Saadi Foundation and Imam Khomeini International University to Expand Persian Language Education

According to the Saadi Foundation’s Public Relations Office, Hamid Taheri, President of Imam Khomeini International University in Qazvin, met with Gholam-Ali Haddad-Adel, President of the Saadi Foundation, to discuss the university’s academic and educational capacities and areas of mutual cooperation.

During the meeting, Haddad-Adel referred to Qazvin’s rich historical and cultural background and highlighted the city’s significant potential in cultural and research fields. He noted that during the modernization period and the expansion of Iran’s relations with Europe, Qazvin was located along the route traveled by diplomats, ambassadors, foreign officials and Orientalists, many of whom passed through the city on their journeys to Tehran.

He added that examining the travelogues and reports written by these visitors about Qazvin could provide valuable material for historical and cultural studies.

Referring to Imam Khomeini International University’s long-standing experience in teaching Persian to international students, the President of the Saadi Foundation described the university as one of the Foundation’s priorities for expanding cooperation. He said the university had undertaken this mission even before the establishment of the Saadi Foundation and that its experience and capacities could be utilized to create greater synergy between the two institutions.

Haddad-Adel also outlined the Saadi Foundation’s mission in teaching Persian to non-Persian speakers, explaining that, in accordance with the mandate assigned to it by the Supreme Council of the Cultural Revolution, the Foundation works in the areas of teacher training, developing educational guidelines and standards, and supervising Persian language education centers.

Taheri, for his part, referred to the history of the Persian Language Education Center at Imam Khomeini International University and said that over more than three decades of activity, the center had gained extensive experience and established a strong track record in teaching Persian to non-Persian speakers.

He emphasized Imam Khomeini International University’s readiness to expand joint cooperation with the Saadi Foundation.

During the meeting, the establishment and development of an international network of Persian language centers, teacher training and capacity building, joint academic, educational and international events, implementation of joint research projects, establishment of a database and corpus for Persian language education, and the exchange and deployment of university professors and language instructors were identified as key areas of cooperation between the two institutions.

The meeting was attended by the Secretary of the Saadi Foundation, the Foundation’s deputies, the Deputy for International Affairs, and the Head of the Persian Language Education Center for Non-Persian Speakers (AZFA) at Imam Khomeini International University in Qazvin. Both sides emphasized the importance of utilizing each other’s academic and educational experience and capacities to enhance activities related to the teaching and promotion of the Persian language.