I have good news.  I am talking about the growth of a new community.  I will explain soon what I mean.
Many years ago I started to talk about the importance of community building among us: Iranian. I did not know how, however I was sure we could do this.
This is exciting that we are now building a community.  We Iranian immigrants are creating our own community, not that we were not part of the greater Canadian community. No, what I mean is that we were looking for a sense of belonging to a cultural community.
The idea is new to all of us, we are learning, and we are sharing.  Our goal is to practice democracy, meaning listening to one another, meaning respecting one another for whomever we are.  We have learned now that we need to grow by being support to one another.
I have been involved with a community group of Iranian who started to meet regularly for many good causes.  It is important to emphasize the initial formation of this grass root society was structured and shaped with the initiative of few individuals early 2006.
The need for exploring a new life style became the major point for regular meetings and sharing experiences. The idea of a non for profit society was a natural and gradual development of ideas and interests that were shared by the involved members.
As per Dec 9, 2008, this group is registered as a non for profit society called:
Rooyesh Cultural Society, our weblog is: http://www.rooyeshgroup.blogspot.com/
We have biweekly meetings and we advertise in the Farsi speaking newspapers and magazines.
I believe we need to get our young people to get involved. We like to encourage Iranian students and individuals who are like to share their views on life in general o join us.
This Society is a non religious, non political group and the main goal for our society is to Practice Democracy.
The purposes of this society are:
•         To promote a community spirit and sense of belonging among Farsi-Speaking population here in British Columbia
•         To enable healthy dialogue with emphasize on practicing Democracy
•         To encourage diversity and social responsibility
•         To offer a place of significance and cultural identity
•         To facilitate change by being an example of how we can break the cycle of isolation, finding new friends, connecting to services, and integrating with our new Canadian home
•         To create a regular meeting space and communication forum for women and men, individuals and families, young and seniors
•         To offer educational seminars, workshops, and discussions about areas of culture that impact our new identity as newcomers and immigrants
For more information contact us.  Everyone is welcome.
Poran Poregbal
www.middlepeace.com