Chief Executive’s Review - Year Ending December 2008

In accepting this interim position I hoped that, together, we would be able to make a difference.  I am now able to report that a number of important milestones have been met and IHF moves forward that much stronger, with sound foundations for the future.

The year under review was marked by a number of successful initiatives.  These include the adoption of a new and modernised Constitution and the establishment of various committees concerned with governance and management.  A Nominations Committee has been set up to vet senior appointments and a Finance Committee to prepare and monitor budgets on a rolling basis.  The Academic Committee was strengthened by the addition of new members.  Its remit may now be extended to the supervision of the IHF Fellowships at various academic institutions - currently Oxford, Cambridge and St Andrews universities, as well as SOAS.

The remit for the Events Committee was also extended to new activities over and above the Norouz Gala.  The Persian New Year function at Grosvenor House has exceeded best expectations year after year, which is entirely due to the remarkable effort of the volunteer ladies of the Norouz Committee.  The summer of 2008 saw the opening of our joint activity with Asia House in London, "30 Years of Solitude".  This exhibition ran for three months and showed the works of various women photo/cinematographers based in Iran.

In the autumn of 2008 audiences were able to enjoy Iranian theatre in London.  The season opened at the Barbican with great critical acclaim and included plays by Iran-based artists in sold-out performances.  Throughout the year, various other contemporary art shows were sponsored by the Foundation, the success of which has now warranted the creation of a permanent contemporary arts group at IHF.

During the year, teaching of the Persian language took centre stage and our ongoing support for the Rustam School will hopefully be complemented by new Persian studies at other schools.  As well, the Trustees reaffirmed their annual contribution to the Encyclopædia Iranica programme at Columbia University.

Golha, Flowers of Persian Song and Poetry is another exciting initiative.  This outstanding series was broadcast on Iran Radio from 1956 through to 1979 and now, thanks to a British Library grant, has been collected and digitized by the American scholar, Jane Lewisohn, and will be made available online with comprehensive notes and research tools.

The year will also be remembered for IHF’s extraordinary support for the British Museum in its themed exhibitions on three great emperors.  Shah `Abbas: the Re-Making of Iran will run for five months in 2009.  It has already received extensive coverage in the national media and will no doubt enjoy the international acclaim received by those staged before it - The First Emperor: China’s Terracotta Army and Hadrian: Empire and Conflict.

IHF is working with the British Museum to extend its reach to schools across Britain, by providing educational material and encouraging organised visits to the Museum.  We hope these cultural tours will repeat the success of the British Museum’s 2005 Achaemenid exhibition – Forgotten Empire: the World of Ancient Persia.

In 2008 we also formed our Advisory Board, chaired by Lord Gowrie.  Grey Gowrie, formerly Minister for the Arts and Chairman of Sotheby’s and the Arts Council, brings scholarship and experience to IHF.  The team is complemented with Maryam Alaghband, Lady Teresa Clarke, Sir John Boyd and Lord Lamont; I join all our stakeholders in extending a warm welcome.

Consistent with our longer term objectives, we have also started the recruitment of a full-time Managing Director.  This will allow me to hand over, and we are hoping to make an announcement in the next few weeks.

My warm thanks to all IHF supporters, volunteers, colleagues and Trustees for their harmonious and productive work.  Equally, my gratitude to Maryam Alaghband, Roshanak Dwyer and Kimya Kamshad, without whose relentless effort, little would have been achieved.  Finally, I wish again to acknowledge my predecessor’s great contribution to the Foundation over many years.

Farad Azima
FaradAzima@msn.com