On December 11, during the 5th Forum of Iranists and Persian Language Teachers, the Ibn Sina Foundation presented a report on its activities in 2019. Andrey Lukashev, the Foundation representative, reported the record number of the supported research projects. Thus, 22 research monographs were published with the support of the Foundation in 2019. Apart from that, the Foundation conducted a number of events devoted to Islamic mysticism and Iranian calligraphy, including the workshops with the famous calligraphers N. Tawoosi and H.-R. Kelichkhani, which took place in Biblio-Globus, the Higher School of Economics, the Russian State Library and the RAS Institute of Oriental Studies. The Foundation participated in several book exhibitions (Moscow International Book Fair, non/fiction21 etc.) and conferences (in the State Duma, Marjani readings etc.). The Foundation was awarded the Eurasian International Prize for one of its projects — the book “Golestan, 11” written by Behnaz Zarabizade.
The Forum of Iranists held at the residency of the Iranian Ambassador in Russia brought together Iranists and Persian teachers from different regions and republics of Russia. Apart from the representatives of leading Moscow universities and research centres, the speakers also included those from the North Ossetian State University, Saint Petersburg State University, RAS Institute of Oriental Manuscripts, Saratov State University, Dagestan State University, Russian-Armenian University, Astrakhan State University, Ural Federal University, Cultural Represenative Office of the Embassy of Iran in Bishkek, Islamic Azad University in Tehran and others.
The opening ceremony was conducted by Mehdi Sanai, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Iran, and Alan Ogoyev, president of the North Ossetian State University. They spoke about the importance of the Persian legacy for the future of our countries and the role it played in understanding and bringing together the Iranian and Russian cultures.
The Forum comprised three sessions, where more than 20 speakers reported on their organizations’ activities for the year 2019. They included : N. Mamedova, Z. Pliyeva, A. Andreyev, M. Gen, A. Baranov, N. Mamed-zade, A. Evstratov, A. Moldalieva, G. Valiakhmetova, Nasser Takmil Khomayun, E. Molchanova, M. Shojaee , E. Pischurnikova, A. Polishchuk, J. Sultanova, A. Gevorgyan, A. Paktchi, E. Yagnakova, E. Boev, P. Basharin and others.
The books published with the support of the Ibn Sina Foundation were exhibited in the hall of the Ambassador’s residency. All the guests had an opportunity to look through the editions and to ask any questions.
The 5th Forum of Iranists and Persian Language Teachers culminated in the award ceremony, where Mehdi Sanai, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Iran in Russia, received a “Rose of peace” golden medal. The award was presented by Engel Tagirov, director of the Institute for the Culture of Peace (UNESCO), president of the International Humanities Academy “Europe-Asia”, member of the executive committee of the United Nations Association of Russia.
The Forum participants thanked the Ambassador and expressed the hope that this tradition of regular participation in the Forum of Iranists will contribute to raising awareness about Iranian culture in Russia.
