Kanoon was established in 1965. After the Islamic revolution, it is a subset of the ministry of education and supervised by this ministry.
Kanoon main goal is to provide required facilities to flourish children and adolescents talents and creativity and to develop their intellectual abilities in their leisure time.
Kanoon Tasks
* Establishing centers to provide children and adolescents with books, and cultural, artistic, and literature training
* Contributing to the development of public libraries, libraries in mosques, and schools to get completed and to establish special sections for children and adolescents
* Preparing and using audio-visual equipment; preparing instructional tools; producing, distributing, screening and selling motion pictures; producing children and youth theaters; contributing to the promotion of children literature by persuading authors, illustrators, artists, publishers and cooperating with them
* Holding festivals and literature, artistic and cultural exhibitions for children and adolescents
* Producing various forms of entertainment such as toys, dolls, and computer games
* Producing mobile libraries for children living in villages
* Cooperating with Iranian and non-Iranian organizations sharing the same goals as Kanoon does
Kanoon Cultural Activities
Cultural-Artistic Centers: Libraries
The first library was established at Laleh Park in1965. Today, Kanoon has 1041 cultural-artistic centers all over Iran out of which 830 are immobile or fixed libraries.
Except lending books, more than 60 various cultural, artistic and literal activities are done at Kanoon libraries such as:
* Criticizing books, writing stories, reading poems, making films, painting, and calligraphy
* Getting familiar with Iranian and foreign scientists, artists, governors, and leaders
* Getting to know various countries, nations, tribes, and races
* Holding Competitions besides various exhibitions and group visits
Some Kanoon centers have gone through certain changes to provide services to visual and hearing impaired children. These centers are called “inclusive”. There are 40 centers of that type in Iran.
You can watch the film about these centers here:
In addition, more than 170 urban and rural mobile centers have been set up and put into operation to provide services to children in rural and deprived areas.
To watch the film click here:
Through more than 56 postal libraries, coaches lend books via post. They reply children’s cultural, scientific and literature questions, too.
Complexes and Centers for Cultural and Artistic Creations
More large cultural and artistic complexes are opened in most cities as Kanoon develops its activities.
These complexes are main centers to run libraries and other centers. They provide members, coaches and Kanoon staffs with various services.
Kanoon’s first large center called “Center for Artistic and Cultural Creation” was opened on Hejab St. in Tehran with an area of 21 000 square meters in 1993.
Amphitheaters, conference halls, exhibition halls for festivals and meetings, for Kanoon exhibitions and fairs, children bazar, children museum, workshops for creative arts and creative thinking, and Kanoon Language Center are among important sections.
Special Centers
Another domain of Kanoon activity includes recognizing and developing children’s cultural, artistic and scientific talents at certain specialty centers such as “Astrology Center”, “Science and Astrology”, “Pottery Center (Sofar)”, “History Museum” and “Children Museum”.
Reference Library
Kanoon reference library is the most outstanding specialized library in “Education”, “Arts”, and “Children Literature”. It has a precious collection of books and children and adolescents periodicals in 25 various languages.
Iran Language Institute
The most important and the most extensive educational activity is done here. Iran Language Institute (previous Iran-America Cultural Association).
About one million children, adolescents and adults are learning English, French, German, Spanish, Russian and Arabic in more than 300 Kanoon language centers with 2800 teachers all over Iran.
Iran Language Institute started working in 1925. After the revolution, this institute has continued working under the supervision of ministry of education.
Productive Activities
Publications
Kanoon has published more than three thousands books in various languages: book-films audiobooks, e-books, books in Brail, various collections of religious books, historical books, and literature books.
Kanoon publications has managed to win various awards from national and international festivals and book exhibitions like UNESCO Book Exhibition, Bologna, Bratislava, Japan Biennial Illustration (Noma). Another achievement is Kanoon’s books are registered in Munich Library Calendar; Kanoon books Selected by the International Children's Book Office. Kanoon has been selected as the year best publication for children in 12 rounds of Tehran International Book Exhibition and the book of the year.
Cinematography
Kanoon Cinematic Affairs Center was established in 1965. 440 motion pictures have been produced so far at Kanoon. The center not only produces short films, semi-feature films, feature films, and animations, but also, it criticizes presented scenarios and chooses the best ones.
Kanoon owes considerable amount of its success in national and international areas to cinematic affairs. Being an Oscar nominee for “Children of Heaven”, receiving the Canne’s Award for “Bahador” animation, receiving 16 international prize for “Shangoul and Mangoul” animation are among Kanoon outstanding achievements.
Producing music for children, adolescents and adults are to be mentioned among other Kanoon activities.
Movie Theaters
Kanoon has hundreds of standard movie halls all over Iran or inside its centers to show films for children and young adults.
Theater and Puppet Theater
Kanoon Center for Theater and Puppet Theater was established in 1971. This center produces plays in which various types of techniques such as puppet shows, live and combined produce plays for children and adolescents.
This center has always tried to perform plays in rural and deprived areas to give a chance to children and young adults living in various parts of Iran to watch theaters. The center has produced 160 plays for such areas. A project called “Theater-School”, and the other one aims to produce “Book-Play” designed by the center for such areas.
To watch the introductory video of Kanoon Mobile Theater Lorry click here:
Productive Hobbies
Center for Productive Hobbies was established in 1982 in order to design and produce intellectual, artistic and cultural entertainment.
Kanoon managed to design, manufacture, and produce various types of toys, entertainment equipment, educational software, computer games, three generations of Dara_Sara, and Folkloric dolls.
Some digital games designed by Kanoon have won prizes.
Business Activities
By launching more than 240 stores and agencies in various cities, Kanoon offers its products including books, toys, computer games, cinema, stationery and more to audiences.
Granting representation of cultural products for children and young adults, cooperating with publishers and non-Kanoon producers to sell their products at Kanoon stores, participating at national and international exhibitions are other parts of Kanoon activities.
Children and adolescents, various organizations and centers use Kanoon books based on age groups through various ways such as subscription, with no need to go to the stores.
International Activities
Books
Participating in international book fairs in Italy, Germany, and Japan; negotiating foreign publishers, selling Kanoon books’ copyright, purchasing foreign books’ copyrights, sending Iranian illustrations to foreign exhibitions and contests are among Kanoon international activities.
Movie
Kanoon has participated in international film festivals such as the Cannes, Chicago, Hyderabad, Vancouver, Huston, Locarno, Berlin, San Francisco, Busan, Leipzig, Fajr Festival and has caused Iran to win many honors.
Activities such as participating in international film markets with offering Kanoon latest cinematographic products, negotiations, agreements with companies, foreign producers to sell Kanoon films.
Painting
Kanoon sends paintings of its members to various international festivals and contests like Inohikari, Japan; Shankar, India; Japan biennial Kanagavai, UNESCO; Hungary; Finland; Tripoli, Lidice, Czech Republic; Slovenia, Macedonia, …. Their works have won hundreds of medals, and valuable badges of gold, silver, bronze, honorary diplomas and certificates of appreciation in these international exhibitions and contests.
Kanoon Festivals, Exhibitions, and Programs
Holding festivals, exhibitions, and various other programs, national or international, are among the most important Kanoon programs. Every year, millions of children and young adults, culture, art and literature activists and ordinary people round the country participate in these programs.
Storytelling, Tehran International Amination Festival, Tehran Children International Painting Exhibition, Tehran Children International Painting Contest, International Children Day, National Children Week, Toy festival and exhibition, internal organization festivals like puppet show, research and the like are examples of programs planned by Kanoon.
Cooperating with International Organizations
Strengthening Iranian children relationship with other nations, familiarizing them with the logic of having dialog with other nations and different cultures, establishing more and deeper relationship with Iranians living abroad are among the most important Kanoon goals in the program for “Friendship and Culture Weeks” initiated in 2003 when Kanoon started collaborating with the Organization of Culture and Islamic Relations. So far, 57 weeks of cultural relationship and friendship have been held in Bangladesh, South Africa, Greece, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tajikistan, Lebanon, Denmark, Sweden, Kenya, Qatar, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bulgaria.
During weeks of friendship and cultural activities, certain programs are offered such as presenting Kanoon’s products, performing cultural and artistic activities in the form of exhibitions and workshops, displaying films, and performing theaters and plays.
Another activity performed during these weeks is sending theater groups and storytellers to international festivals.
Information
The following sites are to prepare and send news to various media:
Kanoon performs a plethora of cultural activities. It gifts and sends books to public libraries, schools, and mosques all over Iran. Kanoon is a member of CIFEJ (international organizations for children and youth films) and cooperates with this international organization. Kanoon is a member of ASSITEJ (professional theater), IBBY (International Office for Children Books), IFLA (Organizations for Books, Isesco organization), Eco Cultural Organization. Kanoon has different pages in social media. The address of these pages are as follow:
Kanoon News Network
www.telegram.me/kanoonparvareshpr
Kanoon Instagram page
www.instagram.com/kanoonparvaresh
Kanoon formal page in Aparat
www.aparat.com/kanoonparvaresh
Click here to get Kanoon brochure.
Children and Adolescents Portal
The portal is for: children, adolescents, parents, teachers, coaches, and the ones who are working in this field.
All Kanoon products, cultural activities, other centers’ activities and programs are introduced in this portal. It is in Farsi.
You can visit the portal in the following address: www.koodak24.ir
The audience can easily find the information needed.
In the portal, you can find information about:
Books, stories, poetry, handicraft, games and entertainment, films, animations, storytelling, audio, toys, news, articles, information bank and announcing programs.
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