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The Science and Arts Foundation was founded in 1999 by Abbas Edalat with the assistance of Yahya Tabesh with the goal of empowering youth in the information era. The development and widespread growth of information and communication technologies and the internet and the importance of empowering the youth with them lead the founders to the establishment of the Science and Arts Foundation with the goal of developing the infrastructure required for helping the schools, and empowering the youth in the country by expanding computer and network literacy so that Iranian youth would enter the information era alongside their peers all over the world.
The Science and Arts Foundation spent its first decade on designing and implementing programs leading to the accomplishment of its goals, some of which have received international recognition. The Foundation’s most important activities in the last decade are as follows:

SchoolNet

SchoolNet is the chief project undertaken by SAF in the past decade. In the course of this project several boys and girls high schools were equipped with the minimum required hardware such as work stations, servers, local networks, and internet connections along with other equipment such as printers and scanners.

After the necessary facilities were provided, an educational program was devised which included basic training and familiarizing students with computers and networking. After that the facilities were used in extracurricular and scientific research activities in the form of “project-oriented learning” in which hundreds of students were involved in scientific activities via the provided internet facilities. Their achievements were presented in the school websites and in the Annual SchoolNet Conference. The 9th Annual SchoolNet Conference was held in spring 2008 at the Roshd girl’s highschool in Tehran.

SchoolNet’s valuable activities as a leading program for the development and application of information and communication with an appropriate pattern for institutionalization has attracted the attention of both national and international organizations.
The first school to be covered by the SchoolNet program was Roshd boy’s highschool in Tehran. Later on, however, with the help of charity SchoolNet was able to support over 200 schools in the country.
The development and expansion of SchoolNet was made possible by the cooperation of the school principals, Teachers, and interested students. The Foundation executives, Mr. Khanban, Mr. Zahiri, Mr. Shokhmgar, Mr. Masroor and recently Mrs. Mohaghegh played an important role in the progress made in one decade. SchoolNet was also able to form a constructive communication with international organizations. As a result many students and teachers from within the country were able to participate in international conferences with the support of the Science and Arts Foundation. Participation in these conferences on the one hand increased the credibility of Iranian teachers, and on the other hand enabled them to interact with their professional counterparts in other countries which promoted their cause. Today, at the advent of SchoolNet’s second decade of activity, its management has been given to Isfahan’s House of Mathematics in order to facilitate its development and transformation into a professional organization.

Information and Communication Technology Centers

Information and communication technology centers have been established in Bam and Zahedan with the goal of developing entrepreneurship in the information era. These centers include the necessary infrastructures such as computer sites, local networks, servers and additional equipment and internet connections.

Educational programs required for expanding human resources skilled in information and communication technology were developed in these centers so that interested youth would be able to gain the required skills to be able to enter the job market.

The information and communication technology center in Zahedan was established in 2002 in the deprived sections of the city and many of the youth residing in these areas went through with the educational programs offered at this center. The information and communication technology center in Bam was first established as a temporary center in a shelter after the devastating earthquake in 2003. It was later on relocated to a permanent location by the Science and Arts Foundation where it offers educational programs to interested youth so that they will be able to sooth the pain of the disaster while training them so that they may help develop the region.

Empowering the Visually Impaired People

Information and communication technology is an essential tool for empowering the visually impaired people. visually impaired people make use of voice browsers for using computer systems and resources available on the internet.

The Science and Arts Foundation has taken some major steps forward in empowering the visually impaired people by developing specialized computer sites in schools specifically for the visually impaired people and by developing educational systems and audio books for them.

Vision & Mission

The goal of the second decade activities of the Science and Arts Foundation is empowering the youth in a "Knowledge Society". In line with this vision, the Foundation’s activities have been focused on scientific studies, research, and development so that on the one hand it can help technological advancements, and on the other hand the results of these activities may facilitate the development of official programs.