Azernews.Az

Laman Ismayilova

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Azerbaijan is continuing its efforts to preserve and promote its rich cultural heritage through modern digital technologies.

As part of these initiatives, the "IRS"project has been presented by Gilavar Photo Club Public Union to create a comprehensive digital archive of the country's historical, architectural, and archaeological monuments, making valuable heritage sites more accessible to researchers, tourists, and the wider public, AzerNEWS reports.

Representatives of the Azerbaijan Culture Ministry, various government agencies, and non-governmental organizations attended the presentation ceremony.

The chairman of the Gilavar Photo Club Public Union and project leader, Rashad Mehdiyev, stated that in the initial stage of the project, photographic documentation of historical and cultural monuments located in Karabakh and East Zangazur was carried out. In the next stage of the project, photography was conducted in the western regions of the country—Aghstafa, Tovuz, Gadabay, and Goranboy districts and information about historical, architectural, and archaeological monuments was collected and added to the database.

Rashad Mehdiyev noted that the website irs.gilavar.az, created in the first phase of the project, has been improved, new sections have been added, and the photo archive has been further enriched. Currently, the website contains information on more than 200 historical, architectural, and archaeological monuments across nine regions of Azerbaijan, along with over 2,600 photographs.

It was also reported that one of the main innovations of the project is the development of the "IRS" mobile application for Android devices. Through the website and mobile application, users can obtain information about monuments, view their locations on a map, and generate direct routes to selected sites.

The monuments on the website and mobile application are categorized by region and type. A special filtering system allows users to more easily find the historical sites they are looking for.

During the event, participants were presented with demonstrations of the functional capabilities of the irs.gilavar.az website and the "IRS" mobile application, and detailed information about the platform's use was provided.

The project is being implemented with the support of the Azerbaijan Culture Ministry within the framework of a special grant competition.

Note that Gilavar Photo Club has been a member of the International Association of Art Photographers (IAAP) since 2017. In 2020, the club was officially designated as Azerbaijan's representative to the IAAP.

The club comprises over 40 members, including professional photographers, media correspondents, and individuals with significant contributions to the field of photography.

The club's participants are actively engaged in local and international photo contests.

Gilavar Photo Club maintains an active online presence through its official website, which features sections on news, projects, exhibitions, and member activities.

In 2025, the club launched a mobile application and a digital platform dedicated to the cultural heritage of Garabagh and East Zangazur, reflecting its commitment to technological integration and cultural preservation.