A Theater in Tehran

My family was waiting for me at 7 pm in front of the City Theater Hall, in the center of Tehran. They had tickets for " Meeting with an elderly woman" . The play was written by Friedrich Durrenmatt a German playwriter and directed by Hamid Samandarian, a reknown Iranian director. Some Iranian celebrities like Gohar Kheirandish and Payam Dehkordi played major roles. Durrenmatt displayed his philosphical concern for the sale of human values like justice due to social pressures like poverty. The dramatic arts have always been favoured in Iran. More than 32 years ago , my late father used to take us to limited theater shows that were permitted during the Shah's regime. My father was an intellectual who enjoyed theater very much.
This year during the anniversary of the Islamic Revolution, we had like the years before, two major art festivals in Iran , the Fajr (Dawn) Film Festival and the Fajr Theater Festival . There was alot of competition and controversy about the film festival; apparently the authorities had excluded some of the better films from the competition. I did not find the opportunity to see the festival films but I have heard alot about them.
The screening of this play , the professional playwriting and directing and the excellent performance all confirms the saying that ;"The Arts are with the Iranians Only" . Indeed in many respects, poetry, music, architecture, carpetweaving,painting and the modern arts film-making and theater Iranians have created masterpieces. After the Islamic Revolution, there was a great transformation in the film industry. The quality and conceptual content of films changed so that instead of violence and sex the Iranian film industry took a new spiritual and human direction. Many Iranian films have been screened in international festivals and many have been awarded. I think that certain ethical limitations have encouraged filmakers to take a different direction from their rivals in other countries. Could we say censorship in one direction opens new vistas in other dimensions!
We enjoyed the theater very much. When coming out some people recognized me and came up to talk. Many people from the Iranian world of cinema were there. I wish I had more time to take part in these artistic events.

The Test of Democracy In Iran

Parliament elections will be under way in less than a month. Eventhough the Guardian Council claims it has approved many of the disqualified reformists, the spokesperson for the reformist coalition has indicated that they can compete in only 60 out of 290seats of the Parliament. This means that up to now the competition will be relatively unfair and unbalanced. There is still some hope that more reformist candidates will be approved.
True followers of Imam Khomeini are concerned.. They believe his version of an Islamic Republic is being seriously distorted by narrow-minded people who are very backward in their interpretations of Islam and the Revolution. Imam was very concerned about those who may use religion to promote their base and selfish interests. In his final will , Imam considers the danger of backwardness to be as devastating as the danger of imperialism and foreign hegemony. Unfortunately some of what is said and done today in the name of the Islamic Revolution is not in line with those principles. I hope some of the criticism that has surfaced in the media , and through the minority in the Parliament, is effective in changing this trend.
Ayatollah Tavasoli , a close companion of Imam Khomeini died today during a heart attack in a session of the Expediency Council. This news deeply saddened the friends of Imam and the reformists who knew the strong relationship he had maintained during all these years with Mr. Khatami.
Today what we need in Iran, more than anything else, is unity and close cooperation between factions within the country to ensure a healty and fair election process. We need to demonstrate the effectiveness of the democratic process in Iran, however difficult it may seem.

Deliberations in Delhi

Yesterday was a busy day by all means. The Delhi Sustainable Development Summit is a very eventful meeting; there are alot of interesting speeches, panels and debates. DSDS provides a forum for views from the developing world and allows for a discourse critical to the conventional to be presented and debated. Being situated in Delhi, the capital of a country- 25% of which is still grappling with abject poverty -, but which claims also to be the fourth economic power of the world, makes this event even more attractive. But it was attractive for other reasons as well.
This year Dr.Pachauri, the President of Teri and DSDS, had won the Nobel Prize, along with Al Gore, for his efforts in IPCC in giving a sound scientific vision for the world on global warming.
Delhi was cold ,not as cold as Tehran, but cold enough to make it difficult to sit in the Habitat Center courtyard during receptions and dinner meetings. The meetings and spicy Indian food was however hot and therefore helped us tolerate the cold weather.
I had a 15 minute Keynote speech yesterday. It was entitled: Climate Change a Mirror of Our Actions: The Inner Journey.
In my speech I mentioned the crucial stage we face on global warming and the fact that new reports all indicate that the pace of warming is quicker than what scientists initially thought. I spoke about the need to see why our words and the commitments of our global leaders have not been properly translated into action. I mentioned the inability of global leaders to make correct decisions. I spoke about the peace of mind and heart as a quality that leaders need before they could promote peace with nature and with other human beings. I explained that many philosophers and thinkers had spoken about this inner peace but I found the Four Journeys of Mulla Sadra to be the most apropriate for our cause . I discussed the four stages of the inner journey and with that note I brought my speech to a closing. Along with my talk I had a power point with pictures from Iran's spectacular nature scenes. Some of them were trully breath-taking.
Many people came to thank me after the speech, they had somehow liked it. Many asked for a electronic copy although some paper copies of the text was also available . I think it was interesting for them since it was different from the techno-economy flavor that most other speeches and debates had followed.
Later in the afternoon there was a roundtable on media with the UNFCCC executive director and Nik Gowing from BBC , I would like to reserve a separate post for that. I had meetings with, IPCC officials, TERI experts, Dr Klaus Toepfer the former UNEP Director, Mr Borge Brende who was a former Minister for Norway and some others who I met on the sidelines of the meetings.
Our embassy in Delhi had a ceremony on the occasion of the anniversary of the Islamic Revolution last night. I was invited by our Ambassador to speak for the Iranian employees and their families. I spoke about the DSDS and the importance of strong international diplomacy and commitment in the field of the environment and about our experiences and success stories in this regard. I also mentioned the importance of preserving the spirit and essence of the Islamic Revolution , now almost three decades later. Independence , freedom , Islamic Republic were the themes people called for. Each theme still holds its essential status. One cannot be sacrificed for the other. We cannot sacrifice freedom for independence or vice versa; nor can Islam be sacrificed for the Republic or vice versa. The religious democracy of Iran is a unique trial or comeback for religion into politics. We all hope it still works out as a viable example for all.

Ebtekar to Attend Delhi Sustainable Summit 2008

Ebtekar to attend "Delhi Sustainable Summit 2008" New Delhi, Feb 6, IRNA
I am now in Delhi for the Delhi Sustainable Summit 2008. I have been invited by Dr. Pachauri the winner of the Noble Peace Prize to deliver a keynote speech at this meeting. I will provide you with the news excerpts and hopefully I will give you my thoughts tommorow. This is an IRNA (Iranian Official News Agency) report:

India-Summit-Climate Change
Former Vice-president of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Massoumeh Ebtekar will attend the "Delhi Sustainable Summit (DSDS) 2008" which will begin on Thursday at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi.

Hosted by The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), DSDS will be the first major international meet on climate change after the UN summit in Bali, Indonesia, last December, to be inaugurated by Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh.

The main theme of the three day summit is sustainable development and climate change.

TERI is headed by R K Pachauri, who also chairs the Inter governmental Panel on Climate Change that came out with its seminal fourth assessment report last year and shared the Nobel Peace Prize with former US vice president Al Gore.

The President of Iceland Olafur Ragnar Grimsson, the President of Maldives Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, the Prime Minister of Denmark Anders Fogh Rasmussen, the Prime Minister of Norway, Jens Stolenberg and the Prime Minister of Finland Matti Vanhanen are likely to address the conference besides other speakers.

The leaders will discuss climate change in a situation where GHG emissions into the atmosphere are already affecting agricultural output, increasing frequency and damage caused by droughts, floods and storms and raising sea levels across the world.

The Dawn of A New Trial

The ten days leading to the dawn of the Islamic Revolution in Iran are commmemorated each year. The period begins with the return of Imam Khomeini to Iran after years of exile in Iraq and later in France. From the day he came back events gained momentum until ten days later the Shah's apparatus collapsed and the monarcy practically fell apart. The Revolution was not a violent or armed struggle, on the contrary ,it came naturally through the will power and resilience of the nation. The Iranians stood up united against oppression and tyranny. In millions, they marched and chanted slogans demonstrating the strength of the masses when they move united and faithful. I can never forget those majestic scenes of collective strength and heroic resistance.

They called for independence , freedom and an Islamic Republic. Their message was sometimes improperly conveyed and misunderstood by an outer world overshadowed by the cold war era. On the other side, an idealistic approach and biased support for the Revolution from within did not allow for an objective assessment of the events. As time passes, we can see things in a more realistic light today. Can we learn from the gains and the losses of this important trial of Islam and democracy ?

Twenty-nine years later Iran has passed the test of time, pressures and sanctions. It is today a major player in regional development , a reliable partner in trade and investment and a sucessful example for developing countries particularly on indicators of human development.

That, not implying that we do not face challenges and unfinished work ahead. In fact, in spite of the great strides, Iran still has a long way ahead. The experiment of creating a religious democracy is one of the kind. Today 29 years later, the aspirations of the people should not be overlooked nor should one objective overshadow the others. The slogan Freedom ,Independence and Islamic Republic cannot be minimalized today. Freedom cannot be sacrificed for independence, and vice versa. Also democracy and Islam are delicately interwined in a sophisticated political system. Today there is a concern that certain factons may see their success in the weakness of democracy and the democratic process in Iran. The reformist discourse is still at the core of the debate.

The Dawn has arrived but there is still a long tedious day ahead of us . There is no going back, we need to move ahead.

The untold story of water in Tehran

Water is the source of all life. The Environment Committee of the Tehran City Council visited one of Tehran's water purification facilities and laboratories probably the most advanced in our region. Dr. Abad, my colleague in the Council also accompanied us. She is a woman of character , affectionate and forward-looking in her ways. She has a history of 4 years imprisonment in the AbuGhurieb prison in Iraq, during the eight year war that Saddam waged against Iran. We sometimes talk together about her courageous resistance in very difficult and inhuman circumstances alongside other women who were also imprisoned in those days.The strength and courage that faith can give to us is sometimes unbelievable.
She recalls those difficult but heroic moments with pride and occaisionally expresses concern on whether we are on the correct path today .
Some members of the media also joined us in the visit.They were asked to report objectively and correctly inform the public, about the challenges we have ahead, if population increases and consumption patterns do not change. We were briefed on water resources, allocation of new resources for the increasing population, reservoirs, purification and chlorination methods. We also visited the very sophisticated and advanced laboratories for analysing biological,chemical and physical qualities of the water produced and released in the pipelines. We visited the incoming water chamber (coming from Karaj dam) , the accelerators where the coagulation and precipitation process is executed and the filtration halls, we also saw the control rooms and the telemetric regulation performed. I felt proud to see how our experts and managers work so hard to maintain a standard quality of water for 8.5 million inhabitants of Tehran . We discussed ways to enhance water quality and standards and quality control methods and parameters which are routinely checked . We reiterated our commitment in the Council to support and assist the Tehran water authorities in their tireless efforts to improve water quality, and correct unsustainable water consumption patterns. An enlightening visit; now we can confidently enjoy a glass of Tehran water directly from the tap !

Back and forth; between science and politics

Classes are finished by now at the University , students and faculty alike are preparing for exams. Those students working on their thesis now find their advisers more available. Tarbiat Modares is a graduate university created after the Islamic Revolution. We have only MS and PhD degree programs in a wide variety of fields. Both degree programs have a thesis which includes practical research on a basic or applied approach and seminars which are intended to upgrade the research and presentation skills of the students.
One of the Immunology Department students had decided to take his seminar with me , and we had several sessions together to define the subject and prepare an outline of the topic and how it is to be presented in oral and written forms. I usually let the students find the subject themselves, since I believe looking for questions and unresolved issues is part of the research and the same goes for their thesis. I do not agree with certain colleagues who provide students with ready-to go subjects.
Students know what specific field each faculty is involved in and prefers to work on. This student proposed to work on Th17 which is a newly debated pattern for inflammatory cytokine responses. I thought it was an interesting subject and on the frontiers of immunological research, but he took a daring decision as well . He told me that he wished to present both the oral and written form of the seminar in English. For a student studying in Iran, gaining a strong command of English, is a difficult process, since our existing educational systems do not provide strong English training, unless the student takes his own initiative in this regard. Mahmood presented his well prepared seminar in English and did a good job , although he still needs to work on his pronunciation, syntax and sentence structure but on the overall he took a daring decision and did well.
As a retreat from the hectic work in the City Council and Environment Committee, I enjoy my work at the University very much. I consider working with my students as a blessing from God since I feel it gives me energy to deal with some of the difficult challenges we face in life. We have challenges in politics, in implementation of our ideals and in our efforts to improve the quality of life for our citizens. It does seem difficult sometimes, moving back and forth from politics to academic work, but I have been on that double track for a long time now.
What bothers me is the discrepancies we see between what the politicians say and what they actually practice. The recent disqualification of a large number of reformist candidates for the upcoming parliamentary elections , is an indication that the legal procedures have become politicized . Independent press and media have all seriously objected to this process. The struggle is more than a tug of war between the rival political factions ie.; the reformists and the conservatives in power.
This debate is understood as a struggle to maintain the democratic quality of the Islamic Republic. This seems to be an indication that those in power are not ready to relinquish their grip on power through democratic means. I hope the reformists will succeed to correct this trend.