Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance: Books, windows to Communicate with the World

1397/02/23-14:02

In the closing ceremony of the TIBF 2018, Minister of Culture pointed out to important role of publishing industry in cultural diplomacy and said, “Publishing industry is our window to communicate with the world and books are our active and creative communication line with the world.”

Referring to the fact that the book fair is the most important public event Seyyed Abbas Salehi on the cultural arena, he stated, “Based on precise statistical methods, 600,000 people visited on Thursday and Friday. We are proud to see the presence of more than a half million people which shows the intimacy of people with cultural atmospheres.”

Pointing out to the importance of the book fair in the publishing industry economy, he continued, “This cultural event has an effective role in our cultural diplomacy and provides us with a valuable rare opportunity to communicate with hundreds of foreign corporations, writers and publishers.”

In respect with the publishing industry and occupation, he indicated, “There are 20 different jobs in the publishing industry. The publisher, writer, page maker, editor, and cover designer work before the printing phase; lithographer, printer and binder work during the printing phase; while distributors and book sellers work after that.”

He also referred to jobs indirectly related to the publishing industry to indicate, “For instance, a play may be staged based on a book.”

This authority asked for more attention to the job creation in this section and said, “It can influence job creation.”

Given the importance of the scientific development in Iran, the Minister of Culture said, “What produced in the area of science is among the major components of scientific development. So far, 1,230,000 titles have been published, 14% of which are related to practical sciences, natural sciences and mathematics. Also, 13% are social sciences, geography and history.”
Salehi added, “In the stream of science production, the number of books with the capability of producing science is important. Therefore, it is necessary that the publishing industry of the country is noticed more than before as the academic publishers along with the universities and faculties are a fundamental wing in the scientific development.”
Referring to the fact that 29.5% of the total printed books are translated works, he said, “We know the world and communicate with it through the books. Therefore, writers provide us with a considerable opportunity for cultural and general diplomacy.”
 
In the end, Salehi reminded, “If in the past, we communicated with the world through famous figures like Khayyam, Saadi, Ferdowsi, and Rumi, now we have the publishing industry for this very purpose.”