On March 9, 2024, the Fourth International Nowruz Diplomacy Conference and the Nowruz Trophy were held at the Koushk Art Garden in Tehran, Iran. The conference was attended by guests from 15 countries. It was organized with several cultural institutions in the Nowruz region, including Radio Nowruz, the Afghan Institute for Strategic Studies, and other institutions active in Nowruzistan. The event was attended by senior diplomats, representatives from various countries, and cultural activists from the Nowruz civilization region, particularly Afghanistan and the Islamic Republic of Iran.

The conference began with the Monajat of Khwaja Abdullah Ansari, performed by Ms. Elham Akhlaqi, journalist of Radio Nowruz, and a soulful performance of the Rabab by Afghan artists. It also featured a display of the Haft-Sin table and Haft-Miwah, traditional music performances, and the culture of people from different regions, including Afghanistan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan. The Nowruz Trophy accompanied the closing ceremony of the event.

Dr. Abed Akbari, Secretary of the Conference, said, "Nowruz is a symbol of renewal, cleanliness, and purification." He continued: "Nowruz symbolizes abundance, light, and love. The actions of the people of the Nowruz civilization region throughout the years have been to cleanse the garment of the soul and kindle kindness in a time when love and friendship are fading."

Akbari: said "Nowruz is not just a time for celebration and joy, but also a meeting point of history and geography in a discourse, a discourse of peace, friendship, and love that many people around the world cherish."

Mir Jalaluddin Kazzazi, a poet and one of the conference's recipients of the Nowruz Trophy, said: "We have hundreds and thousands of symbols, each of which represents a part of the culture, character, and history of the Nowruz region, but Nowruz can be considered the yardstick of the Nowruzstan culture."

Dr. Seyed Abbas Araghchi, Secretary of the Strategic Council on Foreign Relations of the Islamic Republic of Iran, also said in his speech: "Our people have taken Nowruz with them wherever they have gone and have institutionalized it there." He emphasized that about 20 countries celebrate Nowruz and said that the cultural characteristics of Nowruz can be a suitable ground for convergence in the Nowruzistan civilization region.

The Indian ambassador also spoke at the event in Persian and explained how Nowruz is celebrated in Delhi. Rudra Gaurav Shrest said: "The Nowruz celebration that we are holding today is also significant in India, and the Parsi-speaking population that has entered India in the past is respected and dear to the people of our country." Shrest noted that the celebration of the arrival of spring is also held under different names in different states of India, one of which is the Holi festival, which is held with the arrival of spring in the country.

This year's winners of the Nowruz Trophy also received silk shawls - hand-woven by the women of Herat - as gifts from the Afghan Institute for Strategic Studies and Radio Nowruz.

This year, the Nowruz Trophy was presented to Mr. Seyed Askar Mousavi, an Afghan representative. Mousavi is a writer and one of the country's intellectual elites.

The Trophy was also presented to several professors and representatives of other countries, including Mir Jalaluddin Kazzazi from Iran, Jamshid Iqbal, Ambassador Shrest of India, the Deputy Ambassador of Tajikistan, and the representative of the Ugandan Parliament, Ms. Aisha Wan Yana. It is worth noting that Uganda is the 55th country that supports the celebration of Nowruz.

After receiving the Nowruz Trophy, Ms. Wana said in her speech: "I am honored to be the first African country to hold the Nowruz ceremony at the Ugandan Embassy in Tehran and to set up the Haft Sin table." Wan Yana invited the program participants to cooperate further in the economic and cultural fields.

In recent years, the Nowruz Trophy has been presented to representatives of countries that have made significant contributions to developing cultural relations between the Nowruz countries and these countries. The Trophy is a statue and a handmade piece of art of a swallow, a migratory bird that heralds the arrival of spring with its arrival in Nowruzistan every year.

The full report and video of this conference will soon be available on the website and social media pages of Nowruz Radio.