Join us in New York City, September 23rd and 24th, as we raise our Voices for Iran and demand Ahmadinejad be held accountable for crimes against the Iranian people. We call upon the international community support human rights in Iran and reject the policies of military aggression and economic starvation.

Say no to torture, killings, and rape. Say yes to freedom of speech, assembly. End the show trials. Free all political prisoners and prisoners of conscience, and hold the real criminals accountable. Remember Neda and Sohrab, and all the victims of state violence. Oppose war and economic sanctions. Shame Ahmadinejad.

We aim to have the single biggest international action in support of Iranian rights ever in one location. We encourage everyone to come to New York City September 23rd and 24th for two days of action. Together we can send a message that is heard loud and clear!

Schedule (check voices4iran.com [1] for times & location updates):

Wed. Sept. 23rd, 2:30pm to 6:30pm: Rally at the UN building (47th between 1st & 2nd Ave)

Participants include: Denis Halliday, Arash of Kiosk, Fatemeh Haghighatjou,

Wed. Sept. 23rd, 7:30pm to 8:30pm: outdoor film & cultural event (location TBA)

Thursday. Sept 24th: March with the Green Scroll (location and time TBA)

Thursday. Sept 24th: Music for Iran, social event fundraiser (location and time TBA)

Delegations are already being planned from major cities across North America and Europe. Contact us to find the delegation near you and for information about affordable hotel accommodations. We encourage you book plane tickets and hotel rooms ASAP.

PLEASE ALSO MAKE A TAX DEDUCTIBLE DONATION at united4iran.org [2]. Checks are also accepted; please contact us by phone or email (see below). Also consider sponsoring someone from your area to attend the two-day action.

WHEN: September 23rd and 24th

WHERE: New York City: outside the UN other locations TBA

Facebook RSVP: www.facebook.com/home.php#/event.php?eid=114669997606&ref=ts [3]

PHONE: 646-784-3153

EMAILS: General Info: voices4iran@gmail.com [4] OR Delegation/Hotel Coordinator: delegations.voices4iran@gmail.com [5]

WebpageS: voice4iran.com [6] and united4iran.org [7]

Brought to you by: Where Is My Vote-NY, United for Iran, NORCAL4Iran, Where Is My Votes-DC, Where Is My Vote-Toronto, Cycles for Human Rights and more…

We ask that you please not bring nation flags. We all love our countries and their symbols but at this action we strive for a united event with a message that doesn’t appear factional. We offer people the option of a green-white-red flag with no emblem in the middle or with a positive text. Email us if you have any questions.

Information below this line should not be circulated widely but can be made available when individuals seek this information

Basic Event Info

The following is a sheet designed to help you organize for the protests during Ahmadinejad's visit to the UN: September 23rd and 24th.

Activity Descriptions

Protest Outside the UN: A mega rally outside the UN building featuring speeches from well know Iran and non-Iran human rights activists, academics, journalists, artists and celebrities and several musical performances. This protest will take place on September 23rd or 24th between 2:30pm and 6:30pm roughly when Ahmadinejad is scheduled to speak.

Iran Alive: A vigil featuring an art instillation/film. The piece will be short film depicting recent events in Iran projected against a screen comprised of 100+ women and men wearing all white. Audio will involve music and Persian and English recordings of Iranians saying "Ahmadinejad is not my president." This vigil will be held in a NYC public park (TBA) and will take place the evening of the 23rd at 7:30pm.

March with the Green Scroll: This is tentatively scheduled for a march across the Brooklyn Bridge. This can take place during rush hour midday September 24th. We estimate the march will take between 1 to 1.5 hours to march single file across the bridge with a brief stop for photos of the scroll at full display. The march will end in a NYC public park.

After Party Fundraiser: a live show in a New York City club with performances by Kiosk and more.

HOW TO SET UP A DELEGATION

First: Email delegations.voices4iran@gmail.com [8] or call 646-784-3153. Let us know your plans. We’ll help you in anyway we can and offer hotel information and details about the Set it Up for Iran actions.

Second: Set goals. Set a goal for the number of people your getting to NYC. Set a fund raising goal for the trip to subsidize students and others that can’t afford to pay.

Third: Figure out the best way for people to get to NYC. We recommend East Coast and Mid-Western cities charter buses. Our delegations coordinator will help.

Fourth: Announce the delegation. Make a Facebook events page and send out emails.

Fifth: Throw a delegation launch rally and invite local media and the community. This will give your friends and family a chance to rally together for human rights. And more importantly let the local media interview you about your trip to Iran and see the commitment their community has to human rights, democracy and against international policies that will hurt the movement.

FUNDRAISING

Along side organizing a delegation and fund raising for that delegation we ask local groups to fundraise for the main events in NYC. Please look at the itemized budget below and set goals based on our needs and your capability. This budget can be made available to anyone who asks and should be used to solicited bigger contributions. Tax deductable contributions can be at united4iran.org [9] or by mailing us a check made out to Human Rights Watch. Email us for the address. Checks can also be collected by local groups and brought to New York in September but please let us know when you have these checks in hand. We can help come up with fundraiser ideas!

Estimated Budget

Item Cost Description T-shirts $9,000 Revenue generating Pins $1,500 Revenue generating Rubber Bracelets $1,944 Revenue generating Water $250 Revenue generating Green Scroll $1,400   Musical Score $600   Human Screen Uniforms $1,000   Sound, generator, stage $7,000   Bleachers $700   Projector $1,000   Tents, Tables $300   Airfare for Speakers and Artists $3,000   Banners $1,500   Poster Printing $500   Back Drop $300   Publicist $1,000   Facebook Advertizing $1,000   Four Day Truck Rental $500   Mobile Billboards $15,000   Misc. $3,600   TOTAL $51,094.00  

Hotels: Generally speaking our research shows that hotels.com [10] has the best prices—even better than negotiated group rates. However we have found a few interesting options you won’t find on hotels.com [11] and we’ve picked some hotels listed on hotels.com [12] that we think make sense for people coming to NYC rallies. If you need large blocks of rooms contact our hotels coordinator at delegations.voicesforiran@gmail.com [13] .

Class A: Affordable Manhattan Hostels ($25-35)

//www.jazzhostels.com/ [14]: clean with several locations across the city

//hinewyork.org/ [15]: good for big groups. Lots of beds and group rates.

//www.centralparkhostel.com/index.html [16]

//www.nychostels.com/ [17]

Class B: 1 Star Manhattan Hotel ($80-120)

Hotel Carter: 250 47th Street (Times Square), New York, NY

(212) 944-6000

Price: $89.99 (2 king beds): This is a negotiated rate dependent on demand. Otherwise a room with 2 king beds will be closer to $120.

Accessible: Yes—Very Central. Located in Times Sq./Mid Town short subway ride to the UN (even walk-able)

Closest Airport: JFK, La Guardia, Newark

Cleanliness: Not to Good —the hotel is rundown but you can’t beat the price and how central it is. Despite it’s drawbacks it remains very popular. The staff is nice and willing to accommodate the best they can. If there's something wrong with your hotel room, don't hesitate to request another one.

Neighborhood: Good, busy, bright, central, lots of tourist, lots of places to eats and numerous subways lines.

Class C: 2 to 3 Star Brooklyn and Queens Hotel ($85-180)

Sleep Inn Brooklyn: 247 49th Street, Brooklyn, NY, 11220

(718) 748-6400

Price: $83.30 (1 king): Rate from hotels.com [18] also the have about 15 double rooms for a bit more. Lots of rooms still available approx 40-90

Accessible: Yes--via subway (35mins to midtown)

Closest Airport: JFK

Cleanliness: Very Good —good reviews

Neighborhood: ???

Best Western Gregory Hotel: 8315 4th Ave, Brooklyn, NY, 11209

(718) 238-3737

‎Price: $106 (room size unknown): Rate from hotels.com [19]

Accessible: Very Good--Near subway (45mins to midtown)

Closest Airport: JFK

Cleanliness: Yes—good reviews

Neighborhood: ???

Ramada Long Island City: 3830 Crescent St Long Island City, Queens, NY

(718) 389-9100

Price: $88 (2 adults)

Accessible: Very Good--Near subway (10 mins to midtown)

Cleanliness: Yes—good reviews

Neighborhood: Good but not very touristy

Days Inn/Long Island City: 3136 Queens Blvd, Long Island City, Queens, NY

718-433-0077

Price: $89 (2 adults)

Accessible: Very Good--Near subway (10 mins to midtown)

Cleanliness: Yes—good reviews

Neighborhood: Good but not very touristy

Holiday Inn Hotel Long Island City: 3905 29th Street Long Island City, Queens, NY

877-863-4780‎

Price: $179 (2 adults)

Accessible: Very Good--Near subway (10 mins to midtown)

Cleanliness: Very Yes—Fancy new hotel

Neighborhood: Good but not very touristy

Class D: 2 or 3 Star Newark Hotels ($75-130)

Holiday Inn at Newark International Airport, 160 Frontage Rd, Newark, NJ,

973-589-1000

Price: $69.00 for 2 person/room

Accessible: Yes-Private bus service to/from NYC for $12.00 round trip. It is possible to negotiate time of drop off and pick if there is a group taking the bus.

Closest Airport: Newark

Cleanliness: Very Good

Neighborhood: Suburban

Best Western Robert Treat Hotel: 50 Park Place, Newark, NJ

973-622-1000

Price: $76.00 (queen size rooms) via Hotels.com.

Accessible: Has free shuttle from hotel to Newark Penn Station every 30 minutes. From Newark Penn you can get to Mid-town in 15 mins.

Closest Airport: Newark

Cleanliness: Very Good

Neighborhood: Suburban

For 2, 3 or 4 star Manhattan Hotels we recommend Hotels.com for the lowest rates

VOICES FOR IRAN: NO to Ahmadinjad! YES to Human Rights! Rally at UN (NYC: sept. 23-24)

//www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=114669997606 [20]

Ahmadi is coming to NYC! Come JOIN us. Speak out. INVITE everybody!!! Make New York Green!

Sent by Bitta Mostofi