The 12th exhibition of the ‘Memoir of the Kind Friend,’ a display of books, was inaugurated in Tehran’s Goftegoo Park on Thursday (Jan 22).
Exhibition President Majid Hosseini pointed to the number of the books displayed at this year’s edition and said: “A total of 20,000 titles by 442 publications have been presented.” The exhibition, with the help of the ministry of education allowed school students to take part in the process of book selection and has become “a specialized exhibition of children and young adults’ books in Tehran.”
Several officials and cultural figures attended the opening ceremony including Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance Ali Jannati, Minister of Education Ali-Asghar Fani, Tehran Mayor Mohamad-Bagher Ghalibaf, and head of Tehran Municipality Art and Cultural Organization Hojatoleslam Shahab Moradi, MNA reported.
Calling book reading a cultural necessity, Moradi said in the past years, despite all the efforts made by various organizations to organize such an exhibition, it had been operating as a mere formality without long-lasting influences, while “we should make attempts to change it to a more comprehensive and enduring cultural movement.”
Influential
“With 13 million students studying in 105,000 schools in the country, the ministry of education is one of the most influential organizations in the field of culture,” the education minister said. However, he pointed out that without the cooperation of related organizations, the ministry cannot promote the process of book reading culture in the country.
Fani said the ministry has signed memoranda of understanding (MoU) with over 20 state organizations. At the ceremony, another MoU was signed between the ministry of education and the Tehran Municipality.
The minister of culture for his part stressed the undeniable role of books in promoting culture in the society and said: “The 1979 Islamic revolution was a cultural one based on genuine Islamic ideology; therefore, developing the culture of book reading can lead to the promotion of social culture within the country.”
Schools Best Target
To reach this goal, Jannati underlined that the process should be launched among children and young adults. “Since what is imprinted in their mind, will stay with them for a long time, and children and young adults at schools are the best target group for starting the book reading movement.”
In the end, he also asserted that in a world where social networks and cyberspace are growing fast, “we should use all possible ways to spread our culture” and named digital books, video games, and internet networks as the means for the purpose.
In recent years, unfortunately, book reading has been relegated to a lower status in the country due to a number of factors, including high price of books and expansion of social media networks to name a few. It is expected the measures in this regard, would result in the “reconciliation between the verbal and written form of our culture.” Located at Chamran Highway in Tehran, Goftegoo Park will house the exhibition till January 27.
