The West Asia Council is a non-profit organization initiated by Alidad Mafinezam, Ph.D. and registered in the State of Maryland in the United States and the Province of Ontario in Canada. The Council promotes knowledge exchange, international cooperation, trade, and investment between North America on the one hand, and West Asian countries such as Turkey, Arab countries, Israel, and Iran on the other. The Council’s main aim is to build deep links between these two critical regions of the world by raising their level of interaction, understanding, and cooperation in key arenas.
Read Alidad Mafinezam's latest opinion peice in the Globe and Mail.
The hallmarks of the Council’s work are its original research, and the potency of the networks it builds across sectors, — government, business, NGO, and educational institutions. Our knowledge production and dissemination activities, and the networks of cooperation we design, serve the common good as they rely on the cutting-edge research and organic knowledge of different countries.
Given its focus on building greater knowledge and understanding between North America and West Asia, the Council is especially interested in harnessing the potential of West Asian communities of North America, tapping into the vast human capital and potential of Arab, Turkish, and Iranian diasporas in the U.S. and Canada.
Areas of Focus
- Knowledge and professional exchange and collaboration
- Philanthropy and remittances
- Joint Ventures in Educational and Philanthropic Arenas
- Comparative policy research
- Urban and Regional Design/Clusters of Innovation