TEHRAN - Iran on Saturday unveiled the first phase of a national educational platform covering creative industries, handicrafts and library and museum skills at the Malek National Library and Museum in downtown Tehran.

The platform, titled “Dar al-Fonun-e Malek,” was inaugurated in a ceremony attended by the Minister of Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts, Seyyed Reza Salehi-Amiri who in an address to the opening ceremony, said the platform aims to provide structured training in 555 fields related to handicrafts, creative arts and traditional skills that are forgotten or at risk of disappearing.

The minister said the courses will be delivered through targeted educational videos produced with the participation of leading instructors, artists and experts from across the country.

In addition to online content, the minister said in-person training classes will be held at the Malek National Library and Museum to complement virtual education and link theoretical knowledge with practical skills.

Salehi-Amiri said Iran holds more than one million historical objects, of which about 43,000 have been registered nationally, but transferring this cultural heritage effectively to younger generations has faced challenges.

He said cultural heritage must be continuously renewed and presented in new forms to remain relevant, adding that digital technologies and online platforms provide an important channel for cultural education and dissemination.

The minister noted that Iran has 29 tangible and 27 intangible cultural elements registered with UNESCO, adding that Ayeneh-kari (mirror work) in Iranian architecture was the most recently registered intangible heritage.

The platform’s name combines “Dar al-Fonun,” Iran’s first modern higher education institution founded in 1851, and “Malek,” referring to the Malek National Library and Museum, where the platform is based.

The unveiling ceremony also included a visit to an exhibition dedicated to Iranian sports figure Gholamreza Takhti, the signing of the platform’s official poster, and a ceremony honoring handicraft instructors.

AM