Azernews.Az

By Aynur Jafarova

Azerbaijani capital Baku hosted the International Forum of Young Poetesses on April 26-28.

The event was co-organized by the Great Silk Way International Youth Union, Azerbaijani Ministry of Youth and Sports and the Youth Foundation under the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan.

The forum, which was held in the International Mugham Center, was dedicated to the 90th anniversary of Azerbaijani national leader Heydar Aliyev.

The event was aimed at building a common space for young and talented artists with a non-mainstream background from the countries of the Silk Road.

The forum included thematic sessions to facilitate mutual understanding and increase awareness on the issues and obstacles young writers face in their local realities.

The event was attended by poetesses from 20 countries of Europe, Asia and Africa as well as representatives of the Ministry of Culture and Sports, members of the Milli Majlis (Azerbaijani Parliament), diplomatic missions, well-known public figures, cultural and art figures.

Three working sessions of the forum -- on the themes "Feminism as a stream in literature", "The role of poetesses in intercultural dialogue" and "Alternative literature: modern ways of self-expression" -- were conducted along with the presentation of the young poetesses.

The objectives of the forum were to initiate intercultural dialogue between young women through art, to raise awareness on non-traditional trends in literature and to create a network among young artists from different countries with similar backgrounds.

The first day of the forum included the official opening ceremony. The second day was dedicated to thematic sessions on specific topics, which was followed the next day by various cultural programs, sightseeing and leisure.