A delegation from Iran consisting of government officials and representatives of the International Art and Architecture Research Association (IAARA) visited UN-HABITAT headquarters on Friday and met the Executive Director, Mrs. Anna Tibaijuka.The delegation is seeking to organize with UN-HABITAT the World Olympiad for Urban Design (WOUD), a proposal first presented to the agency at its 20th Governing Council meeting in April. In addition, the delegation also raised the idea of collaborating with UN-HABITAT to developing cultural tourism in Iran’s Qazvin Province.
WOUD is a proposed international competition between the participating cities for the best urban designs with a proposed festival and award ceremony. The first WOUD is planned for 2008. IAARA is an organization that engages enthusiastic professionals dedicated to solving the problems of rapid urbanization in Iran. The delegation presented the Executive Director with a gift of a series of three paintings, depicting an ‘Iranian City’, created by Mr. Parviz Kalantari, a renowned artist and a professor in Iran who was also present. The painting, sponsored by the Cultural Heritage and Tourism Organization of Qazvin was presented in the context of World HABITAT Day, 2005 which was held on the 3rd of October. The painting on canvas was created through using traditional building materials such as straw and earth. Among others, the delegation included Mr. Pirooz Hanachi, the Iranian Deputy minister of Housing and urban planning Mr. Mohammadnader Mohammadzadeh President of cultural heritage organization of Qazvin province and Mr. Saeed Habiba, the Legal advisor of IAARA. |
