TEHRAN -- Head of Iran’s National Committee for the Memory of the World Register, Ali-Akbar Ash’ari, requested that those in possession of documentary heritage articles present them for assessment.

He said that the submitted works will be examined by their experts who will select two items to introduce to UNESCO each year. The Memory of the World Register lists documentary heritage properties which have been identified and selected by the UNESCO International Advisory Committee. Ash’ari went on to say, “We requested that UNESCO send a specialist to Iran to hold an educational course for Iran’s professionals in this field, and the two-day teaching program began yesterday.” “At the end of the program, each participant will be asked to compose an article which will then be evaluated. The writers of the best articles will be invited to cooperate with the committee as advisors,” he mentioned. He continued that Iran’s National Committee was established last September and its secretariat is located at Iran’s National Library and Archives (INLA) in Tehran. Ash’ari, who is also INLA’s president, mentioned that the committee had been responsible for preparing the documents for the Endowment Deed of Rab-e Rashidi and the Shahnameh of Baysunqur in June. These manuscripts were subsequently accepted for examination by UNESCO’s International Advisory Committee (IAC) for inclusion on the Memory of the World Register