Foundation for Iranian Studies (FIS), 1981-present
Living in exile, Mahnaz Afkhami watched as the Islamic Republic and the Revolution both damaged Iranians' connection to their history and their culture as well as altered the world's views of Iran. To counter this, Afkhami began planning the creation of a center that would focus on connecting Iranian people with their heritage.
To fulfill this dream, Afkhami, along with her husband Gholam, who was the the former deputy minister of the interior and the head of the National Institute for Adult Literacy, worked with Akbar Ettemad, former head of the Atomic Energy Commission of Iran, Abdol Samii, former minister for higher education, Ahmed Ghoreishi, former chancellor of the National University of Iran, Jalal Martini, former chancellor of Mashhad University, Amin Alimard, former editor of the Jahan-e journal and head of the Organization for State Administration and Employment to create the Foundation for Iranian Studies (FIS). Princess Ashraf, an enthusiast for intellectual ventures, financially backed the Foundation.
FIS was established in 1981 as a research institute for objective research by scholars from a variety of backgrounds and a safe keep for Iranian culture and heritage.
The foundation honored these objectives through two main projects. The first, the creation of Iran Nameh, the Foundation's journal on Iranian Studies, served as a safe space for scholars to engage in and share objective research. The second chief project for FIS, one that held particular importance for Afkhami, was the creation of the Oral History Archive. Afkhami, who had watched from the other side of the world as she lost all of her records left in Iran, helped guide the collection of more than a thousand hours of recordings from 180 scholars, writers, artists, government leaders, civic organizations, women's groups, labor union, and oppositional parties.
