Mohammad Taghi Fakhrian said, “In November 2016, the festival's invitation was mailed by sending one - posters and brochures in various languages of Persian, Arabic, English, French, Urdu etc., to schools in and outside the country and were given to students interested in the Infallible Imams (A.S.).”
“The initial deadline for submitting works was March 19th, 2017, which due to the numerous students' requests for participation in the festival, the deadline extended to the April 20th, 2017” he stated.
Participation of 28 Countries
Fakhrian stating that the approach of this cultural festival is in the field of pilgrimage, knowledge and Imam Reza (A.S.) commented, “Fortunately, the submitted works were of good quality and in terms of quantity have increased by 30% compared to the last year.”
“This year, 36% of the participants were boys and 46% girls, with the largest contributions to painting, calligraphy, story and poetry” he said, pointing out the presence of students.
Managing Director of Razavi Cultural Foundation, highlighting that the schools of Imam Reza (A.S.) sent ten thousand works to the secretariat of the festival, stated, “Khorasan, Semnan, Isfahan and Fars provinces had the highest participation rate that in terms of quantity and quality has showed a good growth.”
“The festival in this period hosts 28 African, European and Asian countries including Denmark, Kuwait, Russia, Algeria, Afghanistan, the United Arab Emirates etc. that participated with over 520 contributions” he said, pointing to the vast presence of various countries at Khorshīd Velāyat Festival.
Attention to Deprived Students
“Given the attitude that Astan Quds Razavi has toward the deprived areas, this year for the first time, 350 deprived students of the country and the suburban students of Mashhad city have been invited as special guests of the ceremony” Fakhrian said, expressing the appreciation of experts in cultural affairs of the provinces, among special events of the ceremony.
Managing Director of the Razavi Cultural Foundation referring to the invitation of two hundred high school students, said, “Visiting the Holy Shrine's museums and sacred places, recreational tours and religious and cultural events of the Holy Shrine are amidst the programs. And to this purpose, a three-day period is considered for these individuals.”
It is worth mentioning that the international festival of “Khorshīd Velāyat” is one of the largest student cultural-artistic events by the theme of Razavi conduct, which will be held on July 27th, for the tenth consecutive year by the Astan Quds Razavi Cultural Foundation and in cooperation with the General Office of Public Relations And Media Affairs of Astan Quds Razavi and the Islamic Student Associations Union.