shamim

In the year 1399 (2020-2021), a grassroots network called "Shamim," was established with the aim of mobilizing the public for social activism. The main mission of the Shemim network is intelligent, grassroots, and comprehensive prevention against addiction, with a primary focus on youth and women.Shemim has chosen to concentrate its efforts in disadvantaged neighborhoods, as studies show that the sphere of influence of Iranians is more centered around neighborhoods than homes or workplaces. Therefore, the primary geographic scope of Shemim's activities is in marginalized areas on the outskirts of major cities, which are more susceptible to drug and psychotropic addiction.
The primary role of Shemim is to create or catalyze active community groups for prevention through both in-person and virtual education. The educational approach is conceptually based on the literature of defenders of life, which commemorates the memory of around four thousand individuals (Iranian martyrs in the fight against drugs). It focuses on empowerment qualitatively, skill enhancement, and structurally defines positive actions such as role-playing, storytelling, theme parks, virtual reality videos, and escape rooms.
During its years of operation, the Shemim network has managed to train over 10,000 individuals at national, provincial, and local levels across the country. Today, it has an active network in all provinces of the country composed of prevention specialists tailored to the diverse local cultures.

Key activities in brief include:
Organizing six national and provincial training events to educate social health mentors.
Developing four books with titles covering:
Pathology of legislative policies in the fight against drugs.
Relapse, narratives of addiction and liberation.
Addiction from a social policy perspective.
KarA, experience narratives of entrepreneurs in the addiction field.
Initiating national and provincial campaigns with the central theme of the "Addiction-Inducing Flower."
Positive operations in over 200 neighborhoods and points across Iran, including street theater, choral groups, futsal competitions, and kite-flying games.
Developing 45 specialized lesson plans in over 3,000 pages for educating grassroots activists.

Key persons

Abolhasan Safarpour is the managing director of Shamim's NGO. He has a PhD in sociology. His focus is on public activities and networking in the field of addiction prevention. And in this field, he believes that he should work with the strategy of education, empowerment, and skill development, centered on family and teenagers.