In a speech at the Abuzar National Media Festival in Tehran, Seyyed Abbas Salehi, Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance, while honoring the memory of the martyred journalists of Gaza, emphasized: Media that reflects the oppression of Palestine has been able to change the soft power equation in the world or move towards changing it.
Publish dateWednesday 16 April 2025 - 11:20
Story Code : 312920
Iran's Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance at the Closing Ceremony of the Abuzar National Media Festival;
Media that reflects the oppression of Palestine has been able to change the soft power equation in the world
Afghan Voice Agency (AVA) - Tehran: The closing ceremony of the Abuzar National Media Festival was held on Tuesday, April 16, with the presence of Seyyed Abbas Salehi, Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance, Sardar Gholamreza Soleimani, Head of the Basij Mostazafin Organization, Elias Hazrati, Head of the Government Information Council, Mohammad Golzari, Secretary of the Government Information Council, Yousef Pezzekian, Advisor and Media Assistant to the Chief of Staff of the President of Iran, and members of the country's media.
At the ceremony, the Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance, while honoring the memory of martyred journalists, especially in Gaza, said: "In light of the discussion that has been raised in recent decades under the title of soft power, the media have found a different perspective or at least some of their functions have become more important, with the theory that the power of nations and countries includes soft power in addition to hard and semi-hard power, and the media has an important place in this matter." He added: "Instead of occupying territories, soft power occupies minds and souls, and instead of coercion, it persuades; naturally, the importance of soft power bearers in global equations has doubled. The main bearers of soft power include culture, art, literature, diplomacy, and the media." Salehi stated that the media constitutes a significant part of the soft power of a nation and country, and added: "Soft power has internal and external dimensions; In the internal dimensions of soft power, maintaining social unity is evident, and the more a society benefits from social cohesion, the greater its soft power. The more national affiliations in a society, the greater the soft power of that society. The more local and national culture has influence in a society, the greater the national power of that society. These are internal variables of soft power, and some of them are considered external variables of soft power.
He also noted: For example, in the field of foreign relations, an attractive image of a country is important, how a country can present a pleasant image of itself that helps the national power of that country.
The Iranian Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance added: The media have always been important and have played a very important role in governments and nations, but in light of the fact that the issue of soft power has become more important and the media are an important part of the bearer of soft power, the importance of the media has doubled. If, compared to the wars of 1973, 1967, 1948, etc., the global oppression of Palestine has somewhat diminished in global public opinion and the world has gained a clearer picture of Zionist atrocities, it is related to the impact of the soft power of the media.
He clarified: The media that reflect the oppression of Palestine have been able to change the equation of soft power in the world or move towards changing it. In our era, the media have become more important because they can use the soft power platform to bring about events that hard power is unable to do.
Salehi continued: If we accept that the media is the main component of soft power, we must also consider its requirements; due to the limited time, I will mention one case: In a situation where the soft power of a country and nation can be formed, the official authority of the domestic media is established; we need our media to find an official domestic authority, and if this has diminished, a solution must be thought of for it.
Stating that we cannot consider the media as the main bearer of soft power, but that media authority is outside the country or in the hands of unofficial media, he clarified: "Some events have occurred in the path of our media format that should be paid attention to. According to statistics, the official authority of domestic media has diminished, which is considered a threat to national security. If we accept that soft power is more important than hard power and that the media is its main bearer, the weakening of the authority of domestic media is not in anyone's interest." The Iranian Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance, stating that the weakening of the authority of domestic media has caused part of the soft power to be transferred outside the country, added: "How to return the authority of the media to the inside has its own requirements. It is better to have a critical domestic media than to have the BBC speak against us. Soft power is in the media, and if soft power leaves the country, it is like disarming ourselves." This is where we must pay attention to the fact that our national security depends on not underestimating the authority of our domestic media. He then emphasized that we must pay attention to the requirements of the media and said: We should not allow others to publish the first news. We are in an aggressive information system and if we do not say it, others will say it as they want. We must also allow the media to make demands so that people's sense of trust in the domestic media increases.
At the end of the ceremony, the winners of the Abuzar National Media Festival were honored
According to Dr. Morteza Karamuzian, head of the Iran Media Mobilization at the closing of the 10th Abuzar Media Festival: We had 25,000 works in this festival, which is an increase of 2,000 works compared to last year.
He added: This period emphasized the "strategy of exposing the crimes of the Zionist regime, more narrative, resistance jihad, and narrative of progress."
Referring to the extensive participation of the media, Karamuzian stated: This year, 7,400 media outlets and media individuals participated in the festival, which was unparalleled.
Stating that media professionals have high insight and are masters of style and impact, he said: Media professionals have joined the group of signatories of the complaint against the Zionist regime for martyring 218 media professionals in Gaza and destroying media centers, whose legal pursuits are underway at the level of international forums.
The head of the Iranian Media Mobilization continued: "Our main goal in this festival is to honor the role of journalists and media activists in raising awareness and enlightening the society. Also, this event is an opportunity to honor people who, through their tireless efforts, have strengthened social values and made a significant contribution to promoting public culture." The festival honored the top performers of the 10th Abuzar Media Festival in the reporting, interview, photo, headline, podcast, infographic, note and editorial, documentary, motion graphics, and video reporting sections.
At the ceremony, the Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance, while honoring the memory of martyred journalists, especially in Gaza, said: "In light of the discussion that has been raised in recent decades under the title of soft power, the media have found a different perspective or at least some of their functions have become more important, with the theory that the power of nations and countries includes soft power in addition to hard and semi-hard power, and the media has an important place in this matter." He added: "Instead of occupying territories, soft power occupies minds and souls, and instead of coercion, it persuades; naturally, the importance of soft power bearers in global equations has doubled. The main bearers of soft power include culture, art, literature, diplomacy, and the media." Salehi stated that the media constitutes a significant part of the soft power of a nation and country, and added: "Soft power has internal and external dimensions; In the internal dimensions of soft power, maintaining social unity is evident, and the more a society benefits from social cohesion, the greater its soft power. The more national affiliations in a society, the greater the soft power of that society. The more local and national culture has influence in a society, the greater the national power of that society. These are internal variables of soft power, and some of them are considered external variables of soft power.
He also noted: For example, in the field of foreign relations, an attractive image of a country is important, how a country can present a pleasant image of itself that helps the national power of that country.
The Iranian Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance added: The media have always been important and have played a very important role in governments and nations, but in light of the fact that the issue of soft power has become more important and the media are an important part of the bearer of soft power, the importance of the media has doubled. If, compared to the wars of 1973, 1967, 1948, etc., the global oppression of Palestine has somewhat diminished in global public opinion and the world has gained a clearer picture of Zionist atrocities, it is related to the impact of the soft power of the media.
He clarified: The media that reflect the oppression of Palestine have been able to change the equation of soft power in the world or move towards changing it. In our era, the media have become more important because they can use the soft power platform to bring about events that hard power is unable to do.
Salehi continued: If we accept that the media is the main component of soft power, we must also consider its requirements; due to the limited time, I will mention one case: In a situation where the soft power of a country and nation can be formed, the official authority of the domestic media is established; we need our media to find an official domestic authority, and if this has diminished, a solution must be thought of for it.
Stating that we cannot consider the media as the main bearer of soft power, but that media authority is outside the country or in the hands of unofficial media, he clarified: "Some events have occurred in the path of our media format that should be paid attention to. According to statistics, the official authority of domestic media has diminished, which is considered a threat to national security. If we accept that soft power is more important than hard power and that the media is its main bearer, the weakening of the authority of domestic media is not in anyone's interest." The Iranian Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance, stating that the weakening of the authority of domestic media has caused part of the soft power to be transferred outside the country, added: "How to return the authority of the media to the inside has its own requirements. It is better to have a critical domestic media than to have the BBC speak against us. Soft power is in the media, and if soft power leaves the country, it is like disarming ourselves." This is where we must pay attention to the fact that our national security depends on not underestimating the authority of our domestic media. He then emphasized that we must pay attention to the requirements of the media and said: We should not allow others to publish the first news. We are in an aggressive information system and if we do not say it, others will say it as they want. We must also allow the media to make demands so that people's sense of trust in the domestic media increases.
At the end of the ceremony, the winners of the Abuzar National Media Festival were honored
According to Dr. Morteza Karamuzian, head of the Iran Media Mobilization at the closing of the 10th Abuzar Media Festival: We had 25,000 works in this festival, which is an increase of 2,000 works compared to last year.
He added: This period emphasized the "strategy of exposing the crimes of the Zionist regime, more narrative, resistance jihad, and narrative of progress."
Referring to the extensive participation of the media, Karamuzian stated: This year, 7,400 media outlets and media individuals participated in the festival, which was unparalleled.
Stating that media professionals have high insight and are masters of style and impact, he said: Media professionals have joined the group of signatories of the complaint against the Zionist regime for martyring 218 media professionals in Gaza and destroying media centers, whose legal pursuits are underway at the level of international forums.
The head of the Iranian Media Mobilization continued: "Our main goal in this festival is to honor the role of journalists and media activists in raising awareness and enlightening the society. Also, this event is an opportunity to honor people who, through their tireless efforts, have strengthened social values and made a significant contribution to promoting public culture." The festival honored the top performers of the 10th Abuzar Media Festival in the reporting, interview, photo, headline, podcast, infographic, note and editorial, documentary, motion graphics, and video reporting sections.
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