These are just a small sampling of the unreal time that was Friday night.
Showing posts with label Nowruz. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Nowruz. Show all posts
Sunday, April 4, 2010
Photos from Nowruz
I want to first and foremost thank my classmate Sahar for giving me permission to use some of her photos from Nowruz. These are hers and she very graciously let me use them, knowing that they were relevant to my blog--so thank you, Sahar-jan!
These are just a small sampling of the unreal time that was Friday night.
These are just a small sampling of the unreal time that was Friday night.
ISF's Nowruz 1389 Celebration
Hello again.
Our most recent class assignment requires that we being to incorporate relevant multimedia into our blogs. Over the last few weeks I have tried my best to involve content beyond just plain text--most specifically found in my "one thousand word" posts and links. It's time to take it to the next level. As basic and essential as text is to a quality blog or publication, the most advanced news sources have begun to include audio and video into their output. While many go as far as to include viewer-produced content others like the NY Times will not put articles online without some sort of interactive video or chart to supplement the article. Maybe taking it a step further CNN has a segment called iReports which is composed of viewer generated material. My point is that multimedia is the new media; instead of just getting an article they give you that and then some. It's awesome.
For my topic, Iran and Tech, its a little tougher than I'd like to generate original content from Iran. So with Prof. Yaros's permission I will begin posting some content regarding Iran that occur on campus. Hopefully in the near future it will be easier to go to Iran and post and publish the facts without fear of being arrested--but until then I'll be covering whats going on here at Maryland. The first of such goings-on is from this past Friday.
On Friday night the Iranian Student's Foundation (ISF) hosted its annual Nowruz celebration. It was a great time to say the least. They hosted over 250 guests from around the Washington DC Metro area as well as students--both heritage and non. As in years past, this years event was held in the Grand Ballroom at Stamp and was decked out with lights, dance stage, and ridiculous food spread. Below are some videos of the awesome time it was. I apologize ahead of time for the poor sound quality--between the DJ's really loud speakers and my crappy phone it wasn't easy. But nonetheless here is the first series of multimedia on Iran and Iranians at the University of Maryland. If nothing more this should serve as a glimpse in to life at Maryland and its incredibly vibrant and awesome Iranian community.
Enjoy!
Our most recent class assignment requires that we being to incorporate relevant multimedia into our blogs. Over the last few weeks I have tried my best to involve content beyond just plain text--most specifically found in my "one thousand word" posts and links. It's time to take it to the next level. As basic and essential as text is to a quality blog or publication, the most advanced news sources have begun to include audio and video into their output. While many go as far as to include viewer-produced content others like the NY Times will not put articles online without some sort of interactive video or chart to supplement the article. Maybe taking it a step further CNN has a segment called iReports which is composed of viewer generated material. My point is that multimedia is the new media; instead of just getting an article they give you that and then some. It's awesome.
For my topic, Iran and Tech, its a little tougher than I'd like to generate original content from Iran. So with Prof. Yaros's permission I will begin posting some content regarding Iran that occur on campus. Hopefully in the near future it will be easier to go to Iran and post and publish the facts without fear of being arrested--but until then I'll be covering whats going on here at Maryland. The first of such goings-on is from this past Friday.
On Friday night the Iranian Student's Foundation (ISF) hosted its annual Nowruz celebration. It was a great time to say the least. They hosted over 250 guests from around the Washington DC Metro area as well as students--both heritage and non. As in years past, this years event was held in the Grand Ballroom at Stamp and was decked out with lights, dance stage, and ridiculous food spread. Below are some videos of the awesome time it was. I apologize ahead of time for the poor sound quality--between the DJ's really loud speakers and my crappy phone it wasn't easy. But nonetheless here is the first series of multimedia on Iran and Iranians at the University of Maryland. If nothing more this should serve as a glimpse in to life at Maryland and its incredibly vibrant and awesome Iranian community.
Enjoy!
Thursday, March 25, 2010
A Happy YouTube Nowruz
A few days ago Iranians all over the world celebrated the Persian New Year, Nowruz. Nowruz literally means "new day" ("now"=new "ruz"=day) and is the first day of the spring season and emphasizes new beginnings and hopes for good days ahead. Many Iranians celebrate the holiday by gathering with family and friends and eating really, really good food.
In the hopes of creating a dialogue with the government of Iran and goodwill with her people, President Obama posted online an unprecedented New Year's video message. Never before had any US official--let alone president--offered such greetings to the Islamic Republic since 1979. He offered an open hand and dialogue to the Iranian regime and expressed hopes for a bright and open future between the two nations.
This year President Obama has sent another Nowruz message to the leaders and people of Iran. Again, the president expressed his hope for cultural exchange and understanding, hoping to somehow find common ground on the big issues--Iran's nuclear program and human rights violations. Obama also emphasized his desire to provide all Iranians opportunity to open access to information and internet. Unfortunately, in his own Nowruz message Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei rebuffed Obama's offer, continuing the trend of ignoring pretty much anything anyone from the West has to offer. It is terribly unfortunate that Iran's government chooses to further isolate itself from the rest of the world, on top of brutally oppressing Iranian citizens.
The internet has proven a valuable tool for the Obama administration in its efforts to reconstruct the US's reputation around the world, especially with regard to its Iran policy.. The president ran his campaign knowing full well the powers of the internet--it is not a mistake: he recognizes that it is a growing force--one key to the spread of democracy and free society.
In the hopes of creating a dialogue with the government of Iran and goodwill with her people, President Obama posted online an unprecedented New Year's video message. Never before had any US official--let alone president--offered such greetings to the Islamic Republic since 1979. He offered an open hand and dialogue to the Iranian regime and expressed hopes for a bright and open future between the two nations.
This year President Obama has sent another Nowruz message to the leaders and people of Iran. Again, the president expressed his hope for cultural exchange and understanding, hoping to somehow find common ground on the big issues--Iran's nuclear program and human rights violations. Obama also emphasized his desire to provide all Iranians opportunity to open access to information and internet. Unfortunately, in his own Nowruz message Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei rebuffed Obama's offer, continuing the trend of ignoring pretty much anything anyone from the West has to offer. It is terribly unfortunate that Iran's government chooses to further isolate itself from the rest of the world, on top of brutally oppressing Iranian citizens.
The internet has proven a valuable tool for the Obama administration in its efforts to reconstruct the US's reputation around the world, especially with regard to its Iran policy.. The president ran his campaign knowing full well the powers of the internet--it is not a mistake: he recognizes that it is a growing force--one key to the spread of democracy and free society.
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