NEWS

Selvedge World Fair 2021 is expected to take place from August 31 to September 4.

The three-day virtual event, a celebration of cloth, culture and creativity, will present the work of artisans, bringing together varied - and in some cases endangered - textile traditions from various countries. 

Director of the Azerbaijan National Carpet Museum, Chairman of the ICOM Azerbaijan Shirin Melikova has entered the fair's selection committee.

The team of the Azerbaijan National Carpet Museum invites artisans, designers, companies, NGOs, cooperatives and non-profit organizations to participate in the Selvedge-2021 World Fair.

During the Selvedge World Fair 2021, the clothing collections will be judged by experts from all over the world. 

The exhibition will feature collections of textile manufacturers that have received positive reviews from judges for originality, design, durability, craftsmanship, quality, etc. 

Honored Worker of Culture Nariman Mammadov has been awarded in India.

The 13th Global Film Festival Noida and Marwah Studios awarded the director of Narimanfilm studio with international prize "For Excellence in Cinema" for his contribution to cinema art.

The 13th Global Film Festival Noida was held on November 26-28 MARWAH STUDIOS in Noida (India).

It is one of the largest festivals in the world that promotes the power of cinema, in collaboration with the worldwide film community, including students, enthusiasts and film professionals.

At this event, filmmakers from all over the world show their films, participate in exhibitions, trainings and seminars on the latest innovations in the field of cinema.

The President of the Festival is the Indian film director, producer, journalist, founder and president of the Asian Academy of Film and Television, Mr. Sandeep Marwah.

Azerbaijan's vocal treasure, mugham singer Alim Gasimov has released a new music video in honor of national heroes. 

The composition is dedicated to soldiers, who won a brilliant victory over the Armenian occupiers, and the martyrs who gave their lives for Azerbaijan's territorial integrity. 

One of the world’s truly gifted singers, Alim discovered the world of mugham as a child, when he began singing for his own enjoyment. He grew up in the town of Shamakhi, 100 km northwest of Baku. "I had no idea that I would become a singer," he recalls.

Gasimov continues to play an important role in promotion of the Azerbaijani culture, especially mugham around the world.

He was awarded the International Music Council-UNESCO Music Prize, one of the highest international accolades for music in 1999. For that achievement, he was quoted by the New York Times as simply one of the greatest singers alive, with a searing spontaneity that conjures passion and devotion, contemplation and incantation.

Also known as an artist of supreme versatility, Gasimov has collaborated and performed with some of the world’s leading musicians, including Yo-Yo Ma, Kronos Quartet and Jeff Buckley.

People's Artist of Azerbaijan Alim Gasimov was one of four Azerbaijanis among the 500 most influential Muslims in the world, chosen by competition, conducted by the Center for Strategic Studies and the famous American Georgetown University in Jordan.

The State Academic Musical Theater has presented a video project dedicated to the liberation of the Lachin region. 

The music video features folk song "Ay Lachin" performed by musician (kamancha) Imamyar Hasanov and ANNA RF group. It was shot based on the script "Lachin" by the Honored Worker of Culture Telli Panakhgizi. 

Honored Artist Saida Sharifaliyeva, actors Mehriban Zalieva, Gultaj Alili, Aidan Hasanova, Samedzade Khasiyev, Amrah Dadashev, Emin Zeynalli, as well as ballet dancers Iran Kerimova, Mahamed Abdullaev took part in the project.

The artistic director of the project is the theater director, Honored Art Worker Aligismet Lalayev, the author of the idea-Honored Art Worker Asker Askarov, project director-Samir Gulamov, photographer- Hikmyat Shakhverdiyev,  production designer- Vusal Rahim,ballet master-Honored Artist Zakir Aghayev , choirmaster - Honored Artist Vagif Mastanov, head of the production department - Gabil Gezalov.

The Lachin region was occupied by the Armenian armed forces on May 18, 1992. During the defense of the region, 264 people were killed, 65 were taken hostage, 103 became disabled. Six people from the region were awarded the title of Azerbaijan's National Hero.

Of the 24,374 children in the region aged from one to 16 years old, 18 became martyrs, 225 became disabled, 1,071 children lost one, and 31 children lost both parents. 65,507 IDPs from Lachin region resettled in 59 cities and regions of Azerbaijan

On December 1, 2020,  Azerbaijan's army units entered Lachin region under a trilateral agreement signed between Azerbaijan, Russia and Armenia on November 10 to end the war in Nagorno-Karabakh.

An international online forum and a scientific conference on the topic “Value of humanity for sustainable future” have been held in the city of Yeongju, Korea.

Held as part of the UNESCO World Heritage Festival, the events were organized by UNESCO, including the National Commission of the Republic of Korea for UNESCO, the World Foundation for Confucian Culture (WFCC) and the International Organization of Folk Art (IOV).

The events were devoted to the definition of global values, taking into account cultural, regional boundaries, inter - civilizational exchanges and various types of interaction, providing for a dialogue between East and West on the topics of linguistics, literature, philosophy and religion.

President of the International Turkic Culture and Heritage Foundation Gunay Afandiyeva attended the events.

In her speech, Gunay Afandiyeva noted the important role of the Turkic-speaking peoples in world history and culture, which are united by common historical roots, rich heritage, language, art, literature, traditions, national and spiritual values. The President of the Foundation emphasized that Turkic culture has made a great contribution to world culture and gifted the world with genius personalities of the Turkic-speaking peoples - thinkers, writers, poets, scientists.

Gunay Afandiyeva said that the International Turkic Culture and Heritage Foundation was created by the initiative of President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev with the support of the heads of state of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Turkey, also noting that Uzbekistan and Hungary have joined the organization since last year. Providing information on the works of the Foundation, Afandiyeva spoke about the activities carried out to study, preserve, and promote the cultural heritage of the Turkic world in the international arena.

Mentioning that one of the Foundation's important priorities is the protection of the material and spiritual heritage of the Turkic world, Gunay Afandiyeva spoke about the cultural heritage of Nagorno-Karabakh, which is an integral part not only of Azerbaijan, but the entire Turkic world as a whole. Reporting on the destruction by the occupiers of the historical, religious monuments, examples of architecture and art of Azerbaijan located in Nagorno-Karabakh and surrounding areas, Gunay Afandiyeva stated that the organization she heads is seriously concerned about the current state of the destroyed cultural heritage. In her speech, Afandiyeva demonstrated books published under the auspices of the Foundation, which clearly show the damage caused to cultural monuments, as well as convey the historical truth about Karabakh.

Emphasizing the existing of constructive cooperation between the Foundation and Korea, Gunay Afandiyeva stressed the importance of further expanding these relations. At the same time, the President of the Foundation underlined the importance of establishing mutual relations between different cultures.

The events were attended by ministers of culture from various countries, including Korea, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, the Kingdom of Bhutan, heads and representatives of reputable international organizations, specialists and scientists.

The events also continued with interesting presentations, musical and stage performances.

The forum and conference were widely covered by local and international media.

The EU-Turkey Friendship Group and World Turkish Business Council invite you to enjoy a virual concert of talented Azerbaijani conductor and pianist Turan Manafzade on December 3. The concert will be available to watch on YouTube. 

Notably, the World Turkish Business Council invited  Turan Manafzade to be its cultural ambassador. Its is the first project implemented by musician in partnership with the organization. 

Turan Manafzade breaks down all musical boundaries as a female conductor.

Today, Turan Manafzade is known worldwide as an incredibly talented pianist and conductor who actively promotes Azerbaijan's rich music.

Manafzade graduated from Mimar SinaAzn Fine Arts University, where she studied in the piano class of associate professor Nurferi Onur. Afterwards, she continued her education in the class of Italian conductor Antonio Pirolli.

She has successfully performed in many countries, including Azerbaijan, Turkey, Austria, Romania and Germany.

Manafzade is a winner of multiple prizes at international music competitions in Turkey such as Galleria Piano Competition in Istanbul (2004). In 2017, she was named  Honored Artist of Azerbaijan.

She has recently delighted music lovers with new music pieces. Her new compositions are available at all digital platforms.

The Islamic World Organization for Education, Science and Culture (ICESCO) has organized an international webinar on "The Contribution of Islamic Art to Building Human Civilization and the Spread of Peace Values". 

The event was held virtually with the participation of Arab and Islamic countries, including Azerbaijan.

The virtual meeting highlighted the richness of Islamic art, its role in the formation of human civilization. The conference participants also discussed ICESCO's activities to protect the Islamic heritage.

During the meeting, Acting Minister of Culture Anar Karimov stressed the contribution of Islamic civilization to world culture. He briefed ICESCO Director-General of the Islamic heritage in the Karabakh region, which had been occupied by Armenia for nearly 30 years. 

The Culture Minister emphasized that Armenian vandalism is aimed at destruction not only of Azerbaijan's historical and cultural sites, but also the Islamic heritage.

In this regard, all cultural heritage should be protected regardless of religious origin. Anar Karimov stressed the need for global cultural institutions to give an objective assessment to Armenia's actions and condemn vandalism. 

He pointed out that the acts of vandalism against the Islamic cultural and religious heritage in the Azerbaijan's  territories previously occupied by Armenia should be strongly condemned by ICESCO and other international organizations. 

In his speech, Anar Karimov spoke about the work done in Azerbaijan to protect cultural heritage and to promote peace and dialogue. He spoke about activities carried out by Azerbaijan in partnership with ICESCO. 

As part of the cooperation, Baku was declared the "Capital of Islamic Culture" in 2009 and Nakhchivan in 2018. The 12th ICESCO General Conference was organized in Baku in 2015.

Noting that 2017 has been declared the "Year of Islamic Solidarity" by President Ilham Aliyev, Anar Karimov also informed about the projects implemented during the year.

Earlier, the Culture Ministry and ICESCO discussed ways of promoting cooperation and partnership in the sphere of restoring historical sites in Nagorno-Karabakh destroyed by Armenia in the past 30 years. The two parties examined ways of joint action to restore those sites. 

Azerbaijan has been a member of ICESCO since 1991. Established in 1991, these relations have entered into a stage of successful development after the awarding of Azerbaijan's First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva as Goodwill Ambassador of ICESCO on November  24, 2006. Aliyeva was honored for her services in the development of education and dialogue between civilizations.

The country is closely cooperating with various organizations of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation - ICESCO, the Islamic Development Bank, the Islamic Conference of Parliamentary Union, the Islamic Conference of Youth Forum.

The Islamic World Heritage Committee, at its extraordinary meeting held at the ICESCO headquarters last year, approved the inscription the following heritage sites of  Azerbaijan on the list of the Islamic World Heritage: Walled City of Baku with the Shirvanshah’s Palace and the Maiden Tower, the Historic Centre of Sheki with the Khan’s Palace and the Gobustan Rock Art Cultural Landscape.

During the 40th session of the Executive Council of the Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) held on January  29-30, 2020, in Abu Dhabi a decision to change the name of the organization to the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) was adopted.

The Azerbaijan Tourism Bureau (ATB) has highlighted Karabakh`s tourism potential at the online “Gulf Travel Show” Fair.

The first-ever two-day virtual event of the region witnessed more than 3,000 one-to-one meetings between suppliers and travel agents, tour operators, tourism boards, airlines, hotels, TMCs and international agencies.

As part of the exhibition, ATB representatives held more than 35 meetings, providing an insight into the tourism potential of the liberated Karabakh region and the works to be done to make the region an attractive tourism destination.

They also highlighted SAHMAN (Sanitation And Hygiene Methods And Norm) program, prepared by the State Tourism Agency and the Azerbaijan Tourism Bureau with the goal of ensuring effective compliance with sanitary rules and increasing competitiveness in the tourism industry.