Mariam Memarsadeghi (Tavaana) gives a talk for the Middle East Centre seminar series. Mariam Memarsadeghi is co-founder and co-director of Tavaana: E-Learning Institute for Iranian Civil Society. Launched in 2010, the virtual institute offers secure democracy and human rights educational opportunities, from graduate level seminars to animated PSAs, short tutorials, case studies of democratic transitions, panel discussions, translated ebooks, comedy skits and more. Now a household brand, Tavaana regularly reaches over 15 million Iranians via live e-classrooms, correspondence learning, satellite TV, robust social media networks and a mobile app. TavaanaTech provides the Iranian people with digital literacy training, digital safety alerts and tech solutions for access to a free, safe internet. Mariam is an outspoken advocate for the principles of liberalism, women's rights, democracy (and democratic) education and internet freedom, particularly in Islamic contexts. Her writings have appeared in The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal and other publications. She is a frequent speaker at think tanks and has appeared on the PBS NewsHour, NPR and other English, Persian and Arabic language news programs. Mariam is a 2017 Presidential Leadership Scholar and has been recognized by the Bertelsmann Foundation and the German Marshall Fund as a TransAtlantic Young Leader for her work promoting democracy and human rights globally.