On Saturday, August 3, 2024, the meeting of the Policy Council for the RoostaAzad Governance and Technology Prize was held, hosted by the Vice-Presidency for Science, Technology, and Knowledge-Based Economy. The event gathered members of the policy council, scientific committee, and Sponsors of the prize to discuss the upcoming award ceremony.

Ruhollah Dehghani Firouzabadi emphasized the need to finalize the selection of the award recipients by September, given the limited time remaining before the ceremony. Ali Akbar Metkan, Secretary-General of the Iranian National Commission for UNESCO, stressed the importance of selecting the most deserving candidates.

Seyyed Mohammad Sadegh Emamian, a member of the prize’s policy council, highlighted that the RoostaAzad Prize will be awarded in four main categories: Governance Technology, Elite Diplomacy, Policy Innovation, and Governance Culture. The timing of the award ceremony was first announced during the council’s initial meeting, and it is set for October of this year.

Emamian also discussed the various organizations supporting the prize, which include the Vice-Presidency for Science, Technology, and Knowledge-Based Economy, the Innovation and Prosperity Fund, the National Elite Foundation, the Iranian National Science Foundation, UNESCO’s National Commission, Sharif Innovation Station, and several other prominent institutions. He further elaborated on the criteria for evaluating the nominees, which include innovation, creativity, public engagement, transparency, cost-efficiency, social legitimacy, international competitiveness, and the promotion of an Iranian-Islamic model of governance. The prize aims to recognize and promote excellence in governance and technology that aligns with these values.