Farabi International Award
“The Secretariat of Farabi Award plans to launch a Network of Humanities Elites, in which the winners of the previous Awards will be present,”Deputy Minister of Science, research and Technology for Cultural Affairs said.
“Farabi Award is a good platform for Humanities to finds its place in the country,” the Information and Advertising Department of the Secretariat of the Eight Farabi International Award quoted Seyed Zia Hashemi as saying at the Iftar ceremony of the Policymaking Council of Farabi Award, held in the Institute of Social and Cultural Studies.
“The Network of Humanities Elites, which is going to be established with the help of the Secretariat of Farabi Award, will connect the winners of the previous Awards with the prominent experts of the field of Humanities,” he added.
“Since the conclusion of the Seventh Farabi Award, holding the Eighth Farabi International Award was postponed due to some complications. But once the government approved the Award in March, enforcement activities started,” Deputy Minister of Science, research and Technology for Cultural Affairs emphasized.
Saying that the Eighth Farabi International Award will be held during the Research Week, Hashemi added, “With the approval of the Policymaking Council, the Award has held regular meetings on the process of holding the event.”
Stating that social problems are currently a major issue in the country, he said, “During the variousmeetings government managers and officials had with the Supreme Leader, discussions were made about social problems. With the help of professors ofHumanities, these pathologies should be studied and prevention processed need to be developed.”
Pointing to the recent meeting between academic figures and the Supreme Leader, Deputy Minister of Science, research and Technology for Cultural Affairs said, “If government officials are supposed to receive strategies about the development of our countryfrom academics, these issues should be brought up by professors of Humanities in Iran.”
“The field of culture and knowledge management is somehow the logic behind the field of Humanities,” Hashemi said. “Unfortunately, we are at a very low level in many aspects of Humanities,and our science deserves more than that.”
Referring to the development and facilitation of international interactions inside the country, Deputy Minister of Science, research and Technology for Cultural Affairs said, “In recent months, interactions with foreign universities have increased10 times,and Humanities should also benefit from this potential.”
At another part of the meeting, Hossein Mirzaei, Head of the Institute of Social and Cultural Studies, talked about the small share of Humanities in the creation of knowledge-based companies, adding, “We have had discussions with the Scientific Department to solve this problem.”
“Through the Innovation and Development Fund, the government has shown a lot of support for knowledge-based companies,but most of the established companies in this area are in the field of technical engineering, and the field of Humanities has no place in this area,” Mirzaei said.
“We need to set the right culture in our society, so that knowledge-based companies in the field of Humanities can also be established in the country,” he added.
“Part of the activities aimed at creating knowledge-based companies should be directed at the promotion ofHumanities dialogue in the country, which requires the effort of the pioneers of this field,” Head of the Institute of Social and Cultural Studies said.
Talking about holding the Eighth Farabi International Award, Mirzaei said, “Professors of Humanities should help to send various works to the Award, so that the best ones can be chosen from among them.”
“We are planning to judge the works sent to this Award through electronic means, so that the review process can be done in a quicker fashion,” he added.
“This year, the Eighth Farabi International Award will be held during the Research Week,”Head of the Institute of Social and Cultural Studies emphasized.