TEHRAN -- Turan Mirhadi, veteran researcher and co-founder of the Children’s Book Council, was honored during a ceremony at Tehran’s Ibn Sina Cultural Center on July 21.

The event was attended by authors and specialists in children’s literature and the experts Ali Mirzaii and Mohammad-Hadi Mohammadi delivered lectures during the ceremony. Keyhan Mohammadi, director of the cultural center, remarked that Iranians consider Mirhadi to be the founder of children’s literature. He said that many of the people who had gathered for her commemoration had been, or were, her students and that she had made a positive contribution to the culture of Iran. Abbas Horri, professor of library sciences at the University of Tehran, said that Mirhadi has been a great supporter of intellectual activities in Iranian society. He mentioned that when she was working in the educational system, about 50 years ago, she established the first school library in the traditional educational system, which was a very hard task in those days. He added that one of her present significant projects is the compilation of an encyclopedia for children. Nushafarin Ansari, the secretary of the Children’s Book Council, mentioned that the council has helped children by preparing various lists to guide their choice of books. He continued by saying that Mirhadi has always believed strongly in the establishment of libraries so that everyone can have access to books. Turan Mirhadi expressed her thanks to the Ibn Sina Cultural Center’s associates, adding that the ceremony had been beneficial since she had been able to acknowledge her gratitude to her friends and colleagues and all those who had helped her over the years. She thanked all the celebrities who had participated in the event including Nushafarin Ansari, Iran Gorgin and Mahmud Mahmudi. Mirhadi said that over-competitiveness in schools is a factor which threatens Iran’s educational system and called for a move towards co-operation and consultation. Mirhadi is one of the co-founders of the Iranian Association for the Popularization of Science. At the end of the ceremony gifts were given to the 80-year-old researcher Mirhadi for her life-long efforts