ICT, Civic Education and Civil Society Capacity Building in Iran

Since Tavaana's launch in 2010, the e-learning institute has safely educated thousands of Iranians about democracy and human rights. Through our live e-classes, documentaries and lectures aired on satellite TV, robust social networks, dissemination of ebooks and more, we are able to teach and inspire civic discourse about highly censored topics such as democratic transition, feminism, Islamic reformation, and LGBT rights. Our materials reach 7-15 million Iranians each week via Facebook alone, and over 15 million Iranians via satellite TV. We've learned great lessons from the potential of the Internet in reaching and supporting civil societies in even the most repressive regimes, and about cultivating via overlapping technologies a culture of human rights and liberalism.