Azerbaijan marks 25 years of its UNESCO Commission [PHOTO]

21 November 2019 16:14 (UTC+04:00)

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By Laman Ismayilova

Twenty-five years have passed since Azerbaijan became the member of UNESCO - United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.

Over this period, Azerbaijan and UNESCO have enjoyed successful cooperation in many areas, including culture, science and education.

Azerbaijan’s National Commission for UNESCO has been working continuously to promote a number of projects based on UNESCO's large-scale, globally-based programs.

The 25th anniversary of the establishment of Azerbaijan’s National Commission for UNESCO has been solemnly marked as part of the 40th session of the UNESCO General Conference in Paris, Trend reported.

UNESCO leaders, ministers of culture of several countries, heads and staff of the permanent missions attended the event.

In his speech, head of Azerbaijan’s Permanent Delegation to UNESCO, Ambassador Anar Karimov touched upon the relations between Azerbaijan and UNESCO.

Karimov stressed that Azerbaijan is committed to the principles and values of the structure, and this is confirmed by the relations of fruitful cooperation with UNESCO.

Over the recent years, Azerbaijan’s National Commission has played a coordinating role in cooperation in the scientific, educational, cultural, information and communication spheres.

The country is actively involved in organizing and conducting UNESCO programs and events.

Ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary of Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry on special assignments, Secretary General of Azerbaijan’s National Commission for UNESCO Elnur Sultanov provided insight into the history of the National Commission and its 25-year-old activity.

Established in 1994 by order of national leader Heydar Aliyev, and since 2005, by order of President Ilham Aliyev, it continues to operate with the status under the Azerbaijani president.

With the support and initiative of Azerbaijan’s First Vice President Mehriban Aliyeva, some major contributions have been made to the development of relations between Azerbaijan and UNESCO.

Next, Azerbaijan’s Culture Minister Abulfas Garayev presented Ambassador Anar Karimov the For Service to the Fatherland Order of 3rd degree, which he was awarded by order of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev for the fruitful work in the public service.

Mounir Bouchenaki, the special advisor to the director general of UNESCO and the former head of the World Heritage Committee, was awarded the 100th Anniversary of Azerbaijan’s Diplomatic Service (1919-2019) jubilee medal.

Azerbaijan became member of UNESCO on June 3 1992, after restoration of its independence. In 2003, Azerbaijan and UNESCO signed the framework agreement on cooperation in the areas of culture, science, education and communication, which allowed Azerbaijan to become one of the donors of UNESCO.

Many Azerbaijan's cultural sites have been included into UNESCO's World Heritage List.

The Icherisheher (Old City), Maiden Tower and Shirvanshah's palace were included in the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2000, while since 2007 the Gobustan National Historical-Artistic reserve also listed among these heritages.

Sheki, a significant city at the crossroads of the historic Silk Roads was inscribed on UNESCO's World Heritage List during the 43rd session of the World Heritage Committee held in Baku.

In 2017, UNESCO recognized Azerbaijan's dolma as the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

Art of crafting and playing with kamancha, presented jointly by Azerbaijan and Iran, was also inscribed on the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

UNESCO also celebrated the 600th anniversary of the death of the great Azerbaijani poet and thinker Imadaddin Nasimi and the 200th anniversary of the first settlement of Germans in Azerbaijan last year.

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