Azernews.Az

From May 31 to June 3, Digital Creative Weekend project is being implemented in Baku and Shusha, Azernews reports.

Within the framework of the project, the world final of the A-Hub Acceleration Program (2023) was organized in the Baku Crystal Hall on June 2 with the support of the Culture Ministry, Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) and New Space Open Innovation.

ICESCO Director-General, Dr. Salim M. Almalik sent a video message to the event participants.

In his speech, Deputy Culture Minister Farid Jafarov noted that the Culture Ministry s implementing this project together with ICESCO.

"We are very happy that this platform has become a large-scale project. We will take new initiatives to develop this platform in the future," said Farid Jafarov.

Touching on the cooperation between Azerbaijan and ICESCO, the Deputy Minister said that until today, our country has had a fruitful cooperation with this institution.

"As an example, we can mention the declaration of Shusha, known as the Cultural Capital of Azerbaijan, as the Culture Capital in the Islamic World for 2024. Being declared a cultural capital is a prestigious event. Tomorrow, you will see with your own eyes how this ancient city of ours contains Islamic culture," he said.

Advisor in ICESCO's Science and Technology, Dr. Muhammad Sharif expressed his Azerbaijan for its hospitality and wished success to the teams participating in the world final. Within the framework of the event, he expressed confidence that the project participants will get acquainted with the rich culture of Azerbaijan.

Leyla Tagızadeh, the founder of "New Space Open Innovation", gave information about the project. It was noted that the project will support innovative development initiatives in ICESCO member countries from 2021, increase the interest of business subjects and young people in this field, and private creativity in the field of culture. is carried out for the purpose of coordinating business entities: "When we started this project 3 years ago, we could never have imagined that such a magnificent world final would be held in Azerbaijan today. More than 30 innovative teams from 11 countries - Azerbaijan, Djibouti, Tunisia, Tajikistan, Turkey, Libya, Senegal, Somalia, Egypt, Mali, Sudan - are participating in the world final. The total prize money of the final is 30 thousand US dollars.

After the speeches, the startup teams presented their ideas. The names of the winners will be announced at the award ceremony to be held on June 3 in Shusha.

A-Hub Accelerator is an initiative implemented with the cooperation of ICESCO and New Space Open Innovation. which is launched with the support of the Azerbaijan Culture Ministry.

This accelerator program supports creative and tech startups, providing them with the resources and mentorship they need to bring their ideas to life.

The program, which started as a pilot project in 2021, currently operates in 20 countries.

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Laman Ismayilova is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @lmntypewriterrr

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