TEHRAN -- Hamid Reza Muhammadi, founder of Ganjoor, the digital archive of Persian poetry, has received the second Parsi-Jaan National Award for his contribution to the preservation and promotion of Persian literature and language.
The award was presented on Saturday at Soreh Hall of the Art Bureau in Tehran during the second Parsi-Jaan ceremony, organized by the Art Bureau’s Office for the Preservation of the Persian Language.
Nasser Feyz, executive secretary of the ceremony, said the award is intended to recognize individuals and organizations that have undertaken work to support Persian beyond their formal professional responsibilities. He said the organizers were particularly interested in people who had independently devoted their time, resources and abilities to the language.
Muhammadi said the recognition should not be regarded as a personal achievement alone. Ganjoor, he noted, is the product of the work of thousands of people who have contributed to developing the site into a widely used online destination for Persian poetry.
The nominees for this year’s 
Parsi-Jaan distinctions included the Bale messaging platform, Muhammad-Mahdi Bagheri of the Virastaran Institute, Muhammadi, Iranian vocalist Muhammad Motamedi, Tehran Metro’s Cultural Department and journalist Hussein Ezdaha’ie of the Central News Unit in Hormozgan.
Motamedi performed two songs during the ceremony, while poet and literary researcher Yousefali Mirkashkak spoke about the central role of poetry in preserving Persian across generations.
Seyyed Ali Mirfatah, the ceremony’s scientific secretary, recalled the late writer Ghasem Hasheminejad and his insistence that words should be treated as an entrusted responsibility. He argued that preserving Persian literature also means carrying the language received from previous generations forward to those who will follow.
Milad Erfanpour, poet and director of the Art Bureau’s Literary Creation Center, described Parsi-Jaan as a new initiative for supporting Persian and called for language-preservation efforts to become more creative and accessible.
The ceremony also recognized recipients of the Parsi-Jaan Golden Cypress distinction. Motamedi, Ezhadah’ie and Muhammadi were named among the recipients, with Muhammadi ultimately receiving the National Parsi-Jaan Award.