The 2010 Democracy Award Honored the Green Movement for Democracy in Iran
One Year Later: Prospects for a Democratic Transition in Iran
This half-day conference featured Senators Ted Kaufman and John McCain, as well as panel presentations on Lessons from Other Transitions to Democracy and The Road Ahead – Strategic Challenges for the Democratic Movement in Iran.
View the conference agenda and watch video/read remarks from Senators and panelists
The Presentation of the 2010 Democracy Award to the Green Movement for Democracy in Iran
The presentation of the 2010 Democracy Award was held from 5:30 – 7:00 pm at the Rayburn House Office Building. The event featured a brief film by Iranian filmmaker Babak Payami, introduced and narrated by Azar Nafisi, and a musical performance by Mohsen Namjoo.
For a description of the event and remarks from the presenters, see the Conference Program
This brief film by Iranian filmmaker Babak Payami, introduced and narrated by Azar Nafisi, was shown at the 2010 Democracy Award presentation.
One year after the disputed June 12 election in Iran, which sparked the mass protests called the Green Movement, the conflict between the Islamic regime and the opposition remains unresolved. The regime retains control of the governing institutions and instruments of coercion, but its legitimacy has been gravely weakened.
Thousands of opposition activists have been exiled, jailed, or murdered, and the besieged movement’s access to the Internet has been severely restricted. But the movement has survived this first year and shows no signs of retreating. Its resilience in the face of harsh repression has been a triumph of courage and a source of hope to people in Iran and throughout the world.
Still, the challenges that lie ahead are formidable.
Are there lessons that Iranian democrats can learn from freedom struggles in other regions?
Will the democratic movement in Iran be able to broaden its base by reaching out to the poorer classes in the cities and provinces?
And will it be able to unite reformers and those seeking more fundamental change around a common vision of a new Iran based on the values of human dignity, freedom and opportunity?
These are among the momentous questions that will be addressed at this conference on the eve of the first anniversary of the Green Movement’s protests for democracy in Iran.
