At a gathering of the general managers of the Institute for the Intellectual Development of Children and Young Adults, Dr. Mehdi Zolfaghari, the Director of the Iran Language Institute, emphasized the importance of future engineering amid organizational uncertainty and noted, “Failure to pay attention to this issue will cause the organization to face major challenges.”
According to the Public Relations and International Affairs Department of the ILI, Dr. Zolfaghari, referring to the issue of risk and management necessities in every organization, stated: “As a manager, we must accurately understand the organization and its strengths and weaknesses and try to resolve issues related to it. Today, risk and risk management mean decision-making in conditions of uncertainty. This category has been one of the significant issues for our organization, and the successful and flawless holding of the spring semester exams 1404 in the conditions of the 12-day war is proof of this claim. Organizational risk means trying to understand our organization properly, managing it consciously, and making the right decision.”
He stated, “The Iran Language Institute has the best specialists. Our organization is a busy one, and expectations are high, so it is essential that it can establish correct decision-making mechanisms based on the principle of uncertainty.”
Regarding institutional risk and organizational attrition, Dr. Zolfaghari said: “Not increasing activities and the number of students, but systematization reduces risk, so it is essential to prioritize making the right decisions. Over the past three years, despite all the problems, the number of our students has been increasing, and we have broken our previous records. We are looking for systematization, and it is important that we can solve problems with this in mind. Standardization, a strategic document, and a monitoring and self-evaluation system were among the measures we took to reduce the organization's dependence on individuals and increase institutional resilience.”
The quality of our education is our moral red line and the condition for our survival in the future
The Director of the ILI stated on the topic of “transferring risk, the dilemma of the future”: “This category includes decisions that we reduce the cost of today but transfer the real cost to future generations. In educational institutions, the reduction in quality is exactly of this nature. We strive not to be seduced by organizational temptations. We should not be tempted to simplify, shorten, and cheapen our standards. One of the advantages of this organization is its training protocols, which are essential to maintain in the future. The quality of our education is our moral red line and the condition for our survival in the future. In this approach, quality is not just a technical feature but a strategic asset. Revising content, standardizing tests, developing non-English languages, moving towards academic authority, and inter-organizational interaction have been among the measures we took in this period.”
Regarding the risk of accessibility and adolescent-centeredness, Zolfaghari stated: “Every child who enters the ILI during childhood and adolescence will remain in this complex for years to come, but this is not the case in adulthood, and they may more easily abandon learning. This is why most of the online system's capacities, educational systems, and teacher training have been focused on children and young adults, and the tuition increase factor has also been extended to include the valuable teachers of these two age groups.”
The most important tool for reducing uncertainty in any organization is its capable human capital
The Director of the Iran Language Institute emphasized that the most important tool for reducing uncertainty in any organization is its capable human capital, stating: “In an educational institution, the real risk is not a lack of buildings or funding but the instability of the human resources. If this is not addressed, meaning there is no visible specialist staff, no growth path, and no sense of belonging, the organization will enter a cycle of attrition.”
Dr. Zolfaghari considered sustainable governance, establishing and expanding academic authority, and long-term investment in human resources to be among the management necessities of the ILI in the future.
He described the Iran Language Institute's move from an “educational service provider” to a “reference institution in language educational governance” as the strategic horizon of the ILI, adding: “It should be an institution that sets standards, produces models, and is influential in educational and cultural policymaking in the field of children and young adults in the country.”
Referring to the key role of the general managers of the Institute for the Intellectual Development of Children and Young Adults in this regard, he stated: “You are the risk managers of the future of children and young adults; the Institute for Intellectual Development of Children and Young Adults is the children's first systematic encounter with the world of meaning, and the Iran Language Institute is the young adults’ first systematic encounter with the world of communication. If these two institutions do not think in line, society will face an educational and cultural break.”
In the final part of his speech, the Director of the ILI noted: “Accessibility creates today's justice, and young adults-centeredness creates tomorrow's future. The future of cultural institutions is not built with good intentions, but is the product of informed, coordinated, and humane decisions. If we take the logic of risk, quality, foresight, and human resources seriously, the Iran Language Institute and the Institute for Intellectual Development of Children and Young Adults can create a chain that creates a development-oriented mindset for today's creative children, and the product of that is tomorrow's capable and influential citizens.
It is worth mentioning that the gathering of the general managers of the Institute for the Intellectual Development of Children and Young Adults was held in Isfahan Province in late Bahman, 1404.