Closing ceremony of the 27th Book of the Year of the Islamic Republic of Iran was held yesterday in the presence of the Iranian President Dr Mahmud Ahmadinejad, head of the parliamentary cultural commission Dr Gholamali Hadad Adel and minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance, Mohammad Husseini.

IBNA: In the ceremony, held at Vahdat Hall in Tehran, Dr Mohsen Parviz, cultural deputy of Guidance Ministry, stated that the works in the present edition of the award were screened more meticulously than previous editions. 

As he said, the panel of judges had considered the works which were debuted in Iran and those which were published in the world about Iran or Islamic topics during 2009. 

"In this edition, more works were submitted to the secretariat of the award in comparison with previous editions," he added. "in the national section over 18,000 works and in the international section some 2700 works were considered by the panel of judges." 

He postulated that such growth in the number of submitted works shows the number of valuable works is increasing. 

He further expressed hope that the award becomes an incentive for writers and researches in Iran and the world to conduct more studies on Iran and Islam. 

The ceremony continued with speeches by some foreign guests including Jamshid Gionashveili,, former Georgian ambassador to Iran and Sasha Dina. 

Moreover in the ceremony, head of the Parliament's Cultural Commission Dr Gholam Ali Hadad Adel delivered a speech in which he said after 27 editions, the book of the year award has found its place in national and international communities. 

He noted that book in itself is regarded as a major invention and breakthrough in human history. "Humans invented books to record their thoughts and transmit them to latter generations." 

"Writing pen is a resemblance of erudition and in all civilizations books reflect culture." 

He maintained that books indicate two things: knowledge and freedom. "In a society where knowledge is not flourishing, books will never boon. On the other hand,, freedom causes the growth of books and they can find their real status in the society." 

Former parliament speaker further added that "a careful look at history shows the status and value of books have been parallel with the growth and developments in a society." 

He also stated Imam Khomeini was an author and revered Persian language even before leading the Islamic, social and cultural revolution of Iran.

Id : 62298