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Restoration of Iranian historical sites discussed at meeting with European experts

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TEHRAN – The restoration of several Iranian historical sites and monuments has been discussed during a meeting with two European experts in Tehran.
 
The meeting was held between the director of Iran’s Archaeology Research Center, Hamideh Chubak, the prehistory expert of Germany’s University of Jena, Andrea Picin, and the investigator of the Spanish National Research Council, Jan van der Made.
 
The three held talks about the previous agreement signed between the former director of the Archaeology Research Center with the director of the Catalan Institute of Human Paleontology and Social Evolution.
 
Based on the previous agreement, both sides had agreed to cooperate on restoration and preservation of historical monuments.
 
Book publications and different research and educational programs were also mentioned in the agreement.
 
In addition, both sides had agreed to provide financial sources and materials for future excavations.
 
The Archaeology Research Center is an affiliate of Iran’s Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts Organization (CHTHO).
 
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Art news in brief

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Attractions of Isfahan on display at photo exhibit in Macedonia

TEHRAN – An exhibition of photos displaying some attractions of the central Iranian city of Isfahan opened in Skopje, Macedonia on Sunday.
 
The photos have been taken by the Iranian photographer Hamidreza Malakutikhahand the exhibition was organized by the Iranian cultural attaché office in Belgrade.
 
Maqami music maestro Zolfaqar Asgarian dies at 82

TEHRAN -- Zolfaqar Asgarian, one the few masters of Iranian maqami music, died of a severe infection in his lungs at the Imam Reza (AS) Hospital in Mashhad on Sunday. He was 82.
 
He was a player of dotar, a stringed instrument which is used in the maqami music of the Khorasan region.
 
“Rise of Modern Japan” hits Iranian bookstores
TEHRAN – A Persian translation of British writer W. G. Beasley’s “The Rise of Modern Japan” has been published in Iran.
 
Shahriar Khavajian is the translator of the book, which was published by Qoqnus Publications.
 
The book surveys the history of Japan from the mid 19th century up to the present day.
 
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Pakistani Sufi music festival honors Alireza Qorbani

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TEHRAN -- The acclaimed Iranian vocalist Alireza Qorbani was honored with a prize at the International Mystic Music Sufi Festival in Lahore on Sunday.
 
He received the award for his performances in Islamabad on December 4 and in Lahore on December 6, the Persian service of MNA reported on Monday. 
 
Iranian musicians Saman Samimi, Milad Mohammadi and Zakaria Yusefi accompanied Qorbani during his concerts.
 
Qorbani met Pakistani qawwali singer Faiz Ali Faiz during his sojourn in Pakistan and invited him visit Iran.
 
Qawwali is a form of Sufi Muslim devotional music characterized by simple melodies, forceful rhythms, and wild improvisations that encourage a state of euphoria in the listener.
 
The festival celebrate the true spirit of artistic expression in mysticism featuring Sufi music
 
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Moradi Kermani gives humorous view of death in “The Stem End of a Cucumber”

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TEHRAN --
Iranian children’s book writer Hushang Moradi Kermani’s book “The Stem End of a Cucumber”, which contain 30 short stories with a humorous glance at death, has recently been published.
 
The book was unveiled during a ceremony at the Mehr News Agency on Sunday.
 
Moradi Kermani, Moin Publications director Saleh Ramsari, the publisher of the book, critic Shahram Eqbalzadeh, and literary scholar Mohammad Mokhtarpur attended the ceremony was.
 
“I think of death a lot. I have written almost 340 stories about death and the bitter events in life and I have constantly thought if we can lessen the bitterness and add some sweetness, because many people are afraid of death and many writers do not like to write about it,” the writer said at the ceremony.
 
Moradi Kermani called ‘death’ the common theme of all the stories of the book and said that he liked to reduce the bitterness of death through his humorous descriptions of death.
 
He also explained about the book’s source of inspiration and said, “One day I was walking with my son in the [Behesht-e Zahra] cemetery, where I told him that every individual who is lying here beneath all this dust could be a good writer, since nobody’s life is similar. Each one has experienced war, poverty, happiness and hardship but has not said a word about them.”
 
The author added that he regards his books as his children, “The artwork of an artist is her child. She gives birth to the child, gives food, takes his hands, takes him to school and then the child should learn how to stand on his own. 
 
“My books are my children, after publications, they take their own way,” he added.
 
The 70-year old author noted that he has been writing for about 50 years but has never repeated himself and the characters of his books and the stories, due to what God and nature have bestowed him.
 
“Sweet Jam”, “Like the Full Moon”, “The Reservoir” and “Cushion” are among Moradi Kermani’s credits. Most of these works have been translated into English, German, French, Spanish, Dutch, Arabic, Armenian, Turkish and several other languages.
 
Several Iranian movies and TV-series have been based on his works. Kiumars Purahmad directed the TV series “The Stories of Majid” and Dariush Mehrjuii made “Mom’s Guest” -- both based on his novels of the same name.
 
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“Atlan” wins best doc award at Cinéma Vérité festival

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TEHRAN -- “Atlan”, about the life story of an Iranian Turkmen horse riding instructor, has won the best documentary award at the Iranian international festival for documentary films, Cinéma Vérité.
 
The Iranian director of the film, Moin Karimeddini, received his award during the closing ceremony of the festival at Tehran’s Andisheh Hall on Sunday evening.
 
The film, which was directed in the northeastern Iranian region of Turkmen Sahra during winter 2012, also won the best feature-length documentary award in the national competition section.
 
The award for best medium-length documentary was presented to Italian filmmaker Filippo Ticozzi’s “Chasing the Wind”, about Karine, an embalmer who thinks herself as a gambler playing with the decease.
 
“White Chimney” by Finnish filmmaker Jani Peltonen won the best short documentary award. The film chronicles the events occurred to a group that arrived at Hotel Aulanko in Finland in the late summer of 1939.
 
The special jury award went to French filmmaker Nadege Trebal for her “Scrap Yard” (“Casse”), which documents a vast automobile scrap yard in France and the characters who populate it.
 
The winners of the national competition section of the festival were also honored during the ceremony.
 
Producers Mohammad-Ali Farsi and Fat’hollah Amiri shared the Grand Prix of this section for their films “Clouds on the Way” and “Life in Cold Veins”.
 
Best medium-length documentary award was presented to “Mr. Unemployed” directed by Ali Hamraz, and best short documentary award went to “Spoon” by Jalal Veisi.
 
In this section, director Mohsen Ostad-Ali was also honored with the special jury prize for his feature documentary “A Place to Live”.    
 
Iranian documentarian Kamran Shirdel, Australia’s World Congress of Science and Factual Producers editorial director Alison Leigh and Polish filmmaker Pawel Lozinski were the members of the jury for the feature length documentary section.
 
The members of the jury for the mid-length and short film sections were Iranian filmmaker Mahvash Sheikholeslami, Italian film critic Giona Antonio Nazzaro and Egyptian critic Yakout El-Deeb.
 
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Restoration of Iranian historical sites discussed at meeting with European experts

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0
TEHRAN – The restoration of several Iranian historical sites and monuments has been discussed during a meeting with two European experts in Tehran.
 
The meeting was held between the director of Iran’s Archaeology Research Center, Hamideh Chubak, the prehistory expert of Germany’s University of Jena, Andrea Picin, and the investigator of the Spanish National Research Council, Jan van der Made.
 
The three held talks about the previous agreement signed between the former director of the Archaeology Research Center with the director of the Catalan Institute of Human Paleontology and Social Evolution.
 
Based on the previous agreement, both sides had agreed to cooperate on restoration and preservation of historical monuments.
 
Book publications and different research and educational programs were also mentioned in the agreement.
 
In addition, both sides had agreed to provide financial sources and materials for future excavations.
 
The Archaeology Research Center is an affiliate of Iran’s Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts Organization (CHTHO).
 
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END
 

Art news in brief

0
0
Attractions of Isfahan on display at photo exhibit in Macedonia

TEHRAN – An exhibition of photos displaying some attractions of the central Iranian city of Isfahan opened in Skopje, Macedonia on Sunday.
 
The photos have been taken by the Iranian photographer Hamidreza Malakutikhahand the exhibition was organized by the Iranian cultural attaché office in Belgrade.
 
Maqami music maestro Zolfaqar Asgarian dies at 82

TEHRAN -- Zolfaqar Asgarian, one the few masters of Iranian maqami music, died of a severe infection in his lungs at the Imam Reza (AS) Hospital in Mashhad on Sunday. He was 82.
 
He was a player of dotar, a stringed instrument which is used in the maqami music of the Khorasan region.
 
“Rise of Modern Japan” hits Iranian bookstores
TEHRAN – A Persian translation of British writer W. G. Beasley’s “The Rise of Modern Japan” has been published in Iran.
 
Shahriar Khavajian is the translator of the book, which was published by Qoqnus Publications.
 
The book surveys the history of Japan from the mid 19th century up to the present day.
 
SB/
END
 

Pakistani Sufi music festival honors Alireza Qorbani

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0
TEHRAN -- The acclaimed Iranian vocalist Alireza Qorbani was honored with a prize at the International Mystic Music Sufi Festival in Lahore on Sunday.
 
He received the award for his performances in Islamabad on December 4 and in Lahore on December 6, the Persian service of MNA reported on Monday. 
 
Iranian musicians Saman Samimi, Milad Mohammadi and Zakaria Yusefi accompanied Qorbani during his concerts.
 
Qorbani met Pakistani qawwali singer Faiz Ali Faiz during his sojourn in Pakistan and invited him visit Iran.
 
Qawwali is a form of Sufi Muslim devotional music characterized by simple melodies, forceful rhythms, and wild improvisations that encourage a state of euphoria in the listener.
 
The festival celebrate the true spirit of artistic expression in mysticism featuring Sufi music
 
SB/
END
 

Moradi Kermani gives humorous view of death in “The Stem End of a Cucumber”

0
0

TEHRAN --
Iranian children’s book writer Hushang Moradi Kermani’s book “The Stem End of a Cucumber”, which contain 30 short stories with a humorous glance at death, has recently been published.
 
The book was unveiled during a ceremony at the Mehr News Agency on Sunday.
 
Moradi Kermani, Moin Publications director Saleh Ramsari, the publisher of the book, critic Shahram Eqbalzadeh, and literary scholar Mohammad Mokhtarpur attended the ceremony was.
 
“I think of death a lot. I have written almost 340 stories about death and the bitter events in life and I have constantly thought if we can lessen the bitterness and add some sweetness, because many people are afraid of death and many writers do not like to write about it,” the writer said at the ceremony.
 
Moradi Kermani called ‘death’ the common theme of all the stories of the book and said that he liked to reduce the bitterness of death through his humorous descriptions of death.
 
He also explained about the book’s source of inspiration and said, “One day I was walking with my son in the [Behesht-e Zahra] cemetery, where I told him that every individual who is lying here beneath all this dust could be a good writer, since nobody’s life is similar. Each one has experienced war, poverty, happiness and hardship but has not said a word about them.”
 
The author added that he regards his books as his children, “The artwork of an artist is her child. She gives birth to the child, gives food, takes his hands, takes him to school and then the child should learn how to stand on his own. 
 
“My books are my children, after publications, they take their own way,” he added.
 
The 70-year old author noted that he has been writing for about 50 years but has never repeated himself and the characters of his books and the stories, due to what God and nature have bestowed him.
 
“Sweet Jam”, “Like the Full Moon”, “The Reservoir” and “Cushion” are among Moradi Kermani’s credits. Most of these works have been translated into English, German, French, Spanish, Dutch, Arabic, Armenian, Turkish and several other languages.
 
Several Iranian movies and TV-series have been based on his works. Kiumars Purahmad directed the TV series “The Stories of Majid” and Dariush Mehrjuii made “Mom’s Guest” -- both based on his novels of the same name.
 
RM/
END
 

“Atlan” wins best doc award at Cinéma Vérité festival

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0

TEHRAN -- “Atlan”, about the life story of an Iranian Turkmen horse riding instructor, has won the best documentary award at the Iranian international festival for documentary films, Cinéma Vérité.
 
The Iranian director of the film, Moin Karimeddini, received his award during the closing ceremony of the festival at Tehran’s Andisheh Hall on Sunday evening.
 
The film, which was directed in the northeastern Iranian region of Turkmen Sahra during winter 2012, also won the best feature-length documentary award in the national competition section.
 
The award for best medium-length documentary was presented to Italian filmmaker Filippo Ticozzi’s “Chasing the Wind”, about Karine, an embalmer who thinks herself as a gambler playing with the decease.
 
“White Chimney” by Finnish filmmaker Jani Peltonen won the best short documentary award. The film chronicles the events occurred to a group that arrived at Hotel Aulanko in Finland in the late summer of 1939.
 
The special jury award went to French filmmaker Nadege Trebal for her “Scrap Yard” (“Casse”), which documents a vast automobile scrap yard in France and the characters who populate it.
 
The winners of the national competition section of the festival were also honored during the ceremony.
 
Producers Mohammad-Ali Farsi and Fat’hollah Amiri shared the Grand Prix of this section for their films “Clouds on the Way” and “Life in Cold Veins”.
 
Best medium-length documentary award was presented to “Mr. Unemployed” directed by Ali Hamraz, and best short documentary award went to “Spoon” by Jalal Veisi.
 
In this section, director Mohsen Ostad-Ali was also honored with the special jury prize for his feature documentary “A Place to Live”.    
 
Iranian documentarian Kamran Shirdel, Australia’s World Congress of Science and Factual Producers editorial director Alison Leigh and Polish filmmaker Pawel Lozinski were the members of the jury for the feature length documentary section.
 
The members of the jury for the mid-length and short film sections were Iranian filmmaker Mahvash Sheikholeslami, Italian film critic Giona Antonio Nazzaro and Egyptian critic Yakout El-Deeb.
 
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Art news in brief

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“Fish and I” grabs award at American festival

TEHRAN – Iranian film “The Fish and I” by Babak Habibifar won the audience award of the 8th Short Short Story Film Festival in Providence, Rhode Island, U.S.
 
The movie, telling the story of a blind man who tries to save the life of a fish, was screened at the festival, which was held on November 29.
 
Over 1000 works submitted to Tehran animation festival

TEHRAN – Over 1000 works have so far been submitted to the 9th Tehran International Animation Festival, which will be held from March 8 to 12.
 
The submissions are from 73 countries, the Institute for Intellectual Development of Children and Young Adults, which is the organizer of the festival, announced on Tuesday.
 
“Man Outside” to go on stage in Tehran

TEHRAN – “The Man Outside” written by German dramatist Wolfgang Borchert will go on stage at Tehran’s Hafez Hall from December 15.
 
Iman Eskandari will direct the play, which describes the hopelessness of a post-war soldier called Beckmann who returns from Russia to find that he has lost his wife and his home, as well as his illusions and beliefs. 
 
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Islamic Conference of Information Ministers achieves positive results: Iranian official

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TEHRAN -- Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance spokesman Hossein Nushabadi has said that the 10th Islamic Conference of Information Ministers (ICIM) in Tehran achieved positive results.
 
The conference was appropriately organized and has received extensive media coverage worldwide, Nushabadi said during a press conference on Tuesday.
 
The 10th Islamic Conference of Information Ministers (ICIM), which is annually organized by the state members of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, was held in Tehran from December 1 to 3.
 
The conference was held with the theme of “Media Convergence for Peace and Calm in the Islamic World” and focused on the most pressing issues in the Muslim world including Islamophobia.
 
In a letter signed by 180 MPs on Tuesday, the Iranian parliament thanked the Culture Ministry over organizing the conference.
 
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Tehran galleries to host festival of video, sound, and performances

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TEHRAN – Several galleries in Tehran will be hosting a non-competitive festival of video, sound, and performances by Iranian and foreign artists.
 
The fifth edition of the festival entitled “Limited Access Five” will open at the galleries of Aran, Vista, Darbast and No. 6 on December 19, the organizers announced on Tuesday.
 
Parkingallery is the main organizer of the festival, which will be held in collaboration with the cultural sections of the embassies of Austria, Poland and Ireland.
 
“The Wandering Island” and “Part of Me” are the two sections in which experimental video works will be screened.
 
“Routine Surprise” covers the documentary section of the project.
 
Films produced by the Experimental Film Society of Dublin will be screened in part of the international section of the festival.
 
Several other sections cover works by young artists from Poland and Austria. 
 
The exhibit will be running until December 26. 
 
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Tehran galleries to host festival of video, sound, and performances

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0
TEHRAN – Several galleries in Tehran will be hosting a non-competitive festival of video, sound, and performances by Iranian and foreign artists.
 
The fifth edition of the festival entitled “Limited Access Five” will open at the galleries of Aran, Vista, Darbast and No. 6 on December 19, the organizers announced on Tuesday.
 
Parkingallery is the main organizer of the festival, which will be held in collaboration with the cultural sections of the embassies of Austria, Poland and Ireland.
 
“The Wandering Island” and “Part of Me” are the two sections in which experimental video works will be screened.
 
“Routine Surprise” covers the documentary section of the project.
 
Films produced by the Experimental Film Society of Dublin will be screened in part of the international section of the festival.
 
Several other sections cover works by young artists from Poland and Austria. 
 
The exhibit will be running until December 26. 
 
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National library plans to publish rare copy of Holy Quran

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TEHRAN –
The National Library and Archives of Iran (NLAI) plans to publish a rare copy the Holy Quran, which was calligraphed and illustrated during the nineteenth century.  

A publisher from the private sector will be commissioned to publish the holy book, NLAI Director Reza Salehi-Amiri told the Persian service of MNA on Tuesday.
    
He said that four kilograms of gold ink have been used to illuminate the 570-page Quran, which has been inscribed by 35 different calligraphers.

The first two pages of the copy have been sealed by
Qajar king Nasser ad-Din Shah (1831-1896).

Another Qajar king, Fat’hali Shah, donated the copy to one of his grandchildren, and the copy was later purchased and donated to the library in 2008.

Salehi-Amiri said that the NLAI will supervise the entire process of publication to avoid any damage to the original copy.

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Art news in brief

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Vocalist Hengameh Akhavan to give concert in Tehran

TEHRAN – Iranian vocalist Hengameh Akhavan will give a concert at Tehran’s Vahdat Hall on December 26.
 
Only women will be allowed to attend the concert, during which she is scheduled to perform classical Iranian songs.
 
Tar player Azadeh Amiri, kamancheh players Shima Bolukifar and Nasim Arbabi, tonbak player Nazanin Pedarsani, and oud player Marjan Ravandi will accompany her during the performance.
 
Tehran museum to display photos of Muharram mourning rituals 

TEHRAN – A photo exhibition exploring mourning rituals for Imam Hussein (AS) and his companions from the Qajar era in 18th century to modern times opens at the Imam Ali (AS) Religious Arts Museum today.
 
Seventy photos will go on display in the exhibit, which will run until December 27.
 
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Iranian artist to display intaglio prints in Dubai

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TEHRAN – The established Iranian artist Parvaneh Etemadi will offer her latest collection, a suite of 10 original intaglio prints, in a solo exhibit in Dubai’s Jamm Gallery on December 15.
 
Entitled “Fish and Moon”, the work is inspired by the 13th century mystic and poet Farid od-Din Attar Neyshaburi’ poem “Conference of the Birds”, which highlights the alienation of man from humanity, the gallery has announced on its webpage.
 
According to Etemadi, there are only 50 copies of the book, which many have expressed interest in buying. The artist plans to display her works in an exhibition in Tehran in the future.
 
Etemadi currently lives and works in Tehran. Her works have received international acclaim. Some of her artworks are in the permanent collections of the Tehran Museum of Contemporary Arts, the Centre Georges Pompidou and the Asia Society.
 
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Leader’s commendation for “Thirsty Windows” unveiled

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TEHRAN -- Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei’s commendation for “Thirsty Windows”, a book written by Mehdi Qezeli, was unveiled during a ceremony on Tuesday.
 
“It has been written in an excellent and elegant style, and with an artistic, curious and pointed perspective,” the Leader wrote about the book, which has recently been published by Sureh-Mehr.
 
Qezeli wrote the diary in his trip to Karbala during November and December 2012 when he accompanied a caravan transferring the new zarih (outer sarcophagus enclosure) of the holy shrine of Imam Hussein (AS) from Iran to the Iraqi city. The zarih was designed and constructed by Iranian artisans in Qom.
 
“The Division of the Good”, which is a 1980-1988 Iran-Iraq war memoir by Iranian veteran Mehdi Qoli-Rezaii, and “I’m Alive”, which is the memoirs of Masumeh Abad during her long captivity in Iraq during the 1980s, have previously received commendations from the Leader.
 
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Culture minister meets representative of UNESCO office in Tehran

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TEHRAN –Iranian Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance Ali Jannati met with Director and Representative of UNESCO’s cluster office in Tehran Esther Kuisch Laroche in his office on Tuesday.
 
Expansion of cultural, educational and media relations between Iran and UNESCO was discussed during the meeting, the Persian service of IRNA reported.
 
Jananti said that the Culture Ministry is ready to cooperate with UNESCO’s cluster office in Tehran, adding, “We anticipate that the office will cooperate with Iran in developing educational and cultural ties.”
 
Iran also wants the UNESCO office to support Iran’s programs and projects that are offered at UNESCO’s public conferences and commissions, and refer to Iran’s special occasions registered on UNESCO celebration list.
 
The 800th birth anniversary of Persian Sufi Najmuddin Kubra, the 800th birth anniversary of Persian poet and writer Fakhr ad-Din Ibrahim Iraqi, and the 600th birth anniversary of Iranian theoretician and musician Abdul-Qadir Maraghi have been registered on UNESCO’s celebration list of anniversaries for 2014 and 2015.
 
Esther Kuisch Laroche, for her part, said that UNESCO office in Tehran is active in culture, education and communication arenas, and that the office can have good relations with Iran in the cultural and communications fields.
 
Measures need to be taken to introduce Iran’s rich heritage and help provided for their registration on UNESCO list, she said.
 
She added that several workshops have so far been held, and several more workshops will be arranged for journalists to reinforce their skills.
 
Kuisch Laroche also welcomed Jannati’s proposal on educating Iranian cultural attachés and called it a good idea.
 
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Iranian university to host Intl. Conference on Quran Translation

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TEHRAN – Iran’s Allameh Tabatabai University will host the first International Conference on Quran Translation on December 16 and 17.
 
Translators from China, Azerbaijan, Iraq, Pakistan, Turkey, France, Russia and Spain will attend the event, secretary of the conference Hossein Mollanazar said in a press release on Tuesday.
 
The event has been organized by the university and Iran’s Islamic Culture and Relations Organization (ICRO), he added.
 
The conference will explore more than 70 items about the translation of the Holy Quran, he explained.
 
He said that translated versions of the Quran in eight languages will be discussed by experts during the event.
 
Over 150 translated versions of the Quran will go on display during a book fair on the sidelines of the conference.
 
The articles, which will be presented during the conference, were translated into Persian and English and are available in the conference’s catalogue, he added.
 
“Authorized and Unauthorized Translated Versions of Quran”, “Importance and Necessity of Translating Quran” and “Distortions in Quran Translation” are some of the subjects to be discussed at the conference.
 
The conference will be held with the help of Iran’s Center for Translation of the Holy Quran, the Hazrat Masumeh University of Qom and the World Forum for Proximity of Islamic Schools of Thought.
 
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