UN agencies veiled by politics, says Iranian filmmaker

By Musa Alcan

ISTANBUL

Majid Majidi, a famous Iranian director, said international organizations such as the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) are not doing their best to protect children and culture.

Speaking at the session, in the TRT 6th International Children’s Media Conference, he said these institutions were “overshadowed” by politics.

"Children and youth, without doubt, are among the greatest national investment of all societies. Yet today, children's imaginations are nested within war and violence," he said.

Majidi, who has directed the 1997 Academy-Award nominated film "Children of Heaven", added: “The more we give care to children, the more our world would become beautiful.”

"As a Muslim artist, I want to say that major powers of the world especially the United States are doing genocide in the Muslim geography. The West directly goes to war in some countries under the title of ‘counter terrorism’ and in some countries it goes to war via groups that it itself creates. Daesh is one of those groups," he said.

The two-day event organized by the TRT Department of Child and Training from Nov.1-2 aims to improve media for the benefit of children.

The theme for the event is "Representation, Integration and Diversity in Children's Media: Challenges and Opportunities".

Reporting by Musa Alcan; Writing by Merve Aydogan