Francesco Bandarin, UNESCO Assistant Director-General for Culture, sends a special message for 'Shahnameh Ferdowsi Millennium' where he terms Ferdowsi as an avant-garde person in developing and enacting UNESCO's global mission by means of erudite poetry.

IBNA: The International Shahnameh Millennium Conference started yesterday morning (23 Nov.) at the conference hall of the Islamic Encyclopedia Center with the presence of Iranian and foreign Shahnameh scholars.

At the outset, Mohammadreza Saeid-Abadi, general editor of UNESCO National commission in Iran recited UNESCO Assistant Director-General for Culture Francesco Bandarin's message sent on the occasion of Shahnameh Millennium in which he mentioned UNESCO's decision made during the 181st session on commemorating the first millennium of Shahnameh Ferdowsi's compilation by holding national and international events during years 2010 and 2011. 

Bandarin believes that Shahnameh has had an impact on human intelligence and talent and has played an active role in producing knowledge. 

Emphasizing on the necessity to take Ferdowsi beyond the borderlines of Persian-speaking countries of Iran, Afghanistan and Tajikistan, Bandarin added that now Arabs, Indians and Turks have come to know the sublime state of Ferdowsi and his name is eternalized in Ferdowsi Square, Rome, Wadham College libraries in Oxford as well as in the city of Berat in Albany.

Shahnameh; an incontestable evidence of the originality of Persian Language

The next recited message during the ceremony belonged to Abdollah Jasbi, chancellor of Islamic Azad University who called attention to the universal authenticity of Shahnameh Ferdowsi as a national epic, one of the pillars of Iranian identity, and an incontestable evidence of the originality of Persian language and culture.

Jasbi added that the whole world considers Ferdowsi a great thinker in the history of human thought as well as a great magician with words and the art of storytelling. He also emphasized on different aspects of Ferdowsi's art in Shahnameh as discussed in many articles to be presented at this conference. 

Shahnameh paves the path to global peace
 
Then Rahnamay Roudposhti, Islamic Azad University's Research and Technology vice-chancellor highlighted the role of Islamic Azad University in cradling exquisite researches in all fields of sciences including technology and human sciences whose students have opened up a news season in the scientific life of the country by presenting their innovations, theories and researches. 

He finally hoped that the achievements of the congress would help to make universal peace – the kind of peace that Ferdowsi has been its first advocate, and by means of his thought, the global society could set free of current crises, discrepancies, sorrows and avidities towards joy and spirituality. 

The international Shahnameh Millennium Conference will run until November 2011 at the conference hall of the Islamic Encyclopedia Center. 

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