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TEHRAN – The southwestern Iranian city of Ahvaz has been designated Iran’s Book Capital from among ten nominations competing for the position.
The city was selected by a jury of seven experts during a meeting in Tehran on Saturday, the secretary of the Committee for Selecting Iran’s Book Capital, Mohammad Solgi, announced in a press release.
Nine other nominations were Bushehr, Yazd, Tabriz, Shahr-e Kord, Qom, Kashan, Kermanshah, Gonbad-e Kavus and Neyshabur.
The jury was composed of National Library and Archives of Iran Director Reza Salehi-Amiri, Iranian National Commission for UNESCO Director Mohammadreza Saeidabadi, Deputy Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance for Cultural Affairs Seyyed Abbas Salehi, Iran Public Libraries Foundation Secretary General Alireza Mokhtarpur and Tehran City Council member Ahmad Masjed-Jamei.
Other members were Mohammadreza Tavakkoli Seddiqi, the representative of the Union of Tehran Publishers and Bookstores, and Mohsen Hajiabadi Zeinolabedini, the representative of Iranian Librarianship and Dissemination Association.
UNESCO initiated the concept of World Book Capital City for the first time in 2001 in acknowledgement of the best programs dedicated to books and reading after selecting Madrid as World Book Capital City for 2001.
RM/YAW
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