Our Founder

Manouchehr “Manny” Pedram
(1926-2020)

Manouchehr “Manny” Pedram was a true citizen of the world. Born in Iran, he traveled throughout the Middle East, Europe, China, Russia and the Ukraine. Believing that intercultural education could help foster a more peaceful, cooperative and just society, he founded the nonprofit Global and Multicultural Education Center (GAME) in 1982.

He harnessed his lifelong passion as an educator to lead the program for years, promoting the United Nations’ efforts to improve the lives of women and children through biennial conferences on human rights. At age 90, he authored the book, “Global Discontent: The Mosaic of Cultural Diversity.”

The Western world still knew Iran as Persia when Manny was born March 26, 1926. He spent his childhood and young adult years in Tehran, graduating from the University of Tehran with a law degree. He moved to the U.S. in 1955 to the University of Kansas in Lawrence.

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Global Discontent: The Mosaic of Cultural Diversity by Manouchehr Pedram, Ph.D

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Manny pursued a teaching career that spanned more than 35 years in Kansas, Missouri, Iowa and Colorado. Early on, he served on a team of five educators who developed the Cooperative Urban Teacher Education program (CUTE), an award-winning model of multicultural education training for prospective inner city teachers.

He received the Kansas City Mayor’s World Citizen Award, earned for his involvement in international and intercultural activities, including serving as president and historian of the United Nations Association of Greater Kansas City. He and his wife, Sara, were also joint recipients of the Social Justice Award from the All Souls Unitarian Universalist Church in Kansas City for their long-time efforts on the United Nations Committee. Manny was a 50-year member of All Souls.

Manny met Sara later in life at a summer dance in 1994. From Oklahoma City, she was in the Kansas City area visiting a cousin and found Manny to be “a fabulous dancer.” A long-distance relationship followed. After a few years, Sara moved to Kansas City, where they later married. Their favorite UU hymn thereafter was “Let It Be A Dance We Do.” The Pedrams recently had marked their 20th wedding anniversary. A man of many interests, Manny enjoyed painting, gardening, cooking, listening to Persian and symphonic music and their church community at All Souls.

Manny passed away Dec. 8, 2020, at an extended care facility in Kansas City, MO at the age of 94 where he had lived briefly.

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