Culture Making: the Main target of Serbia in the TIBF

1397/02/12-10:33

The Serbian Minister of Culture and Information in the opening ceremony of the Thirty First Tehran International Book Fair said, “The honor you have bestowed upon me by inviting me to deliver the keynote address at the grandiose Tehran International Book Fair actually belongs to my country, Serbia. I come from a friendly nation, one which straddles a polarized cultural divide – that between the East and the West.”
Vladan Vukosavljević continued, “I, as a Serb, do not feel completely out of place as I stand here, regardless of the vast expanse that geographically separates our two nations and regardless of the cultural differences.”
Mentioning his deepest respect for the Iranian cultural heritage, he gave an introduction to Serbian literary figures saying, “I would like to take this opportunity to introduce you to perhaps lesser known [than Hafez, Rumi or Saadi], but certainly noteworthy Serbian contributions to the history of the written word.”
The Serbian Minister of Culture and Information added, “The support we find in our ancestral spiritual heritage will always be irreplaceable and we must cherish it to ensure our continued survival and guarantee our progress… everything else is ephemeral and pales in significance.”
Regarding globalization, he said, “it is the ideology of globalism that the world must be unified inside and out, shaped to fit the mould dictated by the greatest powers. We believe the world should remain a mosaic of different cultures and cultural traditions which freely interact and share their achievements. We want to be a part, or even a tiny fragment, of the modern interconnected world, but we equally want to remain who we are, the way we have been shaped by our historical experiences.”
Vukosavljević said, “Political and other obstacles often prevent us from getting to know each other better the way we are today, from learning about our respective contributions to contemporary creative cultural work,” and pointing out to the presence of Iran in the Belgrade Book Fair, two years ago, he said, “The Iranian stand, publications and programmes garnered much attention among the readership in Belgrade and now Serbia has an opportunity to present its literary and publishing output.”
In the end of his lecture, this high-ranked authority of the Serbian culture emphasized that, “Our country is not large…, but we care about being noticed and acknowledged for the values we cherish.”