Intl. Conference of Islamic World Publishers kicks off in Tehran

TEHRAN,Nov. 13 (MNA) -- The second International Conference of Islamic World Publishers kicked off here on Saturday at the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) International Conference Hall. Iranian Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance Mohammad Hosseini made the opening speech encouraging the Muslim countries to read books. "We should try to increase the daily per capita book reading time in the Islamic world since it will help solve many problems. Actually, there are lots of books produced in the Muslim countries which need to be translated and distributed in the Islamic world," he said. "Islamic countries have not made good progress in the field of school books and there needs to be greater efforts in this area," he also suggested. The chairman of Tehran City Council Mehdi Chamran, secretary of the conference Ali Zarei Najafdari and several cultural officials were among the participants at the opening ceremony. Over 100 non-Iranian publishers coming from 40 countries including Islamic and non-Islamic countries are attending the two-day conference. The conference on its first day witnessed the approval of a constitution, based upon which the Union of the Islamic World Publishers is expected to be established. Based on the constitution, the union will be established by members participating in the conference who will choose a secretary for the union in the future. Several issues are to be discussed during sessions arranged at the conference including "Holy Quran and Publications", "Electronic Publications", "The Rights of Authors, Translators and Publishers", and "The System of Distributions and Publications". Also included is an exhibition of posters with the central theme of publications in the Islamic World, which opened at Tehran’s Eyvan Gallery on November 9. The posters were created at the workshop arranged on the occasion of the conference, in which about 30 posters were selected for the show under the supervision of expert and graphic designer Farzad Adibi. The show aims to depict the potential of publishing in the Islamic countries through the language of art. Kurosh Sharif, Mastureh Sarhadi, Mohammad Afshar, Hamed Hakimi, Davud Khalili, Ahmad Derakhshandeh, and Morteza Naderi are among the artists whose works are on exhibit. The exhibit will be running for one week at the gallery located at No.25, Kaman Alley, before Jahan-e Kudak Intersection, Africa Blvd.