On December 18, the Cultural Heritage Forum started in the "Gulustan" Palace in the framework of the 100th anniversary of the national leader Heydar Aliyev.
The forum, organized by the Heydar Aliyev Foundation and the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Azerbaijan, and which will last until December 20, is being held for the first time in our country.
Forum participants visited the grave of national leader Heydar Aliyev, the great supporter of our culture, in the Alley of Honor, laid flowers in front of the grave, and commemorated the memory of the great leader with respect. The grave of prominent ophthalmologist-scientist, and academician Mrs. Zarifa Aliyeva was also visited.
Officials, members of parliament, science and culture figures, cultural heritage specialists take part in the event.
First, the participants got acquainted with the exhibition of national applied and decorative art examples – coppersmith’s art, carpet weaving, kalaghayi art, and takalduz examples in the foyer of the palace.
Saadat Yusifova, Deputy Minister of Culture, who spoke at the opening of the forum, said that the most important characteristic of any nation in the world is its culture. No matter how many difficulties our cultural values faced at different stages of history, it was our traditions, history, literature, mother tongue, and culture that preserved our existence as a nation.
It was noted that President Ilham Aliyev, First Vice President, Head of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation Mehriban Aliyeva focuses on the protection, restoration, and promotion of our cultural heritage. In particular, the Heydar Aliyev Foundation is doing great work in this field, various projects are being implemented.
Speaking about the heritage examples of Karabakh and Eastern Zangazur, liberated from occupation, the Deputy Minister pointed out that 705 historical and cultural monuments have been registered with the state: "As a result of the analysis, it has been determined that there are many immovable cultural heritage objects of historical, archaeological and architectural importance in those areas that are not registered with the state. During the occupation, they were deliberately destroyed and vandalized by the Armenians, and 47 monuments were razed to the ground. In 2020-2022, the State Service for the Protection, Restoration and Development of Cultural Heritage under the Ministry of Culture inspected 433 historical and cultural monuments, as well as 182 objects with historical, architectural, and archaeological features located in those areas that are not state-registered - monitoring of newly discovered monuments was carried out".
Talking about the promotion of our cultural heritage in the international community, Saadat Yusifova said that there are 26 historical and cultural reserves in our country. 4 of them are included in the UNESCO World Heritage List. 23 intangible cultural heritage elements of Azerbaijan have been included in UNESCO's Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. It was reported that currently there are 6308 monuments under state protection in our country. Among them, more than 1,400 historically and culturally significant objects were registered as newly discovered monuments: "Cultural heritage is among the threats that Azerbaijan, which has restored its territorial integrity and sovereignty over the past 3 years, will face in the future. Therefore, the work to be done in this direction should be approached more sensitively, systematically, and comprehensively, special attention should be paid to personnel training, and the number and quality of scientific research should be increased. In this regard, during the two-day forum, the issues and proposals that will be brought up for discussion regarding the protection of cultural heritage will be taken into consideration and will be reflected in the new Culture Concept for 2040.
At the end of his speech, Saadat Yusifov wished success to the work of the forum.
Elbay Gasimzadeh, Chairman of the Board of the Union of Architects of Azerbaijan, highly appreciated the importance of the forum. He said that our rich cultural heritage is an indicator of our uniqueness among the nations of the world.
It was noted that the study of our cultural heritage and its worldwide promotion was the focus of national leader Heydar Aliyev's attention during both periods of his leadership. Under the leadership of President Ilham Aliyev, follower of the great leader's ideas, continuous work is being done in this direction. Large-scale projects were implemented with the support of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation, headed by First Vice President Mehriban Aliyeva.
People's artist Farhad Khalilov, chairman of the Union of Artists of Azerbaijan, noted the importance of the forum and wished success in the upcoming discussions.
After the speeches, the forum continued its work with panel discussions.
