The Public Affairs Alliance of Iranian Americans,

acronym An acronym is a word or name formed from the initial components of a longer name or phrase. Acronyms are usually formed from the initial letters of words, as in ''NATO'' (''North Atlantic Treaty Organization''), but sometimes use syllables, as ...

: PAAIA ( fa, پایا, translit=Pāyā), Inc., is a nonpartisan, nonprofit, nonreligious membership organization that aims to "serve the domestic interests of

Iranian Americans Iranian Americans are United States citizens or nationals who are of Iranian ancestry or who hold Iranian citizenship. Iranian Americans are among the most highly educated people in the United States. They have historically excelled in busine ...

and represent the community before U.S. policymakers and the American public at large." PAAIA Inc. and its affiliated 501(c)(3) organization, PAAIA Fund, were founded by a group of Iranian-Americans. The term PAAIA, however, is used to refer to both entities without distinction. PAAIA also has a connected Political Action Committee, IAPAC, that promotes and contributes to the election of Iranian-American and American candidates for political office.

History

Approximately 70 Iranian-Americans participated in the founding of this organization. As a result, PAAIA was born in August 2007 as a

501(c)(4) A 501(c) organization is a nonprofit organization in the federal law of the United States according to Internal Revenue Code (26 U.S.C. § 501(c)) and is one of over 29 types of nonprofit organizations exempt from some federal income taxes. ...

nonprofit bipartisan, non-sectarian, national membership organization together with an affiliated 501(c)(3), PAAIA Fund, with the goal of "representing and advancing the interests of the Iranian American community." PAAIA publicly launched in April 2008.

Activities

PAAIA's activities range from promoting legislations such as Nowruz Resolution to holding seminars featuring keynote speakers such as Senator Schumer and Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi. In 2008, PAAIA commissioned

Zogby International John J. Zogby (born September 3, 1948) is an American public opinion pollster, author, and public speaker. He is founder of the Zogby International poll, and he serves as a senior partner at John Zogby Strategies, a full-service marketing and p ...

to survey the Iranian-American community's attitudes on important issues. A follow-up survey was also conducted in 2009. These surveys were the first of their kind and have been presented to the United States Congress, the media, and the general public. The organization coordinated events with the

Noor Iranian Film Festival The Noor Iranian Film Festival is an annual film festival held in Los Angeles, California, founded by cultural producer Siamak Ghahremani and co-founder Anthony Azizi in 2007. The festival's namesake comes from the word Nur, also spelled Noor, mea ...

, showcasing

Iranian Cinema The Cinema of Iran ( Persian: سینمای ایران), also known as the Cinema of Persia, refers to the cinema and film industries in Iran which produce a variety of commercial films annually. Iranian art films have garnered international fame ...

from around the world from the festival's main event in Los Angeles, touring films to PAAIA chapter cities. In 2019, the organization paid $70,000 to the firm Cogent Strategies, in order to lobby the congress on its behalf.

References

External links

PAAIA Official Web Site

Payvand News: US House of Representatives Passes the Nowruz Resolution
{{Iran–United States relations Iranian-American culture in Washington, D.C. Iranian-American organizations Foreign policy political advocacy groups in the United States Iran–United States relations Organizations established in 2007 2007 establishments in Washington, D.C. Lobbying organizations based in Washington, D.C.