Our History
“Our Agency is our fate; our fate is our agency.”
The Woman, Life, Freedom (WLF) movement in Iran in September 2022 and its aftermath renewed a sense of urgency among the diaspora to find common grounds for cooperation and leadership.
One initiative by human rights activist Nazanin Afshin-Jam Mackay brought together about 90 organizations to share information resources and increase cooperation among the Iranian diasporas. In one of these monthly virtual meetings in December of 2024, someone discussed the role of a metanarrative and a converging discourse to create harmony and purpose among these scattered forces inside and outside of Iran.
The organizing members of these monthly meetings became aware that someone had been working on this “metanarrative and converging discourse.” In the 2025 January meeting, Aram Hessami was invited to give a 20-minute talk on the use of metanarrative and the need for a converging discourse. At the February meeting, 60 minutes were allocated to Aram Hessami to present his ideas about overcoming the division within Iran’s civic and political society.
His words resonated deeply. The room felt the urgency of the moment: the need for honest conversation, renewed trust, and a shared vision for Iran’s future. Many participants encouraged him to continue the dialogue in person and suggested organizing a town hall in Toronto, where the community could engage more deeply with his ideas.
In March 2025, three civic organizations, Iran Justice Collective (IJC), Canadians for Democracy in Iran (CDI), and 1 Kalameh. sponsored a town hall meeting in Toronto. There, Aram Hessami introduced his manifesto, “Do-Se Kalameh” roughly translated as “In a Couple of Words.” The event became more than a presentation. It was a town hall, a dialogue, and a space for people to ask difficult questions, share concerns, and speak openly about their hopes for Iran. Hessami also held one-on-one meetings, listening carefully to people’s projects, perspectives, and experiences.
Among the 70 people who traveled from Ottawa, Montreal, Nova Scotia, New York City, Washington, and Los Angeles, many people asked about the possibility of holding similar town hall meetings in their hometowns. What happened next was entirely organic. Each city helped make the next one possible. Individuals and civic organizations offered to pay the cost of printing books, air travel, and accommodations so that the conversation could continue from community to community.
From May to July, Aram Hessami traveled to 17 cities in Europe, Canada, and the United States, holding town hall meetings with members of the Iranian diaspora from diverse backgrounds and perspectives. He spoke with over 600 people, including experts, youth, political activists, and concerned citizens who all shared one thing in common: a deep love for Iran and a desire to build a better future.
The following sums up the reflection report he gave to the communities he visited at subsequent Zoom meetings he held:
1) Iran’s diasporic civil society is both willing and capable of creating a pluralistic democratic alternative.
2) Civil society is yearning for a converging discourse to end the divisiveness that has persisted during the past 48 years, and the Manifesto, “In a Couple of Words,” could provide that converging discourse.
3) Any democratic alternative must have a clear vision, a genuine strategy, and the resources to bring about the desired changes.
4) Creating any pluralistic alternative demands collective action, and that collective action starts with individuals’ initiatives and the agency of the citizenry.
Thus, our journey began with Iran’s citizenry.