About the Second Year

At the second year of the academy, 845 individuals have enrolled in this program and are receiving online design education. This report provides an overview of their progress institutions are also involved in this project. The Iranian representatives of France's Danone, Alibaba of Iran, Nexa Group, Inverse Educational Institute, and Tech-inn Petroleum Holding are this project's main partners. Tetherland, Sisarv, Soroush-e Molana, M Brows, Penguin-Abi Publishtion, Nikdel Studio, and other philanthropists also support this project.

Statistical Summary

The registration for the second year of the project, similar to the first year, commenced on March 8, 2023, International Women's Day. In the first year, media outlets were used to publicize this project. However, in the second year, the publication of designs by graduates of the first year on the Vand International Institute's page sparked a wave of interest in participating in this project. Within ten days, 845 individuals completed their online registration forms and submitted their identification documents, marking a fivefold increase in the number of students compared to the first year. The primary focus of this project in its first two years was on educating Afghan girls. Many of them had lost the opportunity for education due to the return of the Taliban, as schools and universities were no longer accessible. Some were also forced to migrate.

In the second year of the project, a diverse group of girls participated. The average age among them is 23, with a wide age range spanning from the youngest girl at 12 years old to the eldest at 44 years old. The majority of our registered girls hail from Afghanistan, numbering 542, while an additional 151 girls come from Iran. The remaining participants are spread across various countries, including Uzbekistan, Pakistan, Germany, France, Canada, Cuba, the United Arab Emirates, the United States, and etc.

This year's project will be held in two five-month semesters. In the first semester, students are introduced to several different topics in graphic design: software, the history of graphic design, and professional skills.In addition to Touraj Sabrivand, Mitra Ferdosi, Jalil Nourbakhsh, who are the founders and key managers of this project, our of the top students of last year got skilled with Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator software.

So, they were invited to educate the software to new students. Zainab Heydari, Mobarakeh Mousavi, Fatemeh Akbari, and Marzieh Sedaghat were four of the best students of last year.Students must practice those two software weekly and send them to the course instructors. Instructors view students' weekly exercises, review their source files, rate, and make notes about each exercise. All these reviews are recorded every week. Furthermore, over these five months, students become familiar with a portion of the history of graphic design and important works from various parts of the world. Project instructors examine different design styles and their similarities and differences.

Educational Methed

Touraj Saberivand, the founder of this project, has developed a unique educational methodology for conducting the training in this course. He criticizes the conventional teaching methods in graphic design that are typically implemented in design educational institutions. In this instructional approach, students do not begin with the basic principles of graphic design in a simplistic manner. Instead, they are first introduced to prominent designss and must master design software.
Following that, they must complete a course called "Design Literacy," which includes a series of lessons such as "Communicology," "Semiology," "Aesthetics," and "Eye Movement." This methodology was implemented in the project's first year, and based on the remarkable results achieved, it is undergoing further refinements this year.

Lessons in the Design History

Introduction 20 World Designers

Given the importance of classic posters, students were introduced to social and humanitarian posters created by prominent graphic designers throughout the history of graphic design. Through these works, they became acquainted with designers and various design styles from Japan, Russia, Poland, Switzerland, Germany, North America, and South America. This experience allowed them to familiarize themselves with cultural diversity and different graphic design styles. The following are examples of works by renowned graphic designers that students became familiar with:

Mastering Software Skills

In parallel with the design history lessons and the introduction of designers and important graphic styles, the students also commenced working with design software. They receive weekly lessons on software like Photoshop and Illustrator and complete weekly exercises. These exercises are evaluated by instructors and categorized into three levels, with detailed notes recorded for each assignment. However, these notes and assessments are not sent to the students to prevent anxiety, negative impact, and unnecessary competition regarding their grades. Nonetheless, these evaluations and notes help instructors emphasize specific details in future videos and request additional exercises from students to enhance their software proficiency.

Student's Feedbacks

Zainab Azimi

"Vand" became a ray of hope in our hearts, a ray of hope
Every time I try to achieve something, a sudden obstacle stands in my way, entangling me so much that I have to back off. But I never back off from Vand...!

Farida Rahimi

Truly, it was a ray of hope on dark and hopeless days. And now, at this moment, I am sure we are all more determined and optimistic about the uncertain future.

Parisa Mohammadi

This program is well-prepared, organized, and easily manageable with experienced and extraordinary teachers. Thank you for being my hope on my darkest days.

Nasrin Habibi

I am grateful for your support in the midst of challenging times, in turbulent political circumstances, and not being able to complete my education in graphic design. You have been a guiding light for me in the world of design.

Samira Gulbahar

When women and girls from Afghanistan were drowning in a sea of despair, Vand, like a rescue team, saved some of these drowning souls and ushered them into a new world.

Noor Ahmadzai

Honestly, Vand represented a message of peace for me. After starting the program, a glimmer of hope lit up inside me that I could make a contribution in this vast world, that I could become useful. I, who in my mind, had nothing but the pain of migration and its problems.

Shabnam Ahmadi

I am glad, very glad, that there are still people who give hope to others, who care and do something for them. The messages from designers in other countries were like new buds in my heart.

Yasmin Popal

The Vand project and its incredible team not only gave us graphic training but also gave us hope and told us not to give up. We girls have to fight for ourselves.

Download the Second Year Report

Third year of the Academy

Second Year of the CSR