First Imam Khomeini World Award concludes in Tehran
The first edition of the Imam Khomeini World Award reached its final stage on Wednesday with a closing ceremony in Tehran, marking the culmination of a long-delayed international initiative aimed at recognizing individuals and institutions that have contributed to the promotion of the intellectual legacy and values of Imam Khomeini, the founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Defined in its official statute as the Islamic Republic’s highest distinction for advancing the name and path of Imam Khomeini, the award is designed to highlight his thought across a wide spectrum, including justice, spirituality, resistance, dignity and service to society. The prize seeks to frame Imam Khomeini’s legacy as a living, globally relevant discourse rather than a purely historical reference, IRNA reported.
The award’s implementation follows more than a decade of institutional suspension. Initially proposed by the Islamic Culture and Relations Organization and formally approved by the Supreme Council of the Cultural Revolution in 2013, the project remained dormant due to structural and executive constraints. Revised statutes adopted in 2023 clarified its governance, scope and evaluative mechanisms, enabling the inaugural operational round to proceed and conclude in 2025.
Structurally, the award is overseen by a high-level policymaking council, with the secretariat housed at the Islamic Culture and Relations Organization. The secretariat manages international correspondence, submission intake, coordination with advisory bodies and the logistical execution of the ceremony. The scientific dimension of the award is supervised by an academic committee chaired by Mahmoud Vaezi, a professor at the University of Tehran.
Substantively, the prize is conferred in two principal categories. The theoretical section honors outstanding scholarly and research works addressing Imam Khomeini’s intellectual system, while the practical section recognizes influential social and political initiatives that have operationalized his ideas at scale. Evaluation criteria prioritize intellectual rigor, societal impact and the capacity to inspire institution-building processes.
The award’s thematic architecture spans ten specialized working groups, covering fields such as Imam Khomeini’s intellectual framework and practical conduct, Islamic ethics and spirituality, justice and human dignity, Islamic civilization and progress, interfaith dialogue, people-centered governance, resistance to oppression and racism, just peace and collective security, religion-based lifestyles, and the promotion of women’s roles within a family-oriented social model.
From a geographical standpoint, the award is explicitly defined as global, with no national or disciplinary boundaries.
Functionally, the Imam Khomeini World Award operates both as a reference point for scholarly engagement with his thought and as a cultural diplomacy instrument.
Plans are in place to develop a comprehensive platform to host academic dialogues, multilingual resources and educational programs, with the stated aim of fostering deeper, evidence-based and systematic understanding of Imam Khomeini’s legacy in contemporary global debates.