Biennial Report 2015-2016

Dear Readers,

On behalf of the board, I would like to first thank our staff and volunteers for helping us make it through two tough years. Everyone put in extra effort to make sure we would survive as an organization.

Without the help of our network of volunteers, freelancers, and staff, Arseh Sevom would not have survived the difficult years. Not only did they help us make it through those years, they helped us thrive. They helped us create exciting content and to build our networks. Their work has taught us so much about what it means to be dedicated to civil society.

What we’ve come to learn over the past few years working with activists in Iran is something all of us need to know. Democracy is precious, fragile, and worth the work it takes to protect it and build it.

We’ve seen how seriously Iran’s women’s movement has worked to build non-hierarchical leadership and how deeply they think about what it means to be democratic.

We’ve seen the resilience of a people determined to make even the smallest of changes.

We’ve worked with people who never stop learning, never stop changing, never stop acting for justice.

For those of us living and working in a country as privileged as The Netherlands, it’s easy to take for granted our access to rights and freedoms. We can sometimes think that our societies will continue to become more tolerant and peaceful even without our help. Lately, we have been waking up to the need to both protect and share our freedoms. We have watched our own communities begin sliding into xenophobia and intolerance. Meanwhile, we have worked with Iranian activists who do not take their rights for granted. They know very well that each victory needs to be protected. They know very well that there will be setbacks and defeats. Still, they struggle to expand the space for debate and action in their country and community.

Over the years, we’ve come to learn that freedom is not a given. In this time when the rights we’ve come to expect are coming under attack from many sides, we need to stay attentive and active. We need to support those who dedicate themselves to expanding democratic space. We need to make space for others, to see our freedoms and rights as abundant. We need to learn from activists in Iran. Democracy is valuable. Human rights benefit us all. As one human rights activist told us, “A rising tide lifts all boats.”

Humbly,

AJTM Taken

President of the Board

Download: Arseh Sevom – Biennial Report 2015-2016