Art And Culture
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Strong Presence Anticipated at FBF

Strong Presence  Anticipated at FBF
Strong Presence  Anticipated at FBF

Iran seeks to participate in the Frankfurt Book Fair (FBF) in October as guest of honor and consultations with German officials have been held in this regard, said director of the International Book Fairs Institute, Amir-Masoud Shahramnia.

A coordination meeting at the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance, attended by cultural deputy Seyyed Abbas Salehi and relevant agencies and institutions, presented potentials and plans for participating in the FBF.

Over 18 publishers have registered so far and more publishing houses and groups will be invited, he said, Mehr News Agency reported.

The Tehran-Berlin Cultural Consultation Office will take part in the international Frankfurt Book Fair along with Iranian publishers and participants in the national pavilion, “as Iran’s coordinated representative.”

He said he held talks with the director of the Middle East division of the FBF when the German official was in Tehran to attend the Tehran International Book Fair (TIBF) in May.

The negotiations focused on “Iran’s more serious presence” in the Frankfurt book show, he said, adding that he had also pushed for Iran’s presence as the guest of honor.

  Cooperation

“This is our third national pavilion at the FBF and we propose to follow the same approach to the Moscow Book Fair,” Shahramnia said, emphasizing on the necessity of more cooperation and support in international cultural events.

Juergen Boos, director of FBF, pointed to the cultural cooperation with the TIBF and said, “We hope to see more Iranian publishers at our book fair and also a better platform for promoting Iranian books and culture at the FBF.”

Around 7500 exhibitors from 100 nations including Iran will attend this year’s edition, Boos said.

The area and fee for the Iran pavilion will be determined at a future meeting.

Close to 250 children’s books, 70 titles on Sacred Defense (Iraqi-imposed 1980-88 war), 50 on the Islamic Revolution, and 180 by Tehran Union of Publishers will be displayed, besides the unveiling of five books during the five-day event. Iran had participated in the 33rd FBF exhibiting more than 500 books from 300 publishers.

The FBF is the world’s largest books and media trade fair, with 7,500 exhibitors from over 110 countries and 300,000 visitors each year. The exhibition will be held from October 8 to 12 in Frankfurt, Germany.

In 1976, the Frankfurt Book Fair started to dedicate a country as guest of honor every two years and since 1988, it has been an annual feature. So far, there have been 25 guests of honor  at the fair, according to its official website.

  Moscow Fair

Iran also plans to participate in the international Moscow Book Fair to be held from November 25-29, at the Central House of Artists in Krymsky val, Moscow. In addition, collecting books published in Russian officially commenced two months ago by experts at the Islamic Culture and Relations Organization, Shahramnia noted.

In a meeting with the head of MBF who was expected to arrive in Tehran on July 4, the details of Iran’s participation will be worked out.

“We plan to strengthen Iran’s presence in globally-renowned exhibitions,” he added.

Financialtribune.com