The deep-rooted Kurdish mountainous culture is reviving and flourishing in Iraq's north, a senior Kurdish official has said.

"The Kurdish culture has a long history and is now reviving," Sami Shoresh, cultural minister of the regional Kurdish government in northern Iraq, told Xinhua during the weekend.

"We have been building a democratic culture, which is open for others to communicate," he said.

Shoresh characterized the Kurdish culture as both "mountainous and miscellaneous", which he said would contribute to connections between the east and the west of the world.

"It is a bridge between the east and the west, where the people exchanged cultures," Shoresh said.

The senior Kurdish official also said that his ministry had planned to open wide horizons for the Kurdish culture, including taking part in cultural activities in the Arab world, the Middle East and worldwide.

"We have participated many activities, particularly the Cannes film festival where we were awarded one of the prizes," he said, referring to the "Kilometer Zero" by Kurdish-Iraqi film maker Hiner Saleem. It is the first Iraqi film to be selected for the official Cannes competition since the festival debut in 1946.

In addition, the Kurdish educators are trying to enhance relations with other Iraqi communities in cultural cooperation, Shoresh said.

Source: Xinhua