Culture Minister Attends Policymaking Council of 19th Int’l Children & Young Adults Theater Fest

Hamid Shahabadi: Children & Young Adults Theater a Concern for Culture Ministry
Hamid Shahabadi thanked the culture minister for attending the session in the beginning of the session, Iran Theater website reported.
“The Culture Ministry is seriously concerned about the children and young adults theatre. Children and young adults constitute a big number of Iran population who need special attention of theater community,” Shahabadi said.
He added that children theater was separated from that of young adults’ for the first time in the festival, meaning the event was going to be held for children and young adults every other year respectively.
Ghader Ashena: Role of Education in Raising Children and Young Adults; This Festival’s Theme
Director General of the Dramatic Arts Department Ghader Ashena briefed the officials on the festival and its theme which is the role of education in training children and young adults.
He said that the festival would take place on October 7-13 in Hamedan while seven auditorium in the provincial cities of Malayer, Touyserkan, Asadabad, Kaboodarahang, Nahavand were considered to host the event.
Meanwhile, Ashena said the festival will have seven sections including competition of children and young adults theater, playwriting and reading, outdoor theater, international theaters and special productions. Specialized meetings and educational workshops were organized too.
He added that the most important characteristic of the festival was it had separate sections for children and young adults.  
Outdoor theater competition, publishing six books for children and young adults and participation of over 40 groups of children and young adults theater in Hamedan province were other specialties of the festival, Ashena said.
He noted that 138 stage theater groups, 97 plays, and 30 dramas for special section were submitted request to take part in the festival of which 46 ones were admitted.
France, Germany, Italy, South Africa and Switzerland were going to have six performances in the festival, Ashena said, adding that one educational workshop was organized on the sideline.
Two special guests from South Africa’s stage and director of Frankfurt theater house were set to take part in the festival.
Festival was going to host 400 domestic and 60 foreign artists, Ashena said, expressing hope the province could manage to be a proper host for the guests.
Seyyed Mohammad Hosseini: Everybody Must Help Organizing Festival
Seyyed Mohammad Hosseini, culture minister, expressed hope that the festival could create a pleasant atmosphere in the province. He cautioned organizers to be watchful of legal regulations and Islamic principles during the planning.
It was excepted that any provincial citizens could have its share in assisting the organization and planning of the festival, Hosseini said, hoping that the festival would be held properly thanks to solidarity and determination of officials in the province.
Hamedan MP: Efforts Must Be Exerted for Activities to Target the Theme
Karkhanei, Hamedan lawmaker, said that priorities must be given for cultural and Islamic moralities to be respected during programs and activities.
The more compliance with the moralities be the better such values be institutionalized among the public, said Karkhanei. The next issue, he added, the budget of the festival must be borne nationally and not be burden on the Hamedan province.
The lawmaker stressed all artistic activities for the festival and plays must move in line with the theme of the festival.
Davoud Kianian: Children and Young Adults Theater Is Taken Seriously for the First Time
Davoud Kianian, veteran artist of theater for children and young adults expressed happiness over the meeting and taking the theater of children and young adults seriously.
“This is for the first time in the past 30 plus years that the children and young adults were taken so seriously,” Kianian said.
Two events, he said, could happen for children theater to help improve personality of the children and young adults who were future generation of the country.
He listed the two as separation of children theater from that of young adults’ and publishing of books that could improve the art.
Kianian said the artists expect publishing of such books on children and young adults to increase.
He proposed the truck for mobile theater of the festival would have performances in villages of the province too.
Bahram Shahmohammadlou: Add a Section for Toddlers in Fest Next Year
Bahram Shahmohammadlou, another artist of the field stressed that education was of great importance in children theater.
He hoped that toddlers had a separate section in the festival next year.
Shahram Karami: Children & Young Adults Fest Audience-Oriented
Shahram Karami, secretary of festival, thanked the culture minister, his deputy, Hamedan governor general and lawmakers for their special attention to the festival.
He added that the festival was audience-oriented and would be organized properly with the help of friends in the Dramatic Arts Center and Hamedan province.
Mehdi Hajian, director of the secretariat for holding festivals of Dramatic Arts Center, Ali-Akbar Tarkhan, director general of the Dramatic Arts Center for international affairs, Ebrahim Gallehdarzadeh, director general of Dramatic Arts Association, Mehdi Shafiei, deputy head of Dramatic Arts Center for financial affairs, Seyyed Sadegh Moussavi, head of City Theater Complex, Khojaste, Hamedan lawmaker and head of province’s lawmakers society, brigadier Pormokhtar, Kaboudarahang MP, Aryaeenejad, Malayer MP, Azad, Hamedan governor general, Bayat, director of Hamedan Culture and Islamic Guidance Department and Soltani, Razan MP participated in the meeting.