Abous Us

The Persian (Iranian) community of Adelaide consist of around 3000 individuals of several religious and ethnic backgrounds. The first Iranian family arrived here in 1967 then joined by many more several years later when a great influx of Iranians arrived in Adelaide in the early years of 1980’s. Adelaide was chosen by Iranians as an appealing living environment and academic destination. Many students and researchers later on settled here to live permanently.

Persians have traditionally placed great emphasis on the value of education and hence the community enjoys a high rate of success and accomplishment relative to its size. They have integrated into the Australian way of life and have made many great contributions to South Australian culture, economy and science. While committed to their adopted homeland of Australia, many remain proud of their Iranian cultural heritage and languages and try to preserve them for the future generations of South Australia. We believe it is in the preservation of the different cultures and languages that a society is enriched and enhanced.

Iranian or Persian?
IRAN is the native name for PERSIA in the English language, the name which was used until the early decades of last century. The first Pahlavi king, Reza Shah (1878 -1944) chose the native name of the country to be its international official title. IRAN literally means “the land of Arian” and Arian (the name of the race) means “the noble and free”. Iran enjoys more than 6,000 years history; it is an old, if not the oldest, multicultural country, where many ethnic and religious groups have been peacefully living together for thousands of years creating a marvellous tapestry of language, culture, history, music, dance and colourful costumes. These groups consists of Kurds, Lors, Parsis, Baluches, Azeris, Turkmans, Arabs, Armenians, Jews and many others, all together known as PERSIAN (IRANIAN). In other words PERSIAN (IRANIAN) refers to the nation whose country is PERSIA (IRAN) regardless of their ethnic or religious background. Although PERSIAN and IRANIAN are interchangeable we prefer and encourage the usage of PERSIAN in English communication as it implicitly connotes our national icons such as Persian Literature, Persian Poetry, Persian Gardens, Persian Empire, Persian Carpet, Persian Gulf, Persian Cat, etc.

Persian or Farsi?
The official language of Iran is the Persian language, the language of Rumi and Omar Khayyam. It is spoken not only in Iran but also in Afghanistan, Tajikistan, and parts of India, Iraq, Turkey, and several other countries of central Asia. Persian literature, in particular Persian poetry, is regarded as one of the richest in the world and we feel very grateful to be able to appreciate its beauty in the original form.

The word “Persian” in Persian is “Farsi”. In other words Farsi is the native name of our official language the same way is Deutsch for German or Français for French. Therefore it is incorrect to use Farsi for the title of our language when one is communicating in English, whether verbally or in writing. This is a common mistake and the ‘Persian’ community would ask and urge everyone to refer to our official language as ‘Persian’ in the English context and strictly avoid ‘Farsi’. It is worth noticing that to the English speaking intellectuals the works of our great poets, Rumi, Omar Khayyam, Hafez and Sa’di were created in PERSIAN not Farsi. Again PERSIAN implicitly embraces all above-mentioned connotations of our national icons, i.e.  Persian Empire etc.

Festivals and events
Persian Cultural Association of South Australia is proud to celebrate its annual cultural festivals and wishes to invite anyone who is interested in our culture to join in. Persian hospitality is world renowned and you will find your time spent with us worthwhile.

The biggest festival of the year is the Persian new year Nowruz (New Day) which occurs on the 21st of March, or the spring equinox (Autumn equinox in the southern hemisphere). This ancient festival dates back to at least the first millennia BC and originates from the Zoroastrian beliefs. This is the time of joy, music, celebration renewal, gift giving and good food. It is also a time of reflection and meditation.

The other significant event in the Persian calendar is Mehregan or the Harvest Festival which has also been celebrated from the ancient times and originates from the Zoroastrian beliefs.

Please refer to our calendar of events for further information regarding upcoming event.

	President Saeed Tasbihsazan Email: president.pcasa@gmail.com		Vice President Damon Shokri Email: vicepresident.pcasa@gmail.com
	Treasurer Ali Mostaghim Email: treasurer.pcasa@gmail.com		Secretary Morteza Mohammadzahei Email: secretary.pcasa@gmail.com
	Communications Nima Vahidi Email: communications.pcasa@gmail.com		Memberships Ali Mirsepahi Email:membership.pcasa@gmail.com
	Hamdelan committee Parvaneh Rajaiya Email: yadiazman@hotmail.com		Inspector Alireza Ahmadi Email: inspector.pcasa@gmail.com
	Board member Akhtar Esmailzadeh Email:

	Director, Presenter Amir Soroush Email:soro40@hotmail.com		Presenter Mahboobeh Aryanpad
	Director, Presenter Najmeh Sefat		Presenter, Producer Alireza Sefat Facebook: www.facebook.com/AlirsrilA
	News Reporter Ali Mirsepahi Mobile: +61 403227840 Email:ali.mirsepahi@gmail.com