On the occasion of Research Week, a meeting was held at Khaneye Honarmandan (Iranian Artists Forum) on Iranshahr Street in Tehran. The ceremony was to acknowledge the endeavor of the acclaimed researchers.
The head of Research Institute of Iran’s Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization (ICHHTO), Seyed Mohammad Beheshti, in a speech praised research and researchers, excerpts of which are below, CHTN reported.
The most empowered are those with big questions; even if they never find the answer. If there is something worth commemorating during Research Week, it is the faculty of questioning. It is a bad sign where there are no questions.
Modern man is faced with many more questions. We suffer from cultural amnesia; we cannot recall our land and our identity. This is because we lack curiosity. The remedy to this is to ask, who we are, and where we are.
The ICHHTO research institute has suffered great losses over the past few years. Now is the time for the institute to take action, for the country is in need of research activities.
Research and development are interdependent. We cannot speak of development while we lack enough information on our country and people. All the nations are currently focusing on sustainable development, a development based on cultural, historical, and natural resources. Such development begins with inquiry and research.
All educational and research institutes, researchers and scientists within and without the country, all whose area of interest is Iran, are important to us. It is with their cooperation that we hope to achieve our aims.
ICHHTO is well aware of the value of research. It has signed numerous memorandums of understanding with various educational and research centers inside and outside the country.
Beheshti added, we are currently facing a grave water crisis. However, this does not leave us in despair. With knowledge and understanding of our past through research, we learn that our people and our land have always struggled with water issues. This leads us to draw from the wisdom of the past and find solutions to our current problems.
Likewise, we can extend this understanding to other areas such as energy, industry, and urban development.
Advisor of the research institute of ICHHTO Ahmad Mohit Tabatabaee added his comments, saying, knowledge is the foundation of every development. Without being backed by study and research, no department of ICHHTO can achieve notable success. Research in fact guides where ICHHTO should head.
Following the speeches, archaeologist Mehdi Rahbar, anthropologist Ali Bolukbashi, and historical linguist Zhaleh Amuzgar were praised in the presence of Beheshti, Mohit Tabatabaee, and Hojatoleslam Ali Younesi, president’s special assistant on ethnic and religious minorities.
At the end of the ceremony, an exhibition, presenting the activities of ICHHTO’s research institute, was inaugurated.
