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A Wednesday night panel of CU Boulder and local municipal government leaders agreed there are a variety of actions U.S. citizens can take to support the current protests in Iran against that nation鈥檚 oppressive government鈥攂ut听such actions require activists here to listen carefully to and follow the lead of the Iranian people themselves.听

The panel, 鈥淲oman, Life, Freedom: Supporting the Iranian Women鈥檚 Revolution,鈥� was convened in the Old Main Chapel by CU faculty members Shideh Dashti, acting associate dean for research in the College of Engineering and Applied Science, and Shawhin Roudbari, an assistant professor in Environmental Design at CU Boulder. Both are leaders in the Woman, Life, Freedom movement at CU Boulder.听

Panelists included CU Provost Russell Moore, Boulder Mayor Aaron Brockett, Boulder City Council Member Nicole Speer (who also serves as director of operations for CU Boulder鈥檚 Institute of Cognitive Science), CU Professor and Chair of Geography Jennifer Fluri and Lakewood City Council Member Jeslin Shahrezaei.

The panel kicked off with an in-person greeting by Colorado Gov. Jared Polis, who said the protesters in Iran were 鈥減utting themselves at risk for what we call the unalienable rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness that our nation was founded upon.鈥�

鈥淲e come together to let the people of Iran know they are not alone. They have friends and supporters here in Colorado...the state of Colorado is proud to stand with all those around the world who aspire to live their own lives, including those who have taken to the streets in Iran to stand up for their rights,鈥� Polis said.听

The panel continued with a recorded interview conducted by Dashti with Shirin Ebadi, an Iranian lawyer and human rights activist based in London, on the subject of how Americans can support the current protests in Iran, which Dashti said has resulted in more than 18,000 people鈥攎any of them women and young people鈥攂eing jailed under threat of execution.

鈥淔irst of all, you should amplify the voices of the Iranian people,鈥� Ebadi said. 鈥淵ou who live in the U.S. need to reflect the voices of Iranians.鈥澨�

Ebadi said American politicians need to learn about what the Iranian public wants, which she said is 鈥渁 democratic and secular government.鈥澨�

In a series of questions and answers moderated by Dashti, the panel then focused on more specific topics of how to engage activism in support of the people of Iran as common citizens, as municipal leaders, but without doing so as colonizers and using the most effective tools possible.

Fluri, a feminist political geographer concentrating on conflict, security and aid and development in South and Southwest Asia, agreed with Ebadi on the need for American activists to play a supporting, not听leading, role in activism against the Iranian government.听

鈥淲e need to be the ones listening and supporting,听not directing and telling them what to do or what government they should have鈥攖hey know better than we do. It鈥檚 one of the fatal flaws of the past we don鈥檛 want to repeat again.鈥澨�

Speer, speaking as a Boulder City Council member, said it was important to 鈥渁ct in partnership鈥� with the people of Iran and work to amplify their voices at all levels of government, especially locally.听

鈥淪peak to your government,鈥� she said. 鈥淎t the first and third [Boulder City]听Council meetings, we have 20 minutes of open comment. Find those kinds of opportunities where you can have a platform [to]听speak to leaders who can amplify the message further.鈥澨�

Asked about how administrators and public officials can support the movement in Iran, Moore said higher education leaders have a responsibility to 鈥渟upport events like this.鈥澨�

鈥淚t has to be a sustained effort,鈥� Moore said. 鈥淭he university is nicely positioned to support an event like this and to have other events to help educate people. I鈥檓 a facilitator鈥攇etting people to exert influence locally and nationally is a pretty long game, but that鈥檚 how things work.鈥澨�

The event closed with CU Theatre & Dance Professor Nii Armah Sowah reminding the audience that their activism could find expression in physical movement, as well as in political action. Sowah then asked the audience to stand and join him in a guided call-and-response dance, chanting 鈥渨oman, life, freedom.鈥�