Azernews.Az

Laman Ismayilova

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At the initiative of Leyla Aliyeva, Vice-President of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation and founder and head of the IDEA Public Union, the "Kindness Festival" dedicated to teachers of Azerbaijan's general education institutions has been held, AzerNEWS reports.

The event, organized in the framework cooperation between the IDEA Public Union, the Azerbaijan Ministry of Science and Education, and the "ThinkIn" organization, brought together around 1,000 teachers from 290 general education institutions across the country.

Leyla Aliyeva and Alena Aliyeva also attended the festival, which was held in an open-air format at the Central Botanical Garden.

Leyla Aliyeva and Alena Aliyeva toured the various activity zones set up at the festival, including the national zone, art workshops, yoga and meditation sessions, handicraft fairs, and other interactive spaces. They engaged in friendly conversations with participants, took commemorative photos with them, and watched creative performances prepared by schoolchildren. They were also presented with gifts made of various handicrafts.

In the official part of the event, Leyla Aliyeva, speaking, expressed her belief that the festival would bring everyone pleasant and positive feelings. She emphasized that every child is a miracle and a treasure, and the sooner this is recognized, the sooner their talents will emerge. She stressed the importance of teachers, parents, and adults in better understanding children and stated that kindness is the greatest happiness.

She then expressed her gratitude to teachers for their responsible work.

During a panel discussion held as part of the event, an exchange of views took place on the importance of promoting values such as kindness, compassion, mutual respect, and empathy in general education institutions. Narmina Huseynova, acting head of the Baku City Education Department, and Vafa Kazdal, Vice-Rector of ADA University, emphasized the important role teachers play in the development of future generations and society as a whole in this regard.

Later, the award ceremony for the winners of the "Kindness Marathon" held within the festival took place. The most creative social media content on the theme of kindness prepared by schools was evaluated across various categories, and schools numbered 55, 244, 83, 156, 185, 45, 277, 144, 211, 300, and 165 were declared winners in categories such as "Most Sincere Gratitude," "Award for Kind Acts," "Best Environmental Initiative," and others. The marathon aimed to promote kindness, gratitude, creativity, and solidarity as part of everyday behavioral culture in schools.

The festival, which took place in a highly positive atmosphere, concluded with a large concert program.

It is noted that the main goal of the Kindness Festival was to express society's deep respect and gratitude toward teachers, to promote a healthy educational environment in schools based on kindness, mutual respect, and support, to contribute to the development of an educational culture built on empathy and moral values, and to demonstrate the important role of kindness in the education system and the development of society.

Within the handicraft fair held during the event, products prepared by representatives of organizations such as Special Boarding School No. 11 with Integrated Training, "Birgə və Sağlam" Autism Center, Zəka Yolu Development Center, "IZ Community," "Kashalata," and others were presented to participants.