Century Foundation

A grant to The Century Foundation (Washington, DC) would support a recently launched Web site, InsideIRAN.org. The site is the first forum for news and analysis from Iranian journalists working inside Iran-and the story it lays out is quite different from the one presented to most Western audiences. For example, though the impact of online social networks was much publicized after the Iranian elections, journalists who were on the ground say that government crackdowns on communication successfully prevented the large majority of the Iranian population from learning about the protests. This grant would keep the site running and support dissemination of its information through small meetings and conferences in Washington and throughout Europe, ensuring that policymakers, journalists, and the public recognize this resource and incorporate it into tough decisions being made about how to address the Iranian governments's vitriolic rhetoric and threatening actions. (New, $100,000/1; 44% of project budget)