This sections was founded in summer 1995 with the first large Tirgan celebration by VIAS. Tirgan is an ancient Iranian mid-summer festivity in honor of the god Tir – also the name of a summer month in the Iranian calendar (approx. mid June – mid July). Since 1995, we organize the ancient annual Iranian festivities of Yalda at the beginning of Winter, Tschahar-Schanbeh-Suri (celebration of fire) in spring and Tirgan (celebration of rain) around mid-summer. When ever possible, these events are ornamented with a brief reading or brief musical performance reflecting on the Iranian heritage.
Leitung: Iran Riahi
VIAS activities cover a range of different topics/areas which are divided into sections.
Each section is led by an expert. VIAS members are encouraged to contribute to these. In addition, workgroups can be formed for special events that do not easily fit into the predefined categories.
VIAS traditionally has a number of active sections covering the arts and humanities as well as cultural events, organizing exhibitions, recitals and bookreadings as well as entertainment and cultural events – forming a broad base for the dissemination of Iranian culture and heritage as well as reaching out to a wider audience and fostering public relations.
The purpose of this workgroup is to organize art exhibitions with thematic focus on Iranian art and/or oriental themes. This workgroup was founded in 2000 with an elaborate initiative led by Elika Djalili who had invited the renowned Iranian artist Manuchehr Motabar to visit Zurich for an exhibition of his paintings.
head: Elika Djalili
This workgroup aims to present works of Persian poets and authors – both classical as well as modern – in public readings and recitations. To open these events to those who do not speak Persian, German translations of the texts are also presented whenever available. Often, our book readings enjoy a complimentary musical accompaniment on an oriental instrument.
Leitung: Parivash Samet
The social science section is focusing on the humanities and cultural studies, primarily by organizing public presentations about Persian culture and history as well as current topics of society in Iran. Speakers leading these events are invited to Zurich from Switzerland and abroad, creating a platform for open discussions often involving active VIAS science section members with roots in the humanities and sciences.
head: Amir Sheikhzadegan
