Iran's Blogosphere and Grassroots Voices: Risks and Rewards of Engagement
Broadcasting Board of Governors and the GWU Institute for Public Diplomacy and Global Communications
Monday, April 12, 2010
9:00 am - 12:30 pm
http://www.bbg.gov/pressroom/pressreleases-article.cfm?articleID=460
The conference will examine the powerful effect of new media and social networks in today's Iran. It will also explore what opportunities may exist, even in the face of growing political tensions, for citizen diplomacy and people-to-people connections to grow and develop.
Speakers include:
- Frank Sesno, Director, School of Media and Public Affairs, GWU
- D. Jeffrey Hirschberg, Governor, Broadcasting Board of Governors
- Dr. Azar Nafisi, Author of Reading Lolita in Tehran: A Memoir in Books and Things I Have Been Silent About; Executive Director of Cultural Conversations, School for Advanced International Studies, Johns Hopkins University
Moderators:
- Ivan Sigal, Executive Director, Global Voices
- Sean Aday, Director, IPDGC, GWU
- Golnaz Esfandiari, Senior Correspondent, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
Panelists: The New Media Landscape in Iran
- Mohamed Abdel Dayem, Middle East and North Africa Program Coordinator, Committee to Protect Journalists
- Hida Fouladvand, Executive Editor,VOA Persian News Network
- Nikahang Kowsar, Cartoonist, Journalist and Blogger
Panelists: Prospects for a Grassroots Dialogue
- Geneive Abdo, Fellow, Iran Analyst, The Century Foundation
- Sonya Reines-Djivanides, Director, Track II Mediation Unit, Search for Common Ground
- Mohammad Tabaar, Adjunct Professor, GWU