PAAIA's IA-100 Hosts 2017 Retreat and Gala in Los Angeles, PAAIA Organizes a Coalition Letter Requesting Broader Licensing Authorizations, and Interviews Iranian American Candidate for Atlanta City Council, Liliana Bakhtiari ------------------------------------------------------------ Email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser (http://mailchi.mp/paaia/paaia-hosts-retreat-and-gala-organizes-a-coalition-to-request-broader-licensing-authorizations-and-interviews-iranian-american-liliana-bakhtiari?e=70eba44e2f) .
** PUBLIC AFFAIRS ALLIANCE OF IRANIAN AMERICANS ------------------------------------------------------------ ** NEWSLETTER ------------------------------------------------------------ ** October 25, 2016 ------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------ ** PAAIA's IA-100 Proudly Hosts Annual Retreat and Gala in Los Angeles ------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------ LOS ANGELES - The Public Affairs Alliance of Iranian Americans (PAAIA) proudly hosted its annual Retreat and Gala for its members and special guests at the Montage Beverly Hills this October. The event assembled Iranian Americans from across the country, including elected officials, foreign policy and immigration experts, best-selling authors, and members of PAAIA’s Emerging Leaders Program (http://paaia.org/leadership-building/Iranian-American-emerging-leaders-program) to discuss critically important issues to the Iranian American community. If you would like to see photos of the event, click here. (https://www.facebook.com/pg/PublicAffairsAllianceofIranianAmericans/photos/?tab=album&album_id=10155159637880939) PAAIA honored three remarkable members and advocates of the Iranian American community with prestigious awards at the event. Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti was presented with a “Distinguished Public Service Award” and Hadi Partovi, CEO and Founder of Code.org, was presented with the “Career Achievement Award” for his successful development of computer programing education across the United States. Finally, the Farhang Foundation received the “Excellence in Community Service Award” for celebrating and promoting Iranian art and culture for the benefit of the community at large, including the Los Angeles Freedom Sculpture, unveiled on July 4th, 2017. This event would not have been possible without the hard-work and dedication of many helping hands. We would like to thank our excellent panelists, moderators, volunteers, and all those in attendance at the event. Please click here (http://paaia.org/CMS/ia-100-proudly-hosts-annual-retreat-gala-montage-beverly-hills.aspx) to read more about the event, or if you would like to watch our video of the panel discussion “Coming to America: The Immigration and Visa Quagmire,” please visit PAAIA’s Facebook Page (https://www.facebook.com/PublicAffairsAllianceofIranianAmericans/?hc_ref=ARRrRlztWJwWd2ndBL67ken6WPRMju8qZ825tSQKupEwdGGbtQI3abk6he6eFOjAk6g&fref=nf) . ------------------------------------------------------------ ** PAAIA Helps Organize a Coalition Letter Requesting Broader General Licensing Authorizations ------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------ WASHINGTON - The Public Affairs Alliance of Iranian Americans (PAAIA), along with a coalition of civil society, advocacy, technology, and Iranian American organizations, sent a letter (http://paaia.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Google-Apple-letter.pdf) to the Secretaries of State and Treasury requesting the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) broaden general licensing authorizations to enhance private technology entrepreneurship in Iran by allowing technology start-up companies to make their applications available on app stores operated by U.S. parties. Signed by nine prominent organizations including the Center for Human Rights in Iran, United 4 Iran, the National Iranian American Council, Pars Equality Center, and the Iranian American Bar Association, the letter advocates for the expansion of General License D-1 (http://www.treasury.gov/resource-center/sanctions/Programs/Documents/iran_gld1.pdf) (GL D-1) which allows U.S. companies to provide a targeted set of communications tools to Iranians. GL D-1 has been widely praised as an effective example of securing human rights and protecting access to online information in Iran. Please click here (http://paaia.org/CMS/paaia-helps-organize-coalition-letter-requesting-broader-general-licensing-authorizations.aspx) to read more. ------------------------------------------------------------ ** PAAIA Interviews Iranian American Candidate for Atlanta City Council, Liliana Bakhtiari ------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------ ATLANTA - Two Iranian Americans are campaigning for seats on the Atlanta City Council - Amir Farokhi (http://paaia.org/CMS/paaia-interviews-amir-farokhi-campaign-atlanta-city-council.aspx) is running in District Two, and Liliana Bakhtiari is running in District Five. Recently, the Public Affairs Alliance of Iranian Americans (PAAIA) had the opportunity to interview Liliana Bakhtiari about her campaign. The election, which will be held on November 7th, marks the first time Bakhtiari has ran for public office. PAAIA: Why are you running for public office? Bakhtiari: I am running for public office because I was tired of feeling voiceless in my own city. I was tired of advocacy work that never seemed to push anything forward. I was tired of fighting for a family to stay in their home, only to have them lose it due to skyrocketing property taxes. I was tired of only being able to offer a homeless person clothing, a hot meal, and some money, and not having the ability to prevent them from being on the street. I wanted to step up and start to affect the causes of these issues, rather than constantly treating the symptoms. For our democracy to function, every level government needs to be functioning efficiently and adequately representing its constituents. That starts locally. I am passionate about representing those who feel voiceless and shifting the paradigm around what politics can look like. Please click here (http://paaia.org/CMS/paaia-interviews-iranian-american-candidate-atlanta-city-council-liliana-bakhtiari.aspx) to read more, and for more information on Liliana Bakhtiari’s campaign, click here. (https://www.lilianaforatlanta.com/) ------------------------------------------------------------ ** Make a Contribution to PAAIA! (https://interland3.donorperfect.net/weblink/weblink.aspx?name=paaia&id=2) ------------------------------------------------------------ Help us serve as the credible voice of the Iranian American community with policymakers and the American public at large. Become a member of PAAIA today! (https://interland3.donorperfect.net/weblink/weblink.aspx?name=paaia&id=1) While membership is free, annual member dues help us enhance the political influence of Iranian Americans, defend community interests, and advocate for issues of importance to the Iranian American community. ** CONNECT WITH PAAIA: ------------------------------------------------------------ Take Action (http://cqrcengage.com/paaia/) Follow us on (http://instagram.com/paaia) Instagram (http://instagram.com/paaia) Subscribe on Youtube (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfshk-_Qk-iSxC__A3HB5Cw) ** SUPPORT PAAIA: ------------------------------------------------------------ ** Donate (https://interland3.donorperfect.net/weblink/weblink.aspx?name=paaia&id=2) | Visit Our Website (http://www.paaia.org) |Emerging Leaders (http://paaia.org/leadership-building/Iranian-American-emerging-leaders-program) | Become a PAAIA Member (https://interland3.donorperfect.net/weblink/weblink.aspx?name=paaia&id=2) ------------------------------------------------------------ ** ------------------------------------------------------------ ============================================================ ** Follow us on Twitter (http://www.twitter.com/paaia) | ** Friend us on Facebook (http://facebook.com/PublicAffairsAllianceofIranianAmericans/) | ** Forward to a Friend (http://us12.forward-to-friend.com/forward?u=815031feb2c3d0f64af28ce90&id=abe3e176bf&e=70eba44e2f) Copyright © 2017 Public Affairs Alliance of Iranian Americans, All rights reserved. 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