Apply today to join FOR’s 2010 - 2011 delegations to Iran

Following the success of the Fellowship of Reconciliation's first friendship and solidarity delegations to Iran in December 2005, May 2006, March 2007, and May 2007, FOR launched a second phase of our Iran initiative, which seeks policy and grassroots alternatives to the ongoing political tensions between the United States and Iranian governments.

Between 2007 and 2009, FOR sent several more peace missions to Iran to build people-to-people relationships between the peoples of the U.S. and of Iran, and to develop a community of grassroots civilian diplomats in North America. These delegations allowed a diverse group of Western peace activists to see firsthand the realities of life in today’s Iran, and also helped ordinary Iranians to encounter U.S. citizens beyond the stereotypes that define many views of the West. Reports from those delegations -- in December 2007 (#5), February-March 2008 (#6), April-May 2008 (#7, with support from the Lee & Gund Foundation), November-December 2008 (#8), and February-March 2009 (#9) -- are posted online at FORpeace.net.

In June 2009, FOR suspended our delegations due to the political and social violence that occured around the national elections. FOR has publicly expressed deep concerns regarding the violence precipitated by state and non-state actors since that time, sought to support nonviolent means of addressing the conflicts in the country, and worked toward reconciliation between different parties. In the spring of 2010, FOR determined to recommence delegations to Iran, at the invitation and request of Iran's Center for Interreligious Dialogue and partner groups in Iran and the United States.

Your participation will include experiencing the rich and ancient history of Persian culture and art, meeting with members of Iranian civil society, and learning about the current sociopolitical climate in Iran. And it will allow Iranians to get to know you. Very few U.S. citizens travel to Iran at this time. You have a unique opportunity to join this community of visitors.

The Fellowship of Reconciliation has a distinguished history of successful “behind the scenes” friendship and solidarity delegations to regions in political conflict. The organization coordinated multiple trips to the former U.S.S.R. during the Cold War and to Vietnam during the 1960s & '70s; Central America in the 1980s and Palestine/Israel during recent years; and it currently manages regular delegations to Colombia, the most militarized nation in Latin America.

The application process is competitive, and FOR can neither offer assurance that you will be accepted nor receive visa approval.

When:

FOR's grassroots civilian diplomacy delegations normally spend 12 days in Iran -- as part of the preparations for the trip, delegates may be required to attend a day-long orientation in New York before departure:

• August 20 - September 5, 2010 (apply by June 10, 2010): led by Lisa Ruffler (partner at the Elevation Talent Agency) and Rev. Osagyefo Uhuru Sekou (pastor of Lemuel Haynes United Church of Christ in Jamaica, Queens, NY, and national founder of Clergy & Laity Concerned about Iraq)
• November 5-20, 2010 (apply by August 1, 2010): led by Sister Ellen Francis Poisson (former long-time resident of Iran, and vicar of St. Augustine's Episcopal Church in Augusta, GA) and David Hartsough (executive director of Peaceworkers, and co-founder of the Nonviolent Peaceforce)
• February 15 - March 1, 2011 (apply by November 15, 2010): led by Rabbi Lynn Gottlieb (founding coordinator of the Shomer Shalom Network for Jewish Nonviolence) and Iris Bieri (former project coordinator of the Cost of War Project at the American Friends Service Committee)
• May 15-30, 2011 (apply by January 15, 2011): led by Rev. Sandra Mackie (convener of the Harrisburg Mid East Justice & Peace Group) and Judith Bello (writer, peace activist, and Buddhist practitioner)

Where:

Participants will visit Tehran (the contemporary capital), Qom (the world center of Shi’i theology), Esfehan (the legendary capital of medieval Persia), and Shiraz (the jewel of classical Islamic culture as well as the seat of Iran’s ancient pre-Islamic civilization). The delegations will begin and end in the New York City area.

Who:

We strongly urge all interested individuals, particularly those active in education or community work, to apply for this exceptional opportunity. FOR's objective is to send delegations that reflect all segments of the United States in all its ethnic, religious, and social diversity. This will not only ensure that delegates explore Iranian issues that are relevant to a broad spectrum of home audiences, but will also enable the delegations to portray themselves truthfully as representative of U.S. civil society.

How:

To participate, or for further information, contact FOR’s Iran program by e-mail at iran [at] forusa.org. You may download the application and e-mail it to us. Upon receipt of your application and its supporting documents, FOR will consider it within each selection process. Due to limited availability of seats for the trips, a higher demand for participation than available spaces, as well as organizational agreements with our sponsors, we are obliged to select only the most qualified candidates. Successful applicants will be contacted with further information about travel to Iran and the visa application process.

Cost:

The delegation cost is $4,000.00 plus airfare. This includes visa expenses, orientation costs, full room and board, domestic transportation in Iran, basic tips and gratuities, and an English-speaking tour guide. [FOR reserves the right to make adjustments based on unforeseen financial changes.]

Why:

As a pacifist-rooted organization committed to nonviolent social change, the Fellowship of Reconciliation is constantly working for global peace with justice, and for reconciliation. One way to accomplish this goal is by facilitating direct dialogue and promoting people-to-people diplomacy among citizens of countries whose governments are in conflict.

FOR's Iran program allows U.S. delegates and their Iranian hosts to learn firsthand about one another. It also offers all of us an opportunity to come up with ways to de-escalate larger-scale tensions. Participants reach out to fellow human beings from the "other side" and find techniques to build trust between their two nations. People of the United States and people of Iran are able to exchange ideas on the creation and maintenance of a democratic and independent society.

We seek for these continuing delegations to assist citizens of two countries to form a deeper understanding of the roots of their governments’ conflict. Ultimately, we hope they will generate new processes for ending animosity without resorting to violence.