Farsi Zaban

Bio

Doostane Farsi Zabane Man, which translates from Farsi, the language spoken in Iran, to “My Persian-Speaking Friends,” is an Iranian-American pen pal program. Our guess is that most of what Americans hear or see about Iran in the news is negative, and it portrays a distorted view of the 72 million Iranian citizens to American citizens. Similarly, Iranians can get an erroneous impression of Americans. This program is focused on student pen pals because they may not have had the chance or influence to create their own opinions yet, giving us the opportunity to a new generation of more understanding and culturally informed adults. The main tweeters for @farsizaban are Amy K., who lives in the U.S., and Farzad V, who lives in Iran. Amy K. is a college student concentrating in Middle Eastern/Persian Studies. She is the founder and program director of My Persian-Speaking Friends. She can be reached at amy@mypersianspeakingfriends.org. Farzad V. is a chemical engineer in the oil and gas industry. He is the secretary on the Board of Directors and can be reached at FarzadV@mypersianspeakingfriends.org. The members of My Persian-Speaking Friends are interested in fundraising, building community, Iran, volunteerism, social media, nonprofits, social entrepreneurship, education, cultural understanding, the social sciences, marketing, and on and on. Visit our website at www.MyPersianSpeakingFriends.org or visit any number of our other social media channels (YouTube, flickr, Facebook, and WordPress).