The Farsi language webinar, the soft power of public diplomacy of the Islamic Republic of Iran, was held in collaboration with the Saadi Foundation, Shahid Beheshti University, and the Scientific Association for the Planning of Cultural and Social Relations on Wednesday.
Deputy Director of the Center for Public Diplomacy and Media of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Alireza Delkhosh said that technically, the development of the Farsi language requires arrangements that are being done with the cooperation of the Saadi Foundation. The expansion of online education with the help of the Saadi Foundation in the days of coronavirus pandemic is a necessity.
He added that strengthening and compiling Iranian studies abroad to familiarize foreigners with different aspects of Iranian literature and culture is another technical measure.
Soft power means tools that countries can bring with them the interests of other countries without resorting to the factors of hard power, and the Farsi language also represents the power of Iran, he noted.
Director of Culture Department of UNESCO National Commission Abdul Mahdi Mostakin said that we need a cadre that is inherently immersed in the sea of Farsi wisdom to strengthen the soft power and the choice of a counselor that does not know Hafez and Saadi is very wrong.
Saadi Foundation Vice President for International Affairs Shahrouz Falahatpisheh said about public diplomacy and soft power that Iran’s foreign audiences have different cultural, social, economic origins, as well as worlds of value, and the Farsi language is a tool which we can bring foreign audiences into the Iranian world. "We intend to familiarize others with Iran in the first step through Farsi."
Referring to the capacity of neighboring countries to promote the Farsi language, he noted that in some Central Asian countries such as Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Armenia, Farsi language is the second or third language and it is chosen as the selected language of some schools in those countries, and "we cooperate with these schools through our representations in those countries".
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