Norooz-e 1381

Norouz 1381 is on Wednesday March 20, 2002 at 2:16 p.m. Washington time( 11:16 a.m. Californa ) . It also happens to be the Earth Day. United Nation in New York and Vienna will ring their peace bells at this precise moment. Earth Day 2002 Nature's day all over the world. Wednesday, March 20, 2002 Spring/Vernal Equinox: 2:16 PM EST One global common moment celebrating life with dedication of heart and mind to think and act as responsible Earth Trustees. We are one human family and have only one Earth. The Peace Bell at the United Nations in New York will ring at 2:16 p.m. EST - the beginning of Spring. At the same moment (8:16 p.m., March 20, in Austria) the Peace Bell at the United Nations in Vienna will ring.

Gala 2002 Encyclopedia Iranica

The annual gala benefit dinners organized by Friends of the Encyclop¾dia Iranica are becoming a feature of our fundraising activities. The recent series of such galas began in New York in 1991, followed by two more galas in 1992 & 1999 and a gala in Washington D.C. in 2001. All characterized by excellent programs, large attendance, and splendid results. The next gala benefit dinner will take place in Los Angeles at the Beverly Hills Hotel on March 9, 2002 and it promises to be one of the most successful cultural events ever held in U.S.A. The program is sponsored by a number of distinguished Iranian supporters of the Encyclop¾dia Iranica including Mr. Hamid Moghadam corporate award recipient of gala 2002, Mr. Khosrow Bayegan Semnani, Vice-Chairman of our Board of Trustees and Dr. Akbar Ghahary the Treasurer of our board of Trustees of the Encyclop¾dia Iranica Foundation.  The evening will honor a number of distinguished individuals from the Persian community and those who have rendered singular and outstanding services to the Iranian culture. The Executive Committee, consisting of Dr. Shirin Semnani (Chair), Mrs. Homa Sarshar (Vice Chair) and Mr. Shan Fazeli (Vice Chair), are working hard on the program. They invite participation from the United States as well as abroad to attend, to make donations, and to offer items of value for auction on the night of the gala. We would like to encourage all friends of the Encyclop¾dia Iranica to join us to celebrate & support this monumental project. Having a good time is guaranteed!

Great achievements of Sharif University graduates at
the Ph.D. qualifying exam of Stanford University:

1st Place: Abtin Keshavarzian
2nd Place: Mehdi Mohseni
7th Place: Hossein Kakavand
9th Place: Reza Navid

Only 40% of the students passed the exam, among them all the Iranian
students who had admission from Stanford.

Iranian-American a successful minority

"The Iranian-American community is composed of approximately one million
individuals. According to the 1990 census, 56% of Iranian-Americans hold
Bachelor degrees or above and more than 26% hold graduate degrees, making
them the highest educated minority group in the U.S. Iranian-Americans are
the founders of some 280 major national firms, and the CEO's of more than
400 national companies, many of them among the Fortune 1,000 companies. The
total contribution of our community to the U.S. economy is estimated at more
than $400 billion."

Dr. Manouchehr Shahgholi the Minister of Health of the previous regime died in New York from prostate cancer at the age of 75 this last January.

POETRY OF PERSIA

 On Wednesday, February 13th 2002, Discovering  Poetry of Persia an interesting event about Molavi and his poetry was held at the World Affair Council in San Francisco with Koorosh Angali, Artist and Musician, and Alan Kushan. This unique cultural program  introduced Molavi's  work, and was followed by a recitation of his poetry accompanied by traditional Persian music. The event was followed by a reception. 

Saturday, March 9th 2002 at 8 pm - Julia Morgan Center for the Arts -
Berkeley, California

LI€N ENSEMBLE
" MYSTICAL PERSIAN MUSIC with Poetry of RUMI"

LiŠn Ensemble <http://www.lianrecords.com/> is a group of classically
trained virtuoso performers and composers who perform Persian Sufi music
with a unique style that combines purity of form with creative
experimentation.

This exclusive concert includes guest artists Saeed Kamjoo on kamancheh,
Siamak Shajarian on vocals with guest percussionists Farhad Bayat and Mehdi
Mansouri. The core performers are Houman Pourmehdi on tonbak, daf, and
vocals; Pirayeh Pourafar on tar and setar and Mahshid Mirzadeh on santur.