The closing ceremony of the 13th edition of Farabi International Award for Humanities and Islamic Studies was held in the Iranian capital.
President Ebrahim Raeisi and Minister of Science Mohammad Ali Zolfigol attended the ceremony, where a number of researchers in the fields of Islamic and human studies were acclaimed, according to IRNA.
Farabi International Award aims to develop Islamic humanities and is held annually by the Ministry of Science, Research, and Technology.

 

Methane is four times more sensitive to global warming than previously thought, a new study shows.
The result helps to explain the rapid growth in methane in recent years and suggests that, if left unchecked, methane related warming will escalate in the decades to come, Guardian reported.
The growth of this greenhouse gas – which over a 20 year timespan is 80 times more potent than carbon dioxide – had been slowing since the turn of the millennium but since 2007 has undergone a rapid rise.
About 40 percent of methane emissions come from natural sources such as wetlands, while 60 percent come from anthropogenic sources such as cattle farming, fossil fuel extraction and landfill sites.
Possible explanations for the rise in methane emissions range from expanding exploration of oil and natural gas, rising emissions from agriculture and landfill, and rising natural emissions as tropical wetlands warm and Arctic tundra melts.
But another explanation could be a slowdown of the chemical reaction that removes methane from the atmosphere.
The study was conducted by Redfern and his colleague Chin-Hsien Cheng at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore.
 

Department of Environment (DOE) emphasized on its opposition to any new construction on Ashuradeh Island in northern Iran, announced Iran’s vice president and head of DOE.
In a meeting attended by the head of DOE Ali Salajeqe as well as the governor of Golestan Province, the future of tourism plans for Ashuradeh Island was debated, IRNA reported.
Head of DOE reaffirmed the plans for sustainable utilization of the regions under the care of the organization, saying, “Our priority is to develop the environmentalist culture, as well as familiarizing the citizens with values of nature.”
In order to preserve the unique ecological features and touristic attractions of Ashuradeh Island, in addition to preventing the recurrence of the tragic consequences of constructions in Ziarat Village in Golestan Province, DOE stands in total opposition of any new construction on  the island.

Students trained in Iran should not forget their Iranian identity, as well as guarding their sense of belonging, declared head of the Academy of Persian Language and Literature (APLL).
In the closing ceremony of the fourth National Ferdowsi Festival, Gholam-Ali Haddad-Adel emphasized the importance of Farsi, adding, “It’s a duty for all of us, APLL included, to help make Ferdowsi known,” according to Mehr News.
Stating that Shahnameh is accessible to all Iranians with every educational background, he said, “In older times, everybody enjoyed Shahnameh in alleyways and teashops; nowadays, too, people reap the benefits of this great work in workshops and classes.”
Haddad-Adel then maintained that Shahnameh is a symbol of the compatibility between Islam and Iran, adding, “It documents our national identity. Ferdowsi knew all too well that he can help Iranian identity through keeping Farsi alive.”
“Now it’s our duty to safeguard Farsi and one of its greatest poets.”

In the book ‘Calligraphy: From Calligraphy to Abstract Painting’, the French scholar Claude Mediavilla defines the contemporary calligraphic practice as “the art of giving form to signs in an expressive, harmonious, and skillful manner.”
Although the art of calligraphy can be traced back to ancient times, its hybrid with painting is a rather new innovation. In Iran, the trend began in the 1950s, as some of the more avant-garde artists of the age decided that it’s time to revive the glory of calligraphy. Since then, the new art form has only grown in terms of stature.
“As an Iranian, who has a rich cultural and artistic legacy, I have always been seeking ways to make the most of that potential in a contemporary context,” said Morteza Shamisa, the 44-year-old calligraphy painter with an academic degree in graphic design.
“When I’m designing signs, I consistently make a point of utilizing the brilliant geometry of Iranian calligraphy pens,” he said.
Shamisa is especially inspired by the stamps, inscriptions, and letterheads of the Qajar dynasty era, and boldly uses the traditional pens in his logotype design.
“It’s no secret that our calligraphy is one of the richest, most inspiring parts of our visual legacy. It has evolved, step by step, through hundreds of years of practice and innovation, to the point of maturity,” he said.
With regards to calligraphy painting, however, the decorative use of the shapes in which the letters come, and their combinations, is an altogether different story. For the young art requires a certain level of abstraction, wherein words could stand beyond the scope of the meanings they denote.
“I constantly study the works of, and learn from the past masters of my art. Those who have carefully built on the legacy of calligraphy in order to try and redefine it for the modern times,” he said.
As an example, Shamisa names Mohammad Ehsai, who “broke the clichés wherever he could”, and yet managed to preserve the tradition when he deemed no alteration necessary.
“The movement known as ‘calligraphy painting’ in the last few decades, paved the way for a reconciliation between our calligraphy traditions and contemporary art,” he said.
The artistic innovation also helped Iran’s traditional pens to escape an impasse and find a chance to be presented in a visually modern discourse.
“It breathed new life into our calligraphy.”