TEHRAN -- Iran’s 16th Press Festival opened on Tuesday at Tehran’s Imam Khomeini Mosalla.

Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance Mohammad Hosseini and several other Iranian cultural officials attended the opening ceremony of this year’s festival, whose motto is Promotion of the Media’s Status and Ethics in Journalism.
Media outlets from Indonesia, Britain, Italy, Brazil, Bosnia, Japan, the United Arab Emirates, Ukraine, Malaysia, Germany, India, Greece, and a number of other countries are participating.
A total of 1500 periodicals and newspapers are on display at 600 stands in the event, which runs until October 26.
“This edition of the festival is different from the previous ones, in that it has three press cafés where visitors can read their favorite periodicals,” Iran’s deputy culture minister for press affairs, Alireza Malekian, said at a press conference on Monday.
The festival also features a free theme photo exhibition on its sidelines in which photojournalists can display their work, he added.
Seventy-three juries will judge the competition sections of the festival, he stated.
A special section of the festival is dedicated to several themes, such as conservation; the fourth decade of the Islamic Revolution; the Islamic Resistance in Lebanon; and the police, the media, and security, Malekian explained.
Political sessions, technical workshops, and meetings on diverse issues will also be held during the festival, he stated.