Book Day in Iran

Book Day ( Pers. روز کتاب , Ruz-e ketab) is a holiday dedicated to reading and books, which is celebrated in Iran on 24th of Aban ( November 14 ).

Book Day is part of the annual Book Week, which aims to tell the world about Iranian culture and introduce a reading culture into society. The week of the book runs from 24 to 30 aban (from November 14 to 21) ^[1] .

At this time, book fairs, exhibitions, reading contests are organized in many provinces of the country, cities and villages, schools, universities and mosques. In addition, during the Week, books present new editions, award best publishers, donate books to schools and open new city libraries. Annually during this period, the media also organize a series of competitions related to the culture of reading books.

As part of a Book Week program, the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Orientation has opened a library of religions that holds more than 40,000 books. It is considered the largest religion in the Middle East . This library contains books in Persian , Middle Persian , Arabic , German , English , French , as well as Hebrew and Sanskrit .

During Book Week, special attention is given to children. They try to instill a love of books from an early age. Thus, the Institute for the Intellectual Development of Children and Youth (Kanoon-e Parvaresh-e Fekri-e Koodakan va Nojavanan), known as the “Eve”, is actively involved in various activities related to books and reading. This organization was founded in 1965. Initially, one of the main goals of the institute was to create a large network of permanent and “wandering” libraries with the aim of promoting culture and literacy. At first, Eve only translated the works of Western authors such as Hans Christian Andersen , but then the publication of its own books began, and Eve became the creator of numerous literature for children.

Now the Institute for the Intellectual Development of Children and Youth has 750 permanent and 50 “wandering” libraries, several theaters, a publishing and production center, an observatory, a museum of children's creativity and a biological station.

In November 2013, as part of the Friendship Week of Russian and Iranian Children, “Eve” first arrived in Russia. An extensive program was organized for children, which included various workshops on handicrafts, dolls, collage, writing, as well as an exhibition of books and the presentation of children's drawings ^[2] .