TEHRAN – The 23rd Press Exhibition opened in Tehran on Friday, bringing the close connection between social consciousness and development into focus as the organizers selected the motto “A More Conscious Society: More Development, Fewer Words” for this year’s edition of the Iran’s major media showcase.

The eight-day exhibition was scheduled to be inaugurated by President Hassan Rouhani in a special ceremony. However, the ceremony, which will be attended by Vice President Es’haq Jahangiri, was postponed for one day.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance, which is the main organizer of the exhibition, did not comment on the change. 

The representatives of over 900 newspapers, news agencies, press organizations, magazines and news websites are attending the event underway at Imam Khomeini Mosalla to establish a face-to-face communication with their readers.

Dozens of international journalists and media experts have also been invited to attend a number of panel discussions arranged by the organizers. The co-editor Newsroom in New Zealand, Tim Murphy, the Russian political scientist and expert on Iran, Vladimir Sazhin, and Azerbaijan’s Azertac’s special correspondent, Rabil Ketanov, are among the invitees.

The organizers have also set up a section titled “The Treasure Trove of Iranian Press”, at which editions of some newspapers from the Qajar period (1796-1925) are on display.

The National Library and Archives of Iran also is showcasing a collection of original copies from its historical documents and rare manuscripts in a pavilion at the Press Exhibition, which will come to an end on November 3.

Photo: A poster for the 23rd Press Exhibition

MMS/YAW