An Iranian photographer Ali Hamed Haghdoust has won the top prize of the UNESCO photo competition ‘Show Us the Afghanistan You Are Proud Of.’

Of the 3,033 photos submitted in the mobile-phone and camera photograph categories, a photo of Haghdoust in the latter category was selected as the winner and received a $5000 cash prize, Mehr News Agency reported.

Commenting on the winning photo, the jury said in a statement, “The photographer of the winning image of a carousel made a strong composition, getting down on the ground and shooting up so the whole sky is filled with the circling horses. The action, youth, and color in this image speak to the future, but also give a nod to traditional past as the children are leaning off their horses to pick up a coin, imitating their national game of Buzkashi (literally ‘goat dragging’, the national sport of Afghanistan in which horse-mounted players attempt to drag a goat or calf carcass toward a goal),” the UNESCO website reported.

Born in Tabriz, Haghdoust, 34, is a documentary photographer. His images, which focus on raising human rights awareness, have been published by AP Images, Sipa Press (French Photo Agency), Time Magazine, New York Times, National Geographic, Washington Post, and many more.

He has documented Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Turkey through his camera and his works have been shown in several solo and group exhibitions, winning awards too.

Afghan photographers Reza Sahel and Mohammad Ali Sheida were ranked second and third in the same category and were awarded $4000 and $3000 cash prizes respectively.

In the mobile-phone photo category, Iranian-born Afghan photographer Hamid Reza Rahmani won the first prize.

Rahmani, 25, usually takes landscapes. In his recently-held exhibition in Tehran he showcased Afghanistan’s serene scenery and natural environment as well as historical sites and tourist attractions.

“Unfortunately, most of the images on the subject of Afghanistan in the media deal with war and human disasters. But I believe that there is great beauty in the country that is unknown to the world,” he said.

Afghan photographers Najeeb Azad and Nasrullah Alili got the second and third prizes. All the three winners in the category received a $2000 cash prize each.

In the award ceremony on May 2, Director of the UNESCO Office in Afghanistan Patricia McPhillips said, “One of the most difficult tasks for strengthening state legitimacy of post-conflict states is to build a shared national identity and to restore a form of social capital. In the past decade, UNESCO has contributed to this task through its cultural projects in Afghanistan.”

A selection of the photos is on display at an exhibition in Kabul for a month and then they will be showcased in Switzerland on a request from the country.

/financialtribune.com/

Iranian women don’t give up easily and this is something that has impressed me very much, said Roxanne Varza, the 31-year-old girl who was placed by Business Insider at 6th place among the top 30 women under 30 in tech in 2013.

Varza, born to an Iranian family in the U.S., is trilingual and holds degrees from UCLA, Sciences Po Paris and the London School of Economics. She is also an epilepsy advocate.

Varza is the co-organizer of the Failcon Paris conference. More recently, she co-founded Tech.eu, a European tech media.

Prior to TechCrunch, Varza worked for the French government’s foreign direct investment agency helping fast-growing startups develop their activities in France. Roxanne has spoken, moderated, mentored and judged numerous startup events and programs throughout Europe and also helps European startups with content and communications.

“Iranian women have a very good spirit. I love it. I have heard a lot about difficulties and challenges that they have but still they have a very strong spirit,” Varza said in an interview with the Tehran Times.

“This was a funny feeling when I came to know that I am among the top thirties. I think it is always very nice to be on this list but I definitely think that there are so many women around the world that should be recognized”, she explained.

“Technology is both for men and women. When we started Girls in Tech, we were two people. I was a journalist at the time and I was writing about technology startups and all the startups that I met were founded by men and I was looking for some new stories. So we started this group to see who are the women working in technology and we actually discovered that they are a lot but they don’t go to other technology events,” Varza said, who was the former editor of TechCrunch France (2010-2011).

So, this was the main reason that we started Girls in Tech and today we do a lot of different programs to help encourage more women to join technology, she said, adding the number of women in technology is very low, usually around 30% in western Europe and the U.S..

I know Iran’s statistics is actually much better, she noted.

“For girls that want to work on startups, I usually say you should start your own project. It doesn’t have to be your own start-up, but a startup project,” Varza, the director of the Halle Freyssinet, 1000 Startups project, which is set to be the largest startup incubator worldwide said.

I did the same thing when I started my blog or when I started Girls in Tech, explained Varza, the co-founder of the French and British chapters of Girls in Tech.

Startup is not specific to women, but definitely I have been very excited about getting more women into technology and encouraging especially younger generations to come into technology, she noted.

For me beginning to work in startups was by accident. I worked for a French government agency, working with American startups to bring them to France. So I tried to open offices for facebook, twitter, and other companies in France and that was when I discovered actually I love startups, Varza said.

I love people who are creative, very optimistic and very intelligent. So I love entrepreneurs and that is how I got involved in startups. The second step I took was when I started a blog and my blog let me meet a lot of people, go to lots of events, and develop my network.

The talent of women in technology is actually very good. When people ask me what is the difference between a man and woman, I always say I don’t know. I haven’t been a man! But I think when we are looking at the talent, it is exactly the same. Women are actually matching men in everything, she stressed.

I think it is a very good time to be a woman entrepreneur right now, noted Varza. I always think even though women’s percentage in technology is very low, it’s an advantage. Having been somebody who is rare is definitely something that people remember and people notice, which actually helps businesses a lot and the second thing is right now we are seeing a lot of big corporations, Microsoft, Google, IBM, all big companies that want to work more with women, she explained.

I think they are looking at being in diverse profiles. They don’t want to hire a ton of people with the same background, because that’s not where innovation comes from. So I think that they are realizing that they need women, said  Varza, who was the lead for Microsoft’s startup activities in France, running both Bizspark and Microsoft Ventures programs for 3 years.

There is no reason that a woman should be paid less than a man in any job, she stressed. There are different campaigns in France to make equal salaries for men and women.

Varza who prefers to come to Iran than going to the U.S., travels to Iran at least once a year, this time to meet her old grandmother, Tooran Shahriyari, who is one of the first female Iranian lawyers and also a poet living in Tehran.

I think Iran is also in a very exciting time because its economy and market is very attractive for foreigners, Varza noted, adding, foreigners want to learn about Iran and they want to be connected with Iran; and I think Iran is a very good place for investment right now.

/ tehran times /

President Rouhani referred to amicable and deep cultural and historical ties between Iran and Bangladesh and said: “Developing ties with Bangladesh as a friend and Muslim country has always been stressed by the Iranian nation and government”.

In a meeting with Bangladesh Ambassador to Tehran on Tuesday, Dr Rouhani referred to close viewpoints of Iran and Bangladesh and said: “Today after the nuclear deal and lift of sanctions, there is a good foundation for development of ties between the two countries in all fields and we should make the best use of the opportunity”.

He also described the new Bangladesh Ambassador’s important mission as attempting to cement Tehran-Dhaka ties and said: “The Islamic Republic of Iran is ready to boost cooperation with Bangladesh in different economic, political, cultural and trade fields”.

President Rouhani underscored further development of ties in scientific, academic, technical, engineering and tourism fields.

At the same meeting, the new Bangladesh Ambassador Mujeeb ul-Rahman presented his credentials to the President and described the two countries’ relations friendly and brotherly and called for further ties in various political, economic, trade and infrastructural areas. /www.president.ir/

Iranian athletes who can secure gold medals at the Rio 2016 will receive Golden Shoes. An Iranian footwear company, as a sponsor of Iran National Olympic Committee, will award the gold medalist a pair of Golden Shoes.

The shoes will cost between $22,000 and $28,000. Iran won four gold medals at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.

Three gold medals went to Iranian Greco-Roman wrestlers and super heavyweight lifter Behdad Salimi snatched a gold medal.

/ Tehran times /

Over 600 medical students from universities of medical sciences of Tehran will carry out free of charge diabetes screening at 77 Tehran’s subway stations on Thursday.

The volunteer program, called ‘heavenly hands’, is administered by Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences in association with Tehran’s Municipality, according to IRNA news agency.

On the occasion of the ‘health week’ in Iran and in step with the World Health Organization (WHO) that marked 2016 as the year to beat diabetes by calling for action on it the medical students are going perform free diabetes screening on the passengers from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Thursday.

Medical students will run blood pressure and blood sugar tests on the passengers and will refer at-risk patients to the hospitals.

They will additionally educate the citizens about the diabetes, cancer and other chronic diseases.

The programs aim at fostering and promoting self-care and being attentive to one’s health and all citizens can get the aforesaid services by referring to the subway stations such as Imam Khomeini, Shahid Beheshti, Tajrish, Imam Hossein, and Vali-Asr.

Besides, 100,000 leaflets on health and diseases will be out and distributed among the passengers.

So far 18 healthcare centers affiliated with Shahid Beheshti, Iran and Tehran universities of medical sciences expressed readiness for free diagnostic and treatment services up to May 5.

Women in different parts of Damghan county, northern Semnan province, roll their infants below one year of age in pink roses, believing that it will keep them fresh and healthy.

They perform a ritual called Gol Ghaltan (literally meaning rolling in flowers) in April-May when roses bloom in that area.

Female members of the families, mainly the baby’s mother, grandmothers, and aunts, perform the ceremony.

In early morning, women bath the baby, then put him/her on a white bed sheet full of pink rose petals and roll the baby while waving the sheet to and fro.

Four female members of the family hold four corners of the sheet and recite religious songs marking the dignity of Prophet Mohammad (PBUH).

The Gol Ghaltan ritual, being held for more than four hundred years, is registered as the oldest spiritual heritage in Semnan province.

This year the festival will be held May 4-6 in the city of Amiriyeh, Damghan.

/ Tehran times /

On the 2nd death anniversary of renowned Persian classical music maestro Mohammadreza Lotfi, several members of the ‘Sheida’ Music group will stage a concert on April 28.

A number of Lotfi’s students and fans, and veteran musicians will attend the event at Fakhreddin As’ad Gorgani Hall, located in Lotfi’s hometown Gorgan, the capital of Golestan Province, IRNA reported.

The band will perform several pieces composed by the late artist, accompanied by vocalist Amir Asna-Ashari. ‘Kamancheh’ player Sina Danesh and Farima Movafaqi, ‘tar’ player Sanaz Sattarzadeh, ‘setar’ player Sepideh Moshki, ‘rebab’ player Pouya Leqaei, ‘ney’ player Houshmand Ebadi and ‘tonbak’ player Mahour lotfi are members of the group.

Acclaimed composers and musicians will deliver speeches on the technical features of Lotfi’s repertoires.

Apart from his mastery in ‘tar’ and ‘setar’ (stringed instruments), Lotfi (1947-2014) was a music composer, vocalist, researcher and teacher. In 1971 he established Chavoush Culture and Art Center. Houshang Ebtehaj, a prominent Persian poet, was one of his major supporters in developing the center.

Among his numerous albums, the best known are ‘Love Knows’, ‘Sepideh’ (dawn), ‘Bidad’, and ‘Bal-dar-Bal’ (Wing in Wing).

Co-founding of the Sheida Music Group, artistic collaboration with Mahmoud Dolatabadi, renowned Persian author and the late Ali Hatami, celebrated film director, and publication of the Sheida Year Book, are among his achievements.

Lotfi established the Mirza Abdollah Music School in 1993 for classical music enthusiasts of ‘radif’ a collection of old melodic figures preserved through many generations by oral tradition. This traditional repertoire forms the essence of Persian musical culture that has been handed down by the masters to the students through the generations.

/financialtribune.com/

Iranian rower Mahsa Javar finished in second place at the 2016 Asian and Oceania Olympic Qualification Regatta on Monday.

Javar, who has already secured a place at the Rio 2016 by advancing to the final six, came second in the 2,000 meters women’s single sculls event with a time of 8:05.08.

She is the nine Iranian woman to book a place at the Rio 2016.

Chinese Taipei’s Yi-Ting Huang came first, clocking a time of 8:01.86.

Kazakhstan’s Svetlana Germanovich finished in third place with a time of 8:07.12.

/ Tehran times /