Monday, April 20, 2009

Rooyesh Community Meeting April 17, 2009

Our community workshop had a quest speaker Mr. Karamati who talked about the financial crisis in the world and here in the North America. We also had Stacey from the Canadian Cancer Society and she informed us of the Persian Women’s Health Breakfast. We let the group know about our first official presentation of the Society which will be announced in the media. This event will be in May 9, 09 and we will have live Persian music, dance, and many moments of appreciation for everyone who has supported Rooyesh to be the place for community growth as it is now. Please join us and check for the detailed info about our meetings / festivities.

We welcome sponsors as well as everyone in our community to attend.

All of us at Rooyesh Cultural Society

Thursday, April 16, 2009

Free coffee at Starbucks and helping the environment

How to help our environment: Starbucks has started. You get free coffee when you have your own mug with you.

Check this link: http://www.starbucks.ca/en-ca/_Social%20Responsibility/Earth%20Day.htm

Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Persian Women's Health Breakfast

Persian Women's Health Breakfast

Please join the Canadian Cancer Society for an informative Persian Women's Health Breakfast.

Come and learn from our speakers about living a healthy lifestyle and what you can do to reduce your risk of cancer. All proceeds will go to the Canadian Cancer Society.

Where: Gleneagles Community Centre
6262 Marine Drive, West Vancouver

When: Sunday May 3, 2009
9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.

Ticket Cost: $35.00 (includes speakers, fully-catered breakfast, and door prizes)

To purchase a ticket, please phone or email:
Canadian Cancer Society
#205-126 East 15th Street
North Vancouver, BC V7L 2P9

604.985.8585
northshoreunit@bc.cancer.ca

Monday, March 30, 2009

Celebration of Nouroz

March 27, 2009 was the time for celebrating Nouroz. The Rooyesh cultural Society was successful in creating moments for all of us to appreciate this significant, ancient, and earth-connected event.
A large group of us gathered to enjoy listening to the lovely music and socializing while tasting all the good food everyone brought. Special thanks to Mina for all the hard work, dedication, and preparation. I believe all the children who attended this gathering and receiving gifts of love and appreciation, will remember how much we can be happier with one another. So will the rest of us. Thanks

Nouroz Pirooz.
Happy Nouroz and Happy Spring.

Poran Poregbal

Saturday, February 28, 2009

Two Workshops about History of Photography

Rooyesh cultural Society’s Presents: Workshop about History of Photography

January 19, 2009

This week we looked at historic photographs gathered and shown by Karoon Club, Mr. Mosoud Soheili (our guest speaker).

We listened to the history of photography, from the ancient time up to now. We learned that Nasser-al Din Shah 1848–1896 was the first amateur photograph in our home country. As a king, Nasser-al-Din Shah fell in love with this little mysterious black box that took picture of places. Germans had the latest technique and Iran could bring in this marvelous box that would show us today how people lived at that time. Nasser-al-Din Shah ordered some “photo men” or “akasbashi” to travel to various parts of Iran to take pictures of people, places, and buildings. First photography schools in Tehran and Rasht were then established by this Shah.

This workshop was an opportunity for our Society and our participants to view pictures that took us back to a time of history we had not known before (at least for me). Because of time constrains we decided for a second workshop to learn more about this topic

For more information about this club check their website: http://karoon.com or http://masoudsoheili.com

February 27, 2009

Rooyesh Cultural Society had the chance for a second workshop about the history of photography in our home country.

Mr Mosoud Soheili was our guest speaker and we learned a whole deal from him. This workshop was a time to see how one man in power: Nasser-al-Din shah figured out to use photography to value sport, architecture, and culture. There are about 7000 photographs left from this time which are the important documentations about how roads, buildings, bridges, streets, and the everyday life of people at that time looked like. Only in 1927 or 1306 in our Iranian year, photography was requested for the legal documents such as identity cards and school documents. Media started to use photography or pictures in their published work at that time. Soon photography became a type of “atelier work”, where people would go and have their photos taken. In mid 1950’s Iran had its first photography club that was started in Abadan. Interestingly this club had about 20 female photographs and around the same number of male photographs. What happened to that club after 1979 is then another story; however this trend and interests for photography helped the educational system to have the art of photography in an academic level. It is known that 55 villages around the country were found by photographers who traveled to distance places to take pictures. Mr Hadi Shafaie is known as the father of Iranian photography. He lives in Iran and has been part of the hard work for keeping the Iranian history alive through the art of photography.

After a snapshot in the history and watching the many memory awakening pictures we brainstormed around the topic.

Many participants shared their sincere feelings about seeing the past compare to now. Some others found these pictures as historic evidences that our next generations would need to see. A few others mentioned the notion of change that is truly part of our human life, however seeing history in those photographs told us a lot about change.

Finally we thanked everyone for attending and sharing their views about these photographs.

We thank our guest speaker and the Rooyesh Cultural Society for to these two invaluable workshops.

Poran Poregbal

February 28, 2009

Friday, February 20, 2009

Our Iranian Identity Through Shahnameh / Ferdowsi‏

Rooyesh Cultural Society had an evening with Mrs Flore Talebi (writer and researcher), who took us to the world of Ferdowsi and Shahnameh (The Epic of Kings) from the 10th century.

She discussed our identity based on the values and beliefs that Shanameh describe for us. The interesting point was how Ferdowsi invites us to value knowledge, logic, and nature as real true requirements for a dignified human life.

We had the chance of going to a past where kindness, peace, happiness, generosity, bravery, and congruency with nature was encouraged though thousands of poems written for us. We learned that language is the source for a culture that has to be kept alive. Being kind to self and others is what Shahnameh is about, as it reminds us how only a “good name” remains forever and nothing else.
Join us for our next meetings and learn with us. Every other Friday from 6.30-8.30.
Happy valentine Day everyone!
Poran Poregbal
2009-02-13

North Shore News Acknowledgment

Rooyesh Cultural Society appreciates the report in the North Shore News, Green section in the issue of February 13, 2009. The report acknowledged our two days seminar about environment and our responsibility to keep it clean. We thank North Shore news for letting our community know what is going on.

Please see: http://www2.canada.com/northshorenews/section.html?section=Green

Poran Poregbal
2009-02-13