Witness Seminar: The BBC and the Iranian Revolution 1979

The list of speakers is listed below in the programme

Date: 6 March 2010Time: 9:30 AM

Finishes: 6 March 2010Time: 5:30 PM

Venue: Russell Square: College BuildingsRoom: G2

Type of Event: Workshop

Programme
Abstracts
Biographies
Registration
Enquiries

Recently the Islamic Republic of Iran labelled BBC Persian Television a key tool of “soft power” being used to stir up the demonstrations which have convulsed the country since the contested presidential elections in June 2009. Thirty years ago, the Shah of Iran regarded the BBC Persian Service radio as his “enemy number one” and held it responsible for promoting the revolution of February 1979. Iranians are intrigued by the relationship between the BBC and the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office while academics, journalists and political and media analysts continue to debate the role of BBC language services around the world.

What was the role of the BBC Persian Service in the Iranian revolution of 1979? Did the British Foreign Office interfere in the content of the daily broadcasts to Iran? Was the radio service a contributory force in the popular mobilization?

Representatives from the BBC World Service, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Iranian officials and diplomats as well as independent journalists and writers who were active in that period are invited to tell their stories and debate the implications of that period. An invited audience will have a chance to ask questions.

These witness accounts, which will be recorded live, will add significantly to our understanding of this crucial period in the contemporary history of Iran and the role of the BBCWS within the strategies of British public diplomacy.

The event forms part of an on-going project on ‘diasporic nationalism’, part of the ‘Tuning In’ research on the BBC World Service funded through the AHRC Diasporas research programme.

Speakers include Andrew Whitley and Lotfali Khonji; video-taped interviews with Lord David Owen and Fred Halliday.

Programme*

Date/Time	Description
9:00 - 9:30	Coffee and registration
9:30 - 9:40	Opening welcome remarks by Professor Annabelle Sreberny, Director of the Centre for Media and Film Studies, SOAS
9:40 - 11:00	Witness Accounts Chaired by Ruth Hogarth, former Managing Editor BBC Persian Fred Halliday, Independent journalist (DVD) Richard Oppenheimer, BBC Iran analyst Chris Rundle, Research analyst, FCO Lotfali Khonji, BBC producer
11:00 - 11:30	Coffee Break
11:30 - 13:30	Witness Accounts Chaired by Lindsey Hilsum, International Editor, Channel 4 News Right Honourable Lord Owen, Foreign Secretary (DVD) Andrew Whitley, BBC correspondent in Tehran Shadab Vajdi, BBC producer Mehrdad Khonsari, Press attaché, Iran Embassy, London (DVD) Baqer Moin, BBC producer Shahran Tabari, BBC producer
13:30 - 14:30	Lunch
14:30 - 16:00	BBC Persian TV and Iran Chaired by Professor Richard Tapper, SOAS Behrouz Afagh, Head of BBC Asia and Pacific Region Pooneh Ghodoosi, Presenter “Nobat e Shoma” Sadeq Saba, Head of BBC Persian Service
16:00 - 17:00	Discussion chaired by Annabelle Sreberny

* Designations of speakers in the morning sessions are for the two years 1978-79, about which they will be providing witness accounts. For full bio's of speakers and their current positions, please consult their biographies.

Abstracts

Witness Seminar: The BBC and the Iranian Revolution 1979 - abstracts

Biographies

Witness Seminar: The BBC and the Iranian Revolution 1979 - speakers' biographies

Media Coverage

BBC Persian

Post Conference Activities

Conference DVD

The proceedings of the seminar were filmed and which we hope to make available on DVD. Further details will be confirmed in due course.

Interview with Professor Halliday

Interview with Professor Halliday at his London home in early December 2009 about his recollections of the Iranian revolution and the role of the BBC Persian Service.