PORTUGAL: Lisbon builds bridges with Iran

To celebrate the 500th anniversary of relations between Portugal and Iran, the University of Lisbon organised a festival on Iranian art and culture earlier this month. Co-sponsored by the University of Lisbon's division of cultural activities and the Iranian Embassy, the exhibition gave residents of Lisbon a unique opportunity to learn about historic links between the two countries as well as Iran's cultural heritage.

Posters of Iran's attractions, examples of its handicrafts and literature were on display at the festival. Iranian films by directors such as Abbas Kiarostami were also screened with Portuguese subtitles during the week and lectures were given by Portuguese professors on, for example, the role of Iran in the Middle East.

The historical relationship between Portugal and Persia began in the early 16th Century, when Portugal was a great trading nation and governed a strategic island next to the mainland.
"The tiny island of Ormuz was one of the most important ports in the Middle East as it controlled the maritime trading routes through the Persian Gulf to India and East Africa," says Dr António Sobral, spokesperson at the University of Lisbon.

"This island was so important in terms of commerce, especially silk, that just the taxes paid by merchants were sufficient to cover the costs of the Portuguese Empire in the East." After almost 100 years of rule, Portugal was forced to abandon the island in 1622.

The University of Lisbon is not the only academic institution to enjoy co-operative partnerships with Iran. In 2002, members of the faculty of architecture, environment and society from the Technical University Berlin initiated contact with the University of Guilan, one of the largest educational institution in northern Iran, with the objective of developing an urban planning and design course at the Iranian University.

The universities seek to share knowledge about their experiences, methods and latest research in planning and architecture.

On the other hand, the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Washington has partnered with an Iranian family to sponsor special events that enhance Persian and Iranian Studies. Annual lectures over the last 10 years have addressed topics as diverse as "Justice, Purity and Sexuality in Modern Iranian History" to "Matriotic Nationalism and the Making of the Iranian Constitutional Revolution of 1906-1911."