Utrecht University’s GAMAAN research group wins prestigious MRS President’s Medal
The Group for Analyzing and Measuring Attitudes in Iran (GAMAAN) has been awarded The MRS President’s Medal. The group was awarded for their research on Iranians’ attitudes towards different social and political topics. GAMAAN operates under the supervision of a board including assistant professor of religious studies and Dr Pooyan Tamimi Arab and Dr Ammar Maleki (Tilburg University).
International award
This international award is granted to an organisation or individual that has made an extraordinary contribution to research but does not have the institutional framework to be recognised by the standard MRS Awards programme.
Anonymous surveys on Iranians’ political attitudes
GAMAAN is an independent, non-profit research foundation registered in the Netherlands. Researchers study Iranians’ attitudes towards different social and political topics.
A survey on political systems conducted by GAMAAN in 2022 indicated that about 67% of the target population of literate adults are against a political system governed by religious law. Women, younger people, and university-educated people living in cities are the groups most opposed to the idea of an Islamic regime; on the other hand, the results showed that differences with men, the elderly, and people without higher education living in rural areas were not great as a majority of these groups also oppose the regime.
Award with international prestige
Market Research Society (MRS) is an extensive network with special expertise in data and technology. “Universities, companies like Google and Ipsos and researchers from organisations like NATO were present at the award ceremony,” Pooyan Tamimi Arab says. “Getting recognition in front of such an audience, ensures that more people actually study our research and take it seriously.”
“I am proud that Ladan Boroumand writes that GAMAAN has broken down the Iranian state’s monopoly on truth about its people. She is an Iranian woman who has advocated democracy and human rights for decades. This award helps us keep the attention of media, governments and academics on the protests in Iran.”