIT in Boston. Professor Edalat, also provided a talk titled "The Role of Iranian Expatriates in Iran-based NGOs" where he highlighted a framework for cooperation on development efforts. This talk was part of the panel presentation "Iranian NGOs: Prospects and Models for a Civil Society" at the Society for Iranian Studies Conference in Bethesda, MD May 24-24, 2002. Take a look at the conference program at: www.iranian-studies.org. The Science and Arts Foundation also held a well-attended meeting highlighting its activities in Iran during this conference, which draws over 500 academics engaged in Iranian studies.

 May 2002
 
THE SCIENCE AND ARTS FOUNDATION RECEIVES SUPPORT FOR THE ZAHEDAN ICT CENTER FROM THE WORLD BANK: The Science and Arts Foundation team in Iran is very pleased to announce that their application for funding from the World Bank's Information for Development Program, www.infodev.org, for the activities of the Zahedan ICT Center has been approved. This is clearly a historic milestone, which will put SAF firmly in the category of international development NGO's. SAF is the first Iranian NGO to receive funding from the Information for Development Program at the World Bank. Many thanks to the team at InfoDev for selecting our proposal for funding and congratulations SAF! For more information take a look at: http://www.infodev.org/projects/proposals.htm
 
RAFSANJAN SCHOOLNET PROJECT, IN KERMAN PROVINCE, ESTABLISHED: The Rafsanjan School Information Center (SIC) at Vali-e Asr University of Rafsanjan, was set up and launched in March 2002. As a first step toward establishing the SchoolNet Project in Rafsanjan, Sajjadi Girls' High School and Ali Ibn-e Reza Boys' High School, which have exhibited outstanding educational achievements, have been provided with modern computer sites and Internet connection through SAF. These two schools have been provided with 1 server, 10 workstations, 1 printer and one scanner each. Prior to support from SAF, each school was equipped with only one computer. Photos here.
 
THE SAF TEAM CONDUCTS SITE VISITS OF ZAHEDAN ICT CENTER AND SCHOOLS IN TEHRAN: In an intensive trip to Zahedan, the SAF team visited the Zahedan ICT Center, where they met with local partners, to discuss future projects and activities of the Center. In a meeting with the Governor of Sistan and Baluchestan Province, the SAF team firmed up an agreement for the ICT Center to develop the website for the Province and also discussed future plans to set up a SchoolNet project in Zahedan. During this trip, Professor Abbas Edalat, SAF's founder, gave a speech where he outlined the importance of IT for youth empowerment and economic development of the province. Sistan and Baluchestan ranks last among Iran's 28 provinces on many development indicators including economic development. The team, while in Zahedan, also visited several schools, Payam-e Noor University, and an Afghani refugee camp. Photos here.
 
The month of April provided a good opportunity for SAF to showcase some of its work in schools in southern Tehran. SAF supporters and potential donors visited several schools, including: Zeynab and AlZahra Girls' High Schools, Gol-e Yas Girls' Technical School, Hedayat, Shahid Beheshti and Roshd Boys' High Schools, and Rasool-e Akram an informal Afghani School for refugee children, where they had the opportunity to become familiar with the work of SAF and see firsthand the impact of this very important work on youth. In their visit to Gol-e Yas Girls' Technical School, visitors were surprised by the fact that SAF was providing students at this school with the opportunity for hands-on-training in hardware assembly. These trainings are a great opportunity for students to learn about hardware and the computer, and they work to demystify computers, so that students can approach them with greater competence and confidence. "SAF hardware trainings have provided me with the only opportunity to see and work with computer hardware up close, something which is not even available to university students studying computers. These opportunities are absolutely essential," said Zahra Mojaradzand, AlZahra Girls' High School graduate, who, after having graduated from AlZahra, now works with SAF as a volunteer trainer and who is currently enrolled at Tehran University as a Computer Science Major. Photos here.
 
SAF PREPARES TO PARTICIPATE IN THE 9th ANNUAL iEARN CONERENCE, JULY 2002, MOSCOW, RUSSIA: SAF will be supporting the participation of over 80 Iranian teachers, school principles, educators and SAF activists at the 9th iEARN Conference www.iearn.org scheduled to take place in July 2002 in Moscow, Russia. In preparation for this historic event, where Iranian educators will be able to meet with their peers from all over the world, SAF hosted a meeting for participants where Dr. Tabesh and Professor Edalat stressed the importance of this opportunity and the importance of utilizing the iEARN platform to improve the quality of education for Iranian youth. During this meeting, the participants were divided into 9 working teams where team members will be able to collaborate on presentations and other activities with respect to their participation at the iEARN conference. Many of those participating in this conference will be traveling outside of Iran for the very first time. SAF is pleased to be able to provide an opportunity for Iranian educators to share some of their successful experiences in Iran with their peers around the world and to learn from the successful experience of others through this very important initiative. Photos here.
 
To stay up-to-date on the projects developed by Iranian participants, in preparation for iEARN, check the Good Hopes Site at: www.goodhopes.org
 
SCHOOL AVENUE NEWS: MULTIMEDIA TECHNOLOGY HELPS STUDENTS LEARN: Students and teachers at AlZahra Girls' High School are using Multimedia technology in their biology classes in order to make the learning and teaching process more enjoyable, interactive and effective. The use of Multimedia CDs is an effective strategy for teaching as it provides both teachers and students with an interactive and creative environment. Photos here.
 
SAF HOLDS TRAINING FOR GUILAN SCHOOLNET PROJECT: SAF held an intensive training course for teachers and administrators working with SAF through the Guilan SchoolNet Project in March 2002. The training, conducted by SAF master trainer, Mr. Akbar Zahiri, included the following: Windows 98, Internet and E-mail, Web Design, using FrontPage XP, Word XP, Networking and Wingate installation and Computer hardware. Photos here.
 
FARSIWEB PROJECT NEWS: A representative from the FarsiWeb Project Group, Mr. Roozbeh Pournader, attended the Arabic Internet Names Consortium (AINC) meeting in Tunis, Tunisia, April 15-17, 2002. Other countries represented at this important meeting included: Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Libya, Morocco, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, and Yemen. Also, the Arab League, ICANN, ISOC, IBM, and Intel were present at the meeting.
 
The FarsiWeb Project Group, a project of the Science and Arts Foundation, presented a paper titled, "Major Technical Problems In Implementing Arabic Script Internet Names", which discussed localization of domain names, used mostly in web and email addresses, to the Perso-Arabic script. During the meeting AINC agreed to change the ABLINC committee name to Arabic Script Based Languages (ABSL) committee and those present unanimously elected Mr. Roozbeh Pournader as the committee chair. Mr. Pournader has agreed to take the position and work as the AINC liaison with other Arabic script based languages such as Urdu and Persian. Information about AINC can be found at: http://www.arabicdomainname.org/
 
FarsiWeb's presentation (in zipped PowerPoint format) can be found at: http://www.farsiweb.info/ainc/
 
IRAN TEAMS EXCELL IN ROBOCUP SIMULATION EVENT IN GERMANY: Isfahan University of Technology (IUT) competed in the small-sized RoboCup competitions held in Germany, April 2002. In all, four teams from Iran participated in the competitions. IUT ranked third in the league and received a Bronze Medal. Also Persepolis from Khavaran Co. and UTUD from Tehran University ranked third and fourth respectively. For more information on this event, take a look at: http://www.robocup-german-open.de
 
SAF is providing support to Iranian teams participating in the RoboCup competitions scheduled for June 2002, in Japan.
 
April 2002
 
SAF HOSTS THE 4TH SCHOOLNET CONFERENCE: The 4th SchoolNet Conference was held on February 28, 2002 at the Baharan Cultural Center. Approximately, 460 students, teachers, school administrators and officials and SAF supporters attended this successful event. Present at the event were participants from Tehran, Guilan, Mazandaran, and Sistan and Baluchestan Provinces. The conference provided a valuable opportunity for those involved with SAF supported schools to meet one another, network, and listen to presentations relevant to technology and education. There was also a presentation provided by Mr. Reza Mahjourian on how schools can join the iEARN (www.iearn.org) network and participate in the Good Hopes project (www.goodhopes.org).
 
SchoolNet contest winners were also provided prizes for their achievements in the following categories:

The conference also hosted a roundtable where participants were offered the opportunity to ask questions from the SAF Team. The Conference also provided an opportunity for students to display their computer, software and other science projects. The Conference was organized in partnership with Hedayat Boys High School and Alzahra Girls High School in District 17 of Tehran. Take a look at conference's pictures at: Photos here.

UNESCO REPRESENTATIVE VISITS SAF PROJECTS IN IRAN: Dr. Radoykov from UNESCO conducted a visit of SAF projects in Iran. During this visit, he met with the SAF team, discussed SchoolNet's current and future activities and visited several schools, including Hedayat and Shahid Beheshti Boys High Schools and Zeynab Girls High Schools in South Tehran as well as Besat Girls High School and Dr. Hesabi Boys High School in Varamin. During these visits, Dr. Radaykov met with students, teachers and school administrators and had the opportunity to see first hand the impact that SAF is having on the educational system in Iran. UNESCO has provided support to SAF for its projects in Varamin. Photos here.
 
Find out more information on UNESCO's INFOYOUTH Program, including its support for youth in Iran, at: http://www.unesco.org/webworld/news/2001/011206_infoyouth.shtml
 
OFFICIALS FROM THE MINISTRY OF EDUCATION VISIT SAF: The SAF team hosted a visit by Mr. Alaghemandan, Deputy Minister for Research and Programming, Ministry of Education; Mr. Zoghipoor, Technical Manager of The Roshd Network; and Mr. Hajfroosh, Director of Research Department of The Ministry of Education, on February 20, 2002. The Ministry of Education is planning to expand the scope of its Roshd intranet program, making it available to a broader group of students and schools. This was a good opportunity for the SAF team to talk about SAF's experiences and the impact of its programs on schools, students and teachers and to advocate for a policy that would make the Internet available on a broad scale to Iranian youth within schools. The SAF team also discussed with the officials at the Ministry of Education the importance of expanding the current curricula within schools to include courses on computers and Internet. The SAF model provides a good model for replication on the national level and SAF has offered to provide technical assistance or other forms of cooperation with the Ministry of Education in any plans to set up IT Centers in Iranian schools across the country. Photos here.
 
SCHOOL AVENUE NEWS: HEDAYAT BOYS HIGH SCHOOL HOSTS TRAINING FOR DISTRICT 17 TEACHERS: Graduates and teachers at Hedayat Boys High School conducted a training course for District 17 computer teachers during the second week of March 2002. The participants, who are all computer teachers, were chosen on a competitive basis from among an array of applicants from District 17. Participants received a certificate from the Ministry of Education, District 17, for successfully completing the 60-hour training for Site Administrators.
 
The participants of the training will host additional trainings on their own for other teachers and students in District 17. This training builds on SAF's cooperation with District 17, where schools in the district will be connecting to the Internet through Hedayat Boys High School, which will be serving as a local node for District 17 schools. Photos here.
 
SAF NORUZ EVENT: In conjunction with the International Children's Book Foundation (ICBF) and the Children's Book Council of Iran, SAF USA hosted a Noruz celebration on March 2, 2002. A year of preparation and hard work by individuals and volunteer teams made this event a night to remember. The gala dinner and fundraising event, which was attended by some 600 friends and supporters, took place at the Los Angeles Hilton. The proceeds will be used to support a number of SAF USA projects, namely participation of Iranian teams in Robocup 2002, Japan June), software development for the online Encyclopedia for Young People, and participation of Iranian teachers in the next iEARN conference and workshop in Moscow (July).
 
The event's Master of Ceremonies was Ms. Shahrzad Ardalan. Presentations were given from the two respective organizations, SAF and ICBF, by Abbas Edalat and Sogol Mafi. Among the most important outcomes of this event was the confirmation of a strategic partnership between SAF and ICBF for future activities.
 
SAF SUPPORT FOR THE ENCYCLOPEDIA FOR YOUNG PEOPLE: The Encyclopedia for Young People (EYP) started as a response to the great need of Iranian youth for reliable source of information. Widely renowned as the first modern encyclopedia for children in Persian, EYP will be the leading source of accurate, accessible, and fun-to-read information for use in homes and libraries. Seven volumes of the 22 projected volumes have been published so far. Iran is only one of seven countries worldwide to have initiated such a project for children. SAF has supported this effort in the past by providing Internet connectivity to the Children's Book Council (CBC) of Iran, and will continue its support by a concerted effort to develop an online version of the EYP in conjunction with CBC Iran. To learn more about this effort visit the CBC homepage at http://schoolnet.ir/~cbc/
 
NATIONAL STANDARDS: The FarsiWeb Project Group has attended the first session of National Iranian Standards Committee, discussing their proposed draft of "Information Technology -- Persian Information Interchange and Display, Based on Unicode". The discussions will continue on the next session, to be held after Noruz, when it will become the first Iranian Information Technology standard published in the new Iranian year 1381.
 
The Group has also started efforts on proposing drafts for a revised version of the national standard for Persian keyboard layout, and a new standard for ordering Persian strings.
 
The latest information about FarsiWeb's activities on Iranian national standards can be found at: http://www.farsiweb.info/standard/
 
March 2002

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SAF: SAF was established three years ago on March 1, 1999 in the UK. Since then, corresponding chapters in the US, Canada, Iran, Sweden, France, and the Netherlands have been established. In just three short years, SAF has been successful in providing support to 5 Universities which serve as School Information Centers; 81 schools; 20 cultural institutions; and one IT Center, in ten provinces, including Tehran, Esfahan, Guilan, Mazandaran, Qom, Yazd, Lorestan, E. Azerbaijan, Khuzistan and Sistan and Baluchistan. Over $1,000,000 has been raised, and over 1,000 Internet-ready PCs have been installed.

Upcoming projects are planned for Kerman and Qazvin and plans are underway for the expansion of current projects in Yazd and Tehran. Take a look at the updated Schoolnet site at for more up-to-date information on our projects in Iran. Also take a look at the Schoolnet statistics, which show an increase in daily visits to our site from 182 to 915 and an increase in daily page views of our site from 1,864 to over 7,600 as compared with same time last year.

While SAF's first campaign has been mostly focused on Iran, SAF has also provided four schools in Armenia with computers and Internet access. The success of SAF's efforts in Iran has paved the way for broader expansion internationally. In fact, SAF has been asked to conduct similar projects in Azerbaijan, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Somalia, Syria and other countries in the region.

SAF owes its success to the many generous supporters who have believed in the value of SAF's work and its mission and have provided the critical support necessary to make the SAF vision a reality. Also, SAF relies on a team of professionals and volunteers around the world, without whose support none of this success would be possible.

February 2002

ZAHEDAN INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY CENTER ONLINE: A team from SAF traveled to Zahedan in early February for an intensive 5-day IT training class that targeted local resource persons who will work with the city's IT Center as trainers and volunteers. The training included both introductory and advanced instruction in Windows, Office suites, Internet and email, and was led by Mr. Akbar Zahiri. Students provided feedback on the content and structure of the course, and the teaching style, as well as invaluable input into the management and operation of the Center. Some 24 volunteers were trained as resource persons, the majority of whom were youths under the age of 25, with over 75% being women.

The Zahedan IT Center was inaugurated on the 10th of February 2002. Present at the inaugural festivities were prominent community members, representing both the Baluchi and Sistani populations. Also, in attendance were other major stakeholders representing both government and non-governmental organizations, including the Governor of Sistan and Baluchistan Province, the Mayor of the city of Zahedan, the Mayor of District 1 where the Center is located, the Advisor to the Governor on Women and Youth Affairs, as well as representatives from other key government agencies, who pledged to support this innovative initiative. Many local youths also participated in the event, including the resource persons who received training by the SAF team. Photos here.

The Zahedan IT Center will serve as a demonstration project for taking information and communication technologies to remote and underdeveloped areas of Iran. The Center will be providing intensive IT training, especially targeting youth and women, but also NGOs, teachers, government officials, city council members, and the business sector. The SAF team and staff at the Center, in partnership with the technical team at the Computing Center at Sharif University of Technology, will develop content for an e-learning program in IT and multimedia training CDs. The project will also promote IT focused micro-enterprise and employment generating activities among women and youth, by establishing an e-shop to sell local women's handicrafts internationally and by building upon existing resources at the local, national and international levels.

GUILAN SCHOOLNET PROJECT ASSESSMENT: SAF team member, Reza Mahjurian and a generous SAF benefactor traveled to Guilan on February 4-5, 2002 to conduct an assessment of the Schoolnet project in this province. A detailed plan of support for Guilan's Schoolnet project was also developed during this visit.

During the visit, the SAF team met with Dr. Davoud Ahmadi, Chancellor of Guilan University, and Mr. Asadi, the newly appointed Head of Guilan's Department of Education. To address the need for sustained technical support and training for schools in Guilan's Schoolnet program, Dr. Ahmadi has contracted the services of the technical team at Jahad Daneshgahi.

During their trip, the SAF team visited 11 schools out of the 12 SAF supported schools in Guilan. Books, office applications and posters were also distributed to the schools by the SAF team.

SAF SUPPORT OF AFGHAN SCHOOL IN SOUTHERN TEHRAN: SAF provided 4,450 textbooks to students at Rasoul-e Akram School, an informal Afghan School with nearly 800 undocumented Afghan students, in Afsarieh, south of Tehran.

There are nearly 180 informal Afghan schools in Tehran alone, which provide education to approximately 70,000 children out of approximately 190,000 refugee students who are ineligible for state provided education. This is a most remarkable effort on the part of the Afghan community members in Iran who have taken it upon themselves to invest in the culture and education of their children. Similar schools have been set up in Mashad, Tabriz, Esfahan, Zahedan and other areas of Iran, which are host to the Afghan refugee populations.

Rasoul-e Akram recruits Afghan teachers who have either been educators in Afghanistan before immigrating to Iran or teachers who have completed their high school or college education in Iran. The curriculum in this school is similar to those at Iranian schools, but in addition includes courses on the history and geography of Afghanistan. This school is a member of the Coordinating Council of Volunteer Afghan Schools, which boasts 30 member schools in the greater Tehran area. This voluntary Council acts as a policy making and networking body, where members come together to share resources and discuss issues relevant to the education of their children. Photos here.

SIMAB SYSTEMS - SAF SUPPORTED STARTUP: Many of the students and graduates of SAF supported schools have used their newly acquired skills to seek employment or to begin small businesses in IT themselves. An example is alumni of Hedayat Boys High School. A team of Hedayat graduates, Mehdi Emdadi, Mehdi Abdolian, Mohammad Mohammadnia, Mostafa Sefidgar, and Vali Teymouri, have been developing user-friendly training CDs for use by Schoolnet members. While they have made their CDs available to schools free of charge in the past, they have now established Simab Systems, and are embarking on a project that would allow them to develop multimedia training CDs for sale to the general public. To find out more about these talented individuals visit their homepages. To find out more about Simab Systems and how you can support their efforts, contact moh_hed@yahoo.com or abdolian@yahoo.com.

RONAGHI FOUNDATION'S ANNUAL BEST BUSINESS PLAN AWARDS: The first Ronaghi Foundation Awards Ceremony honoring innovative business plans was held in partnership with the Science and Arts Foundation, Sharif University of Technology and Tehran University on February 12, 2002 at Sharif University of Technology in Tehran. As part of the Foundation's Annual Best Business Plan Awards, three winners were selected from among thirteen contestants. The awards went to:

This annual award aims to promote education in IT and innovation in the high-tech industry. It especially seeks to encourage Iranians in Iran and abroad to make a business case for their innovative ideas, with plans for implementation in Iran. Photos here.

SAF WELCOMES NEW MEMBERS: SAF would like to welcome Mr. Ata Tarki to the family of SAF volunteers around the world. Mr. Tarki, along with Mr. Rahim Shaker and Mr. Siamak Alian, members of SAF Sweden, are working on a plan to actively involve Swedish companies and Iranian residents of Sweden in supporting SAF and its activities.

Also SAF would like to welcome to its team in Iran, Mr. Alireza Saberi, Mr. Payman Shiranzehi, and Ms. Mahboobeh Hassanzadeh. These individuals will be serving as IT Manager, Administrative Manager and Administrative Assistant respectively, to ensure the success of the Zahedan IT Center.

January 2002

SHELL DEVELOPMENT IRAN B.V. SUPPORT OF AHVAZ SCHOOLNET: Thanks to the generous support provided by Shell Development Iran B.V., SAF, in partnership with Sharif University of Technology and Shahid Chamran University in Ahvaz, will be establishing the Ahvaz Schoolnet Project. Shahid Chamran University in Ahvaz will serve as the School Information Center for Ahvaz's Schoolnet Project. In line with SAF policies, and through the support of this project, Shahid Chamran University will be provided with equipment to ensure that it is able to adequately meet the needs of Schoolnet schools in Ahvaz. Photos here.

In response to this development, SAF members traveled to Ahvaz, where they visited with their partners at Shahid Chamran University. Model state schools selected for this project were visited by the SAF team. These schools include: two girls, Farzanegan and Hejab, and three boys, Dr. Hesabi, Shohada, and Shahid Beheshti, high schools. Photos here.

The team at SAF would like to extend a special thanks to the team at Shell and especially to Mr. Robert Weener, Chief Executive of Shell Development Iran B.V., for their support of our very innovative efforts to provide Internet and computer training to school children across Iran. SAF looks forward to a successful and long partnership with Shell in empowering the youth of Iran.

SAF PROVIDES COMPUTER SITE AT VAZIRI LIBRARY IN YAZD: SAF is pleased to announce that it has provided six modern computers, a printer, a scanner, network equipment and Internet connectivity to the Vaziri library in Yazd. This library is well known for providing a quite haven for young students and in fostering a spirit of commitment to higher learning and achievement among youth in Yazd. While visiting Yazd for the inauguration of the Computer site at Vaziri library, SAF team members also had the opportunity to meet with a group of philanthropists, who committed to raising the necessary funds at the local level to establish a Schoolnet program in Yazd. SAF would like to welcome the Vaziri library and the city of Yazd to its network of educational institutions at Schoolnet. Photos here.

CONNECTIVITY OF THE OFFICE OF WOMEN'S AFFAIRS AT THE MINISTRY OF EDUCATION: SAF Iran has provided the Office of Women's Affairs at the Ministry of Education with Internet access. This effort is in line with SAF's commitment to support educational opportunities and enhance the quality of education for women and girls. Internet access will empower the Office of Women's Affairs to conduct a higher quality of research and access a host of useful information readily available on the Internet.

SAF welcomes the Office of Women's Affairs at the Ministry of Education to its network of educational institutions at Schoolnet.

SAF TRAINING WORKSHOP: As many of you have read in previous issues of the SAF Newsletter, SAF has acted as a catalyst and has provided a model for replication in district 17 of Tehran, where the local Ministry of Education has provided computers to all schools in the district. These schools will be accessing the Internet through Hedayat high school, which is supported by SAF. Hedayat will serve as an Internet node for the rest of the schools in the district. In line with our commitment to ensure that Iranian youth have access to the Internet and are well trained in use of IT, Mr. Zahiri, a SAF team member, conducted a training workshop for computer teachers and administrators in district 17. Photos here.

FINAL DRAFT FOR THE IRANIAN STANDARD FOR USING UNICODE: The Farsiweb Project Team has announced the availability of the final draft for the Iranian standard "Information Technology - Persian Information Interchange and Display, Based on Unicode." This project has been supported by the High Council of Informatics of Iran, the Science and Arts Foundation and Sharif University of Technology.

Further information and the text of the draft is available here.

FOURTH SCHOOLNET CONFERENCE IN DISTRICT 17 OF TEHRAN: SAF will host the Fourth Schoolnet Conference in Tehran's 17th District on February 28, 2002. Hedayat and Alzahra high schools -both supported by SAF and located in the 17th District of Tehran - are working in partnership with SAF's School Information Center at Sharif University of Technology to organize the event. Special training workshops for teachers and administrators will follow the conference. For more information on the event please follow this link.

SAF USA NOROOZ FUNDRAISING GALA: In conjunction with International Children's Book Council and the Children's Book Council of Iran, SAF USA will be hosting a Norooz celebration on March 2, 2002 at 6:00 pm. The event will take place at the Los Angeles Hilton and the proceeds of the fundraising will go to charity causes for Iranian youth. The event's Master of Ceremonies will be Shahrzad Ardalan and the guests of honor are Professor Abbas Edalat and Ms. Sogol Mafi. The event will also include:

We ask you to support our efforts to improve the quality of education for Iranian youth by attending this event and particularly by purchasing a table in the name of your company, family or along with friends. Tickets for the event cost $100 and the cost of purchasing a table is $1,000. For more information or to purchase tickets, please email us or call (404) 308-2000.

COMPUTER COLLECTION DRIVE FOR YOUTH IN THE US: SAF is embarking on a program in cooperation with a number of agencies to provide educational support for disadvantaged children in the US, especially those from ethnic minorities. Under the auspices of this program, SAF USA will be collecting personal computers and laptops to donate to children who exhibit potential and interest. Training in the use of computers and software will also be provided. We are asking you and your friends to provide support to this innovative program, by donating your used computers and laptops. The computers have to be in working condition, Pentium 133 or above, and running Windows 98 at a minimum. Please send all computers to:

Science and Arts Foundation
PMB 201, Suite A
4780 Ashford Dunwoody Road
Atlanta, GA 30338-5505 USA

For further information, please email us.

NEW SAF VOLUNTEER: SAF would like to welcome Mr. Naghashzadeh to the family of SAF volunteers and staff in Iran and around the world. Mr. Naghashzadeh is a young man with extensive talents in IT, and we are pleased to announce that he has graciously volunteered to serve as SAF's administrator in Yazd. In this role, Mr. Naghashzadeh will be providing a series of training courses in IT for members at the newly connected Vaziri library.

NEWS ARCHIVE: 2002, 1999/2000, 2001, 2003