Organization Profile: Iran Heritage Foundation's Message of Awareness
It is no secret that Persian culture and history are incredibly vibrant and diverse, spanning a wide array of peoples, nations, and societies. It is natural, then, that there be a demand for an organization to properly publicize and promote awareness of an often underrepresented group such as the Persian diaspora. Iran Heritage Foundation, founded in 1995 in the U.K., does just that.
The Iran Heritage Foundation brings to the table a refreshing objectivity on a level never seen before, featuring everything from ancient Achaemenid art to the urban fashion trends of modern-day Iran. Scholars with differing viewpoints are given the opportunity to voice their thoughts, providing an academic perspective for all audiences. In a telling example of the power of volunteerism, this complex infrastructure has been built with one paid full-time staff, and a volunteer network of more than 100 persons, spanning five continents.
Through such an extensive network, IHF has managed to build strong relationships with world-renowned universities, cultural institutions and museums such as the British Museum and the Freer and Sackler Galleries of the Smithsonian. Through such partnerships, IHF has been able to intimately engage the public community in arenas such as saving the instruction of the Persian language from being eliminated in British schools, introducing chairs of Iranian studies to universities, and organising over 40 major conferences on various facets of Iranian history and culture, both modern and ancient. Its cultural programs extend beyond the U.K., supporting projects in Armenia, Austria, Canada, Estonia, France, Georgia, Germany, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, the U.S, and Iran.
Most recently, IHF worked together with the British Museum on the most elaborate and important exhibition of Achaemenid Persia ever organized, aptly named ‘Forgotten Empire: The World of Ancient Persia’. Three years in the making, it was the British Museum's most attended exhibition since the historical King Tutankhamen exhibit in 1977. Major loans were made by the National Museum of Iran and the Louvre, marking the first time that many of the objects were seen outside of Iran. It was also the first time many of the precious gold and silver items had ever been displayed. In addition to the original material, stunning casts of the stone reliefs at Persepolis were shown.
The exhibition proved to be an excellent opportunity to bring thousands of teenage school children to the British Museum and expose them to an aspect of Persian history which was unknown to most of them. The many supplementary programs organised in conjunction with the exhibition included a major academic conference on Achaemenid Persia and its contacts with the Greek and Jewish world. With an attendance of close to 300 scholars, the conference proved to be ideal forum for creating a better understanding of ancient Persia and its contribution to world civilization.
The exceptional press coverage meant that the impact of the exhibition and related programs was very substantial. With such amazing success in just over a decade, the Persian community can hardly contain its excitement as to what IHF will unveil to the world next.