아프리카ㆍ중동

In the past decades, constant brain drain has become a serious challenge for the Islamic Republic of Iran. Since the beginning of the 1990s, awareness of the problem and hence measures to counter this trend have increased. After some efforts to attract Iranian expatriates’ interest in investment in—or even remigration to—Iran, in 2005 the National Elites Foundation was established. The foundation focuses on identification of highly gifted individuals, and support and preservation of the domestic elites to which they belong. Both material and non-material support are granted to select groups of beneficiaries, thus reflecting the Islamic republic’s attempts to support and care for its citizens’ public and private lives.