I hold an MA in New Media and Digital Culture at the University of Utrecht, the Netherlands and a BSc in Persian-English Translations from the University of Payamnour, Tehran, Iran. My MA thesis concerns the role of Social Media in general and Facebook in particular in education and integration of refugees in the Netherlands. The title of my thesis is " Ethnographic Study of Facebook Usage among the Persian and Arabic Speaking Refugees and Asylum seekers in Asylum Center in Utrecht" I have served on the website and social media editorial boards and am a frequent contributor to several journals. Currently, I am holding the position of Editor in Chief at IranGids.nl which is a multi-language website focusing on Iranian Tourist attractions. My research areas include (but not limited to) Social Movements, Fandom, Transmedia, Pedagogy, Social Capital and Ethnic Media. My most current research focuses on “The Iranian Zoroastrians Representation in New Media”.
Sepanta Niknam was the only non-Muslim elected to the council in May. A Zoroastrian city councilor in Iran has been suspended from his position, highlighting an emerging battle over the rights of the country's religious minorities to run for office. https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-zoroastrian-suspended-city-council/28783013.html