About us

Building democratic readiness through citizen agency.

We are a grassroots nonprofit organization focused on increasing civil society’s readiness for transitioning to democracy in Iran.

Our focus and core principles

Civil society’s readiness is central to democratization.

We focus on helping citizens organize, cooperate, deliberate, and build democratic capacity inside and outside Iran.

Principle 1

Civil society

We believe that civil society is the primary arena for democracy building.

Principle 2

Individual agency

We believe that collective action begins with individual agency and initiative.

Principle 3

Organized collective action

We believe that collective action is impactful when it is structured, organized, and coordinated.

Principle 4

Informed participation

We believe that building substantive democracy requires the active participation of an informed citizenry aware of their rights and responsibilities.

Mission statement

Iran’s Citizenry’s Mission Statement

Our mission is to build a rights-based, cooperative civic organization of Iran’s citizenry—inside and outside Iran—dedicated to substantive democratic pluralism, civic education, public deliberation, coalition-building, and process-based democratization.

Organizational foundations

Axioms for Iran’s Citizenry Cooperative Organization

Axiom A

Democratization requires the active participation of citizenry to establish a substantive pluralistic democracy grounded in natural rights, equal citizenship, public accountability, and democratic process.

Axiom B

Civil society is the primary arena in which citizens practice democratic pluralism, form accountable civic organizations, deliberate publicly, and build the capacity for the formation of a democratic political society and institutions.

Axiom C

Political society should translate civil society’s demands and aspirations into public choices through accountable political parties, associations, and coalitions; thus, democratization necessitates a vibrant civil society whose demands and aspirations are shaped by the awareness of its own sovereignty and of democratic values and procedures.

Axiom D

The building blocks of pluralistic democracy are rights-bearing citizens who exercise individual agency, join in collective action, and practice democratic principles in their communities and institutions while accepting the same rights and agency for everyone in the citizenry.

What guides our work

Core Beliefs for Iran’s Citizenry Cooperative Organization

Core Belief 1

All human beings possess equal natural rights to sovereignty and self-determination.

Core Belief 2

Civil society is formed based on an unwritten social contract acknowledging the equal rights and responsibilities of every individual to each other and to the larger community that is created because of that contract.

Core Belief 3

The shared civic identity, our collective “we,” as distinct from our individual, separate, subjective identities, is Iran’s citizenry.

Core Belief 4

Democratization in Iran is a step-by-step process that requires individual agency and collective action by Iran’s citizenry to organize, cooperate, deliberate, practice democratic pluralism, and build democratic habits and trust in their communities and institutions.

Core Belief 5

Civil society, as the building block of democracy, must set the agenda for political society and its various institutions to commit to the most up-to-date democratic procedures and its substantive values such as security, liberty, equality, and justice.

Core Belief 6

Iran’s Citizenry Cooperative Organization must adhere to both substantive and procedural democracy, upholding the principles of equal rights, pluralism, transparency, and accountability within its organization and with all its members.

Our history

From converging discourse to cooperative organization

The Woman, Life, Freedom movement in Iran in September 2022 and its aftermath renewed a sense of urgency among the diaspora to find common ground for cooperation and leadership.

One initiative by human rights activist Nazanin Afshin-Jam Mackay brought together about 90 organizations to share information resources and increase cooperation among Iranian diaspora communities. In one of these monthly virtual meetings in December 2024, a participant discussed the role of a metanarrative and a converging discourse in creating harmony and shared purpose among scattered forces inside and outside Iran.

The organizing members of these monthly meetings became aware that Aram Hessami had been working on this metanarrative and converging discourse. In the January 2025 meeting, he was invited to give a 20-minute talk on the use of metanarrative and the need for a converging discourse. At the February meeting, 60 minutes were allocated for him to present his ideas about overcoming divisions within Iran’s civic and political society.

His words resonated deeply. Participants felt the urgency of the moment: the need for honest conversation, renewed trust, and a shared vision for Iran’s future. Many encouraged him to continue the dialogue in person and proposed organizing a town hall in Toronto, where the community could engage more deeply with these ideas.

Who we are

A grassroots civic organization

We are a nonprofit, grassroots civic organization dedicated to advancing Iran’s democratization process.

Our guiding principles

Civil society is the primary arena for democracy-building.
The citizenry’s agency is the basis for any collective action.
Good governance must conform to both procedural and substantive views of democracy.
Political society becomes accountable only through civil society’s activism.
Collective action is impactful when it is organized, structured, and purposeful.

Our team

Board Member

Hossein is an artificial intelligence and machine-learning specialist with years of experience in the utilization and management of machine-learning systems.

Read short biography

Advisory Board

Advisory experience and independent guidance

Advisory Board information awaiting confirmation

Names, photographs, roles, and short biographies can be added here once they are approved.