Iraj Shahin-Baher said on Friday that Tabriz is the cradle of outstanding literary schools of thought, adding that the city has been a meeting place for scientists, poets and literary scholars, including Saeb, Shams, Mohammad Fozuli, Mohammad-Hossein Shahriar, Parvin Etesami and Homam in the last 1,000 years.
Tabriz enjoys precious and vast capacity for global exchanges and it would be an honor to gain the designation of UNESCO’s City of Literature, which is part of UNESCO’s Creative Cities Network (UCCN).
The network was launched in 2004, and now has member cities in seven creative fields. The other creative fields consist of crafts and folk arts, design, film, gastronomy, media arts, and music.
The Cultural Commission and Islamic Council of Tabriz previously ratified a plan to join the city to the network, he said, adding that UNESCO’s experts visited Tabriz Municipality and paved the ground for the designation of the city to the organization’s list of creative cities of literature.
The mayor also expressed hope that finalizing the designation by UNESCO will bring good results for the city in terms of cultural, tourism and economic fields.
Source: Iran Daily