The 16th Bita Prize for Iranian Arts, awarded in recognition of more than six decades of activity in preserving and expanding Iran’s musical heritage, was presented to Simâ Bina, a prominent singer and researcher of Iran’s regional music.

The ceremony to award this prize was held on Saturday, 16 Aban, at the Memorial Hall of Stanford University in the U.S. state of California.

A report by Niloofar Mansouri, a correspondent for Iran International, from this ceremony and an interview with Simâ Bina and Abbas Milani, Director of Iranian Studies at Stanford University