Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan & UNIMA Sing MoU

Mehdi Shafiei, director Dramatic Arts Center, in a meeting with cinema and theater advisor to Iraq's ministry of culture and Islamic guidance, head of national theater of Afghanistan ministry of information and culture and Dr Ardalan, member of the board of directors and head of UNIMA's Heritage Commission and UNIMA Iran, signed an MoU on cooperation about puppet shows, irantheater.ir reported.

Mr Shafiei said at the meeting that preservation of rituals, folkloric traditions, people's history and culture was important under the current circumstances in the region, adding that puppets and takes were part of the national culture of each lands.

"Preserving the puppets and tales grandmothers tell for children will help protect happiness, culture and hope as well as make the future generations," the official opined.

"The children who are experiencing war, fire and massacre should not forget their puppets," he stressed.

Dr Hamidreza Ardalan, head of Iran UNIMA, said on the sideline of the meeting that Iran UNIMA had a representative in the board of directors of UNIMA Iran and was heading UNIMA Heritage Commission. "This opens that hand of Iran for supporting puppet shows in Middle East and North Africa."

On the relations between UNIMA Middle East and North Africa Commission with MoU, he explained that some representatives wanted to replace Gulf for Persian Gulf in 2016 in Spain. The plan was rejected after his protest, supports of representatives of some countries and UNIMA board of directors as well as historical explanations.

Instead, he said, UNIMA Middle East and North Africa Commission was approved.

Mr Ardalan noted that the MoU envisaged that the signing parties would commit to develop puppet shows in West Asian and North African countries while UNIMA board of directors and the said commission could help the move after consulting with Iran UNIMA.

On the current MoU with Iraq and Afghanistan, he said that Iran with the assistance of newly-launched UNIMA puppet museum would help the two countries to set up puppet museums and Iran UNIMA would cooperate bolster peace and friendships in these countries through organizing educational courses, festivals, congresses, seminars and educational workshops.

The university professor added that paving the ground for performing puppet shows for refugee camps and war-stricken cities in the neighboring countries was envisaged in the agreement.  

Director of theater of Afghanistan and Iraq visited the book treasury of Namayesh Publishing House, theater costume archive and the site of irantheater.ir.