Iranian president honors artists, academics

TEHRAN,May 19(MNA) – A number of Iranian artists and academics were honored by President Hassan Rouhani at the presidential office on Sunday. At a joint ceremony held for the 2nd National Avini Awards and the 3rd Allameh Tabatabaii Awards, nine artists in the fields of music, cinema, theater, and visual arts received National Avini Awards for their lifetime achievements, and nineteen academics received Allameh Tabatabaii Awards. Composer and stringed instrumentalist Hossein Alizadeh, film director Mohammadreza Aslani, actor Esmaeil Khalaj, animator Abdollah Alimorad, sculptor Taher Shiekholhokamaii, calligrapher Ali Rahjiri, calligraphic painter Mostafa Akhavan, master sculptor Mohammad-Mehdi Anushfar, and architect Iraj Kalantari were presented National Avini Awards. In addition, Seyyed Kazem Alavipanah, Mohammad-Ali Azarshab, Mohammad Dor-Ali, Abdorreza Simchi, Hossein Maleki, and several other academics and university professors received Allameh Tabatabaii Awards. The National Elites Foundation and the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance hold the awards ceremonies each year in collaboration with the presidential office. The artists are selected by a group of experts in various fields. In an address at the ceremony, President Rouhani said, “In the developed countries, elites from every nationality or race are recruited… but unfortunately, under the current conditions, we are not able bring in our elites to properly utilize them.” He lamented the fact that the previous official policies turned away talented people, and said, “We should respect our elites and all the scholars in the world who are interested in our country and want to live in Iran, even for a short term.” He said that the governmental organizations should try to collaborate with them and use their experience to resolve the country’s problems.