Divanegan
Organizer of a social movement (Divanegan) to revive forgotten traditions
Street events and performances in Iran
2015 – Present
After finishing my master’s degree in Tourism and starting my professional work in the field, I was amazed by the diversity of traditions in different cultures and the way they connect people to one another in a collective way. I noticed that some traditions that had been quite normal even during my childhood had disappeared, which deeply saddened me, as this kind of collective joy was fading away.
At that point, I made an authentic move and started celebrating these traditions again in the streets. We also distributed informative flyers- not so much to educate people, but to remind them of something that already belonged to them. Gradually, over a period of ten years, some of these traditions returned to everyday life in many cities across Iran and became widespread in Iranian society. One of the best examples is Chaharshanbe Suri and its diverse collection of sub-traditions, which has been celebrated continuously from 2013 until today.
Other examples include ٬ “Ashe Aboudarda”, “Khordadgan”, “Mehregan”, “Panjah Bedar,” and “Yalda Night in the Streets”.
After migration, I continued this work at our university and in refugee centers. Once again, I was amazed to see that connecting with one another through collective activities was always more powerful and seemed deeply authentic.
Some links to the news and social Medias:
Chaharshanbeh soori. Ghashoghzani