NEWS

Azerbaijani film "Gukhuroba" will be screened at the 26th Sarajevo Film Festival. The film's world premiere will take place at the festival, to be held in Bosnia and Herzegovina on August 14-21. 

Director Teymur Gambarov, the film narrates about a taxi driver who fulfills a friends request to deliver a wedding dress for his daughter from Baku to the highland village of Gukhuroba.

Another national film will be also shown at the festival. Directed by Rufat Hasanov, "The Island Within" tells about Seymur Tahirbayov who is one of the world’s leading chess grandmasters. A few weeks before the most important game of his career, he secretly travels to an island inhabited by a just one resident in order to rediscover himself.

"The Island Within" was shot by order of the Azerbaijan Ministry of Culture by Azerbaijanfilm and Debüt film studios, together with Arizona Productions, Coyote Cinema and Mandarin Agency. 

The Sarajevo Film Festival is the premier and largest film festival in Southeast Europe, and is one of the largest film festivals in Europe. 

The St. Petersburg International Cultural Forum annually attracts thousands of experts in the field of culture from all over the world, including Azerbaijan.

The forum has provided insight into majestic Azerbaijani carpet weaving art on its social networks.

The cultural platform showcased a unique example of shedde carpet, included into the collection of National Carpet Museum.

Shedde is one of the most difficult types of lint-free carpet to perform. Ornamental shedde patterns usually consisted of alternating squares - they were used, for example, as shawls. There is a large caravan depicted in the form of long horizontal rows of loaded camels on the following shedda carpet.

According to ancient beliefs. the image of a camel, a patient animal, symbolizes wealth. The image of a whole caravan meant the eternal movement of life.

It was believed that such carpets bring abundance to the house, so they were never laid on the floor, but hung on the walls. The exception was the eve of the Novruz holiday, when girls and women made wishes while sitting on a lint-free shedde carpet, and then left it in the open air for seven days - so that the carpet "saw" the moon, stars and sky, and then, made wishes.

Notably, the St. Petersburg International Cultural Forum 2020 is scheduled for November 12-14.

The forum is held by the Government of St. Petersburg with the support of the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation.

Azerbaijan Cultural Ministry and Azerbaijanfilm studio have presented a series of virtual projects timed to the 122nd anniversary of Azerbaijani cinema.

The video about the history of national cinema were presented on social networks.

People's Artists film director and screenwriter Ramiz Fataliev, actor Fakhraddin Manafov, composer Faig Sujaddinov, People's Writer Chingiz Abdullaev, Honored Art Worker, film director Ayaz Salayev, Honored Artist Tair Imanov and others took part in the shootings.

In addition, the Cultural Ministry launched a virtual exhibition dedicated to prominent cinema workers.

August 2 marks National Cinema Day to honor talented directors, actors, cameramen, scriptwriters and everyone who are working in this industry.

Shortly after the Lumiere brothers from France invented cinematograph, an apparatus for making motion pictures, in 1895, Russian photographer and cameraman Alexandre Michon began shooting motion pictures that depicted everyday life in Baku. 

The first short, silent film of Azerbaijani cinematography "You are caught" was shown in Baku on August 2, 1898. The audience witnessed a historical event - the birth of Azerbaijani cinematography.

To honor this historical day, the national leader Heydar Aliyev signed an order on December 18, 2000, to declare August 2 as professional holiday of cinema workers – Day of Azerbaijani Cinema.

Azerbaijani cinema has come to be an internationally recognized modern art enjoying a huge popularity and recognition at international film festivals, which frequently award the national films.

Over the past years, more than 300 films and 1,200 documentaries, as well as hundreds of cartoons were filmed.

At present, it is planned to carry out systemic reforms to develop and modernize cinema art in Azerbaijan. 

The draft "Concept for the Development of Azerbaijani Cinematography" was prepared in accordance with the Order of the President Ilham Aliyev "On Some Measures for the Development of Azerbaijani Cinematography" dated March 1, 2019, which envisages reforms in all areas of cinema. 

Smena Contemporary Art Gallery in Kazan has displayed stunning works of national artists.

The exhibition " Extension.AZ: Velvet Confessions features a wide range of art styles from watercolor paintings to unique video installations.

Entitled "Extension.AZ: Velvet Confessions", the art project brought together 15 contemporary artists, including Agil Abdullayev, Faig Akhmad, Orkhan Huseynov, Niyaz Najafov, Vusal Rahim, Aidan Salakhova, Irina Eldarova and others.

Khatai Art Center invites young artists to join the Republican Kids Art Competition "My Summer Holiday 2020". The art contest will be held in two age categories among young artists up to 12 years and 12-17 years old. The project aims at providing a good leisure and boosting of art skills.

The winners will be identified based on the painting composition, color palette and idea, taking into account the age of the artist. After the first stage, art works of selected artists will be displayed at the exhibition.

Those who do not agree with the selection of the jury (teacher, parent and student) can apply to  xsm.2016@mail.ru within three woking days after the announcement of the selection. The organizing committee will set a date in advance for applicants who do not agree with the selection of the jury.

The  applicant will be invited to the Khatai Art Center to demonstrate their skills by drawing new paintings under professional supervision. The authors of the works selected for display at the exhibition will be awarded diplomas and letters of appreciation from active training centers (clubs, art schools, etc.).

The project is co-organized by the Azerbaijani Ministries of Culture and Education, Azerbaijan Television and Radio Broadcasting Closed Joint-Stock Company, Khatai Executive Power, Azerbaijan Artists' Union, Nakhchivan Artists Union, Azerbaijan State Art Gallery and Khatai Art Center. 

Co-organized by UNEC, INNOLAND Incubation and Acceleration Center and Next Step Innovation Center, the EduHack hackathon has come to an end.

The key purpose of the hackathon, held for the first time in the country in the field of education, was to find innovative solutions to the problems of distance education.

Along with 24 universities of Azerbaijan, teams of students from 21 universities from 11 foreign countries took part in the hackathon.

The jury consisted of UNEC Rector, Professor Adalat Muradov, Comittee Chairman of Milli Majlis Tahir Mirkishili, Director of the UNEC Examination Center Sohrab Isayev, Head of the Examination Organization Department Tahir Badalov, Executive Director of the Center for Innovative Technologies in Education, Additional Education, Founder of "New Idea" competition Isa Gasimov, Executive Director of Next Step Innovation Center Rashad Eyvazov, Senior Specialist of Corporate Relations department of Pasha Bank Fidan Tofigli.

Rector Adalat Muradov said that there was no rich experience in the field of distance education in the world, noting that Azerbaijan has joined this process. Pointing out that UNEC has enough potential in the field of distance education, the rector stressed more needs to be done in this area. He also noted that young people could make important contributions to this field with their ideas. The rector expressed confidence that the hackathon, initiated by UNEC, will provide interesting ideas for teams on the organization, quality, interactivity, as well as evaluation of distance education.

MP Tahir Mirkishili spoke about the urgency of the issue. He noted the importance of identifying problems related to distance education by young people and exploring innovative solutions in the current situation in the world, and wished success to the teams.

Then, 18 teams made presentations on the solution of problems in the field of distance education. In the presentations, which were watched with great interest, students put forward proposals from different frames.

After the presentations, the winners of the first three places were determined by the decision of the jury. “Fast Learners” project of the team “Eduardo” has won first place. The main goal of the idea, based on the adaptive education model, was to optimize the data-based learning process, differential learning environment and knowledge assessment in distance education. ”Academy.az” project, which was awarded second place, was related to the prevention of students' distraction and loss of motivation through various exam methods, as well as the introduction of a voice identification system. The idea of “Z-solutions”, which took the third place, included assessment criteria in distance learning, organization of group work, assessment of student activity, as well as the establishment of an assessment mechanism among students.

According to the hackathon prize fund, the winners won AZN 3,000 (first place), AZN 2,000 (second place) and AZN 1,000 (third place), respectively.

Congratulating the participants, Rector Adalat Muradov said that one of the main goals of the competition was to draw the attention of young people to distance education, to direct their innovative, creative thinking to the problems in this area.

The rector said that a virtual tour to UNEC will be organized for the teams participating in the hackathon to get acquainted with the UNEC Extern Center, e-university model. New proposals will be developed taking into account the reality related with improvement of distance education.

Russian Information and Cultural Center in Baku has hosted a virtual exhibition "Dioramas of the Victory Museum" prepared by the Museum of the Great Patriotic War. 

The exposition features six dioramas depicting major battles of the Great Patriotic War such as "The Battle of Stalingrad"," The Battle of Kursk", "Siege of Leningrad" and others. The online exhibition is available on Facebook.

The Museum of the Great Patriotic War, also known as the Victory Museum, is the largest museum of military history in the Russian Federation. 

The museum hosts the biggest collection of World War II military equipment in Europe, impressive 3D installations and panoramas as well as a unique series of six dioramas depicting the war.

The exhibition area of the main building is more than 14, 000 square meters. Apart from the main exhibition, the museum visitors have a chance to view unique dioramas depicting major battles of the Great Patriotic War, a 3D historical and artistic panorama "Battle of Berlin" as well as a full-dome video projection "Road to Victory". 

The Victory Museum collection stores more than 60, 000 exhibits, including personal belongings of military leaders and soldiers, letters from the front, awards, weapons, uniforms, paper currency, etc. 

In the center of the museum is the Hall of Glory, a white marble room which features the names of over 11,800 of the recipients of the Hero of the Soviet Union distinction. A large bronze sculpture, the "Soldier of Victory," stands in the center of this hall. 

The upper floors display numerous exhibits dedicated to the war such as  photographs of wartime activities, weapons and munitions, uniforms, awards, newsreels, letters from the battlefront, and model aircraft. In addition, there is an e-memory book, which records the name and fate of every Russian soldier who died in World War II.

Founded in 1950, the Institute of Manuscripts stores rich and rare collection of manuscripts covering all fields of the medieval sciences - medicine and astronomy, mathematics and mineralogy, poetics and philosophy, theology and law, grammar, history and geography, prose and poetry in Azerbaijani, Turkish, Arabic, Persian and other languages.

The institute will mark its 70th anniversary this October. First Vice-President of Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences Isa Habibayli will oversee the implementation of the decision signed on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the institute.

It treasures one of the richest book treasures in the world, preserves unique manuscript collections in Azerbaijani, Turkish, Arabic, Persian and other languages . 

The institute also keeps personal documents, old printed books, microfilms, photographs and other materials of prominent Azerbaijani figures of science and literature who lived in the 19th-20th centuries. 

There are more than 40,000 materials were collected in the Institute of Manuscripts. The oldest manuscript in the Institute of Manuscripts is Surah An-Nisa written on parchment in the 9th century.

Dozens of books, monographs and scientific articles are regularly published by the institute. Every year, the institute's workers are taking part in prestigious scientific events in the country and abroad. Moreover, the institute holds numerous exhibitions for its visitors. 

For instance, manuscripts of famous Azerbaijani poetesses were displayed at Institute early in March. 

The exposition features manuscripts and archival photographs of ten poetesses. The exhibition aroused great interest among viewers.

The activity of the institute has always been in the focus of local and foreign specialists. The institute is regularly visited by local and foreign guests. 

The Institute of Manuscripts is working on the digitization of manuscript monuments in accordance with world standards. In addition, an electronic catalog of manuscripts and an e-library are also available at the institute.

Throughout its activity, the Institute of Manuscripts has established scientific relations with authoritative foreign libraries and scientific centers, and cooperation in this direction continues. 

The Institute of Manuscripts is a member of the International Association of Islamic Manuscripts at the Cambridge University and the International Society of Manuscripts. 

In 2005 and 2017, four unique manuscripts preserved at the institute were included in the register of the UNESCO World Memory Program. The institute annually publishes 3 collections ("Philological issues", "Manuscripts do not burn", "Scientific works").

Russian Information and Cultural Center in Baku has hosted a virtual exhibition "Dioramas of the Victory Museum" prepared by the Museum of the Great Patriotic War. 

The exposition features six dioramas depicting major battles of the Great Patriotic War such as "The Battle of Stalingrad"," The Battle of Kursk", "Siege of Leningrad" and others. The online exhibition is available on Facebook.

The Museum of the Great Patriotic War, also known as the Victory Museum, is the largest museum of military history in the Russian Federation. 

The museum hosts the biggest collection of World War II military equipment in Europe, impressive 3D installations and panoramas as well as a unique series of six dioramas depicting the war.

The exhibition area of the main building is more than 14, 000 square meters. Apart from the main exhibition, the museum visitors have a chance to view unique dioramas depicting major battles of the Great Patriotic War, a 3D historical and artistic panorama "Battle of Berlin" as well as a full-dome video projection "Road to Victory". 

The Victory Museum collection stores more than 60, 000 exhibits, including personal belongings of military leaders and soldiers, letters from the front, awards, weapons, uniforms, paper currency, etc. 

In the center of the museum is the Hall of Glory, a white marble room which features the names of over 11,800 of the recipients of the Hero of the Soviet Union distinction. A large bronze sculpture, the "Soldier of Victory," stands in the center of this hall. 

The upper floors display numerous exhibits dedicated to the war such as  photographs of wartime activities, weapons and munitions, uniforms, awards, newsreels, letters from the battlefront, and model aircraft. In addition, there is an e-memory book, which records the name and fate of every Russian soldier who died in World War II.