Unemployment in the long run will inevitably impact domestic economic growth and “charitable gestures and support from benefactors” in creation of job opportunities will help alleviate the problem, says Mohammad Javad Qasemi, director general of the Donors’ Association in Support of Technology.
The association was established last year in support of scientific and technological development. Affiliated to the Ministry of Science and Technology, it cooperates with scientific research and development centers such as science parks.
“Patrons are willing to invest in technology and help attract domestic and foreign investments,” said Qasemi at the association’s first meeting at Alzahra University of Tehran.
The association aims to create a platform to attract, manage and make optimum use of any form of assistance offered by philanthropists to accelerate technological advancements, and to collaborate with Muslim nations interested in sharing technological knowhow through MoUs with the World Forum for Proximity of Islamic Schools of Thought and the Iranian National Commission for UNESCO.
Noting that knowhow, technology and funding are three segments of the production chain, he said the association seeks to help create a closer link between them in and outside the country, reports IRNA.
Deputy minister of science in international affairs, Hossein Salar Amoli, said risk-taking is one of the major tools of technological production and the basis for inventions.
Financial contributions from patrons will be spent on applied research, building prototypes, and partnership in technologies in order to commercialize them.
Philanthropists in Iran have donated 1.4 million properties such as buildings and land, which shows public enthusiasm for a benevolent cause, said Seyed Mohammad Hadi Ayazi, deputy health minister for social affairs and NGOs.
Secretary General of the Iranian National Commission for UNESCO Sadollah Nasiri Qeydari, also called for support to science and technology to promote human development.
