Iranian Sociological Association

President Undersecretary in Women Affairs

Siamac Zand Razavi*

Statement of the problem : As a matter of fact, twenty-first century Iran is very far from a society based on structured dialogue. What we are now witnessing in all micro (family), intermediate (local communities), as well as macro (society) levels is mostly speaking of sources of power from the above and listening and obeying or listening and rejecting from the below. One can trace this fact back in all three levels.

1 .Family members spend little time for dialogues during daytime;

2. Many Inter-personal disputes in local areas, schools or streets, are solved through violent action instead of dialogues.

3. At macro-level ,many ecological, economical, social and political challenges find no chance to motivate national dialogues about the matter.

The problem could be explained partly by little practice inside educational sphere. where the whole schools and universities have been under the dominance of a system through which professors, teachers, and instructors at all levels of educational system keep giving monolog speeches expecting obedience based on large amounts of information from four main sources: vision, information, skill, and questioning. Nevertheless, the information is not kept later than mere final exams. As the result, vision, skill, and critical thinking are neglected regularly and systematically in education.

The lack of dialogue at the family level displays itself through the members’ failure to manage the increasing generation gap. They can neither prevent the decline of sympathetic face-to-face interactions among themselves, nor can they stop the accelerating influences of virtual networks on the young generation’s decision-making abilities. One can see the result in non- challenging, non-critical, non- interactive response of the young to virtual media contents.

As far as the intermediate level is concerned, people in local communities do not exercise active listening, challenging, critical thinking, or analyzing social problems through their sociological imaginations; they don’t care to understand phenomena in their historical contexts. Nor anyone tries to understand the relationship between social phenomena and social structures, where they emerge and find continuity. They also cannot understand the importance of learning social interactions based on collective rationality and public interests.

At macro-level of the society this failure finds manifestation in either obvious or hidden protests against the structures in which the proceeding generations have grown up and flourished effectively. Ignoring the principles of criticism   causes them to fail to suggest a better alternative for the dominant aggravated situation.

In order to get rid of this complicated, aggravating situation, we need to provide a setting to empower public for inter-generational dialogues. We need to organize dialogues which go beyond the restrictions of the punishment-seeking, social engineering, and psychoanalytic explanations. Sociological approach and specifically public and critical sociology could be of much help to encourage thinking and talking on human relations. Inviting people to enter in dialogues for solving their problems is the ability and task of competent facilitators. The facilitators should be not only committed to the norms and values, but also well educated in facilitating techniques.

The characteristics of an empowering dialogue facilitator:

1-Familiar with sociological imagination

1-1 A social phenomenon is historical and emerges and evolves within time lapses. Therefore it is important to know the historical contexts of it.

1-2 A social phenomenon is a joint, multi-dimensional entity; and it could be understood with all its aspects and dimensions only .

2.Necessary skills for providing a setting for empowering dialogues

1-2. Being well informed in values and techniques of facilitation

2-2.Familiar with major theoretical approaches on social problems as well as the policies associated with each of them.

3. Ability to use findings and data in a critical way

3-1. using statistical information

3-2. using expert’s reports as well as the academic papers.

Preparation of Executive Requirements

a) Collecting written documents required for provincial workshops with participation of provincial government experts: Documents should have similar structures to be comparable.

Meanwhile following books and other references would be accessible to use by facilitators and coordinators of the project

-200 full-text categorized essays for workshops.

-A collection of 200 articles including related news and reports available in “Khabar Online” site for a course in critical approach for facilitators.

-A collection of workshop activity cards that are provided according to the theoretical notions, news and views, and data collected in the previous three phases already mentioned. The cards also help the users who are involved in the subjects through individual or group works and encourages them to present their own “lived experiences” comfortably and directly. Moreover, the cards help empower the facilitators to exercise responsibility.

b) Selecting the state coordinators for the workshops: The Iranian Sociological Association university and provincial offices, would be responsible for selection and invitation of the participants for the workshops

This would be an opportunity for some regions of the country to run the “ISA” offices in order to activate the potentialities of the local educated people in sociology; otherwise the process will go on with the help of the “IRSA” offices of the neighbouring province..

This national project of family discourse is ultimately aimed at improvement of the participants’ abilities to lead the workshops as facilitators, as well as to develope a sense of convergence, sympathy, synergy, and increases social capital among the social activists of children, women, and family.

*Dr Siamac Zand Razavi is Professoe Emeritus of Shahid Bahonar University and a member of IRSA board.