Dagestani artist’s view on the world

 

 

Binyamin Shalumov passed “with an easel through a city”

By Vestnik Kavkaza

An exhibition of Binyamin Shalumov, a People’s Artist of Dagestan, an honored member of the Russian Academy of Arts, has opened in Moscow in the Permanent Mission of Dagestan. Binyamin Shalumov has participated in forty exhibitions, including 25 solo ones, in Russia, the US, Canada and Europe. His works are held in private collections in Russia, the U.S., Canada, the UK, Sweden, Israel, the Czech Republic, Switzerland, Belgium, Germany, Ukraine, Kazakhstan and the Dominican Republic.

The current exhibition is called “With an Easel through a City.” It is devoted to urban scenes. The exposition includes works the artist created on the basis of the his impressions from numerous trips to cities not only in Russia, but all over the world.

The author told Vestnik Kavkaza about the concept of the exhibition: “There are 50 works, urban scenes which were created in different countries and cities: New York, Amsterdam, Moscow, an Australian town. So, there is a broad spectrum of countries. And my desire is that people who have no opportunities to visit the countries will learn about each of them through my pictures.”

Moreover, at the opening ceremony a book titled “The Mountain Jews” by Binyamin Shalumov was presented. It belongs to a series of books “For Children about the Peoples of Dagestan.” Shalumov’s book is about the history, culture and traditions of the Mountain Jews.

Binyamin Shalumov told Vestnik Kavkaza about the idea of writing the book: “It is well-known that Dagestan is a multinational region where more than 36 peoples live. There is an idea to publish a series of books, which is called “For Children about the Peoples of Dagestan.” We have already published six volumes. The seventh volume is my book about the Mountain Jews. Even though it was a difficult task for me, I was glad to write the book. I see an opportunity to help children, and not only children but also adults, to realize where we, the Mountain Jews, came from, who we are, what our customs, traditions are, and so on. It is an informative book. I hope not only children, but also adults will learn something new.”

Recognition of Azerbaijan’s efforts in education, sports and intercultural dialogueAzerbaijan is hosting the first Global Forum on Youth Policies at the moment. The forum will serve as a platform for participation of young people in global political affairs, such as legislature, political decision-making and development of a common mechanism in the sector.Maher Nasser, the director of the Outreach Division in the UN Department of Public Information, said in Baku that UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon had shown great interest in the event and noted its importance in a video message for attendees. Nasser said the forum was very important for expansion of international cooperation in youth policy.Baku opened 200 places for registering online and got 4,700 requests to reserve them from over 100 countries. One of the guests of the forum is Marta Vieira da Silva (Brazil), recognized by FIFA as the best female football player five times (in 2006-2010). She observed the training of the Azerbaijani national female football team (aged 17-19) at the Bayil Arena Stadium.Authorities of the UN, the Council of Europe and UNESCO took part in the forum.Azerbaijan took the forum in Baku as recognition of its efforts in sports and youth policy, and active development of the country. Youth policy in Baku became an element of state policy, youth plays an important role in the political, economic, humanitarian and social sectors. Azerbaijan has hundreds of NGOs and youth organizations. Youth policy encourages the formation of a new healthy generation, promotes talented young people contributing to the future of the country. Azerbaijan has a law on youth policy, it has realized two programs called “Azerbaijani Youth.” A Youth Fund has recently been organized, its finances are spent on supporting young people in projects associated with culture, education and political reforms.Speaking of youth policy, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev assured that one of the priorities of the government was education: “Only educated people, people with knowledge in different sectors can help the country, help themselves develop… Education, science, technological innovations are the main instruments for successful development. It is education, knowledge and technologies that are the driving forces of all humanity, not energy resources, not natural resources, not oil and gas.”Baku hopes that close cooperation with international education centers would allow Azerbaijan to have more achievements in the sector. The government of Azerbaijan has been financing education programs for the younger generation in the leading universities of the world for years. This year, about 40 million euros were spent on training young people abroad.Development of sports has become another priority of youth policy in Azerbaijan. Azerbaijani athletes represent the country at international competitions, championships of the world and Europe and the Olympic Games. Azerbaijan demonstrated better results at the Olympic Games in London in 2012 than at previous Summer Olympic Games, the Azerbaijani team was ranked 30th among over 200 countries in the world. The Summer Youth Olympics of 2014 were notable for Azerbaijan, the country was among the top 10 of about 200 countries of the world. The policy for development of the Olympic movement, sports and construction of modern sports centers shows progress.Azerbaijan has become a host of many European and world championships. The first European Games will be held here, over 6,000 athletes will participate. Azerbaijan will host the World Chess Olympiad in 2014, the Islamic Solidarity Games in 2017. All the efforts of the Azerbaijani authorities are doubtlessly promoting dialogue between civilizations, peoples and countries.“Azerbaijan is a multi-ethnic, multi-religious state, all our citizens live in peace, and we contribute to the dialogue of civilizations,” Ilham Aliyev reminded. The country has hosted the World Forum on Intercultural Dialogue twice and the Baku International Humanitarian Forum four times to discuss cultural diversity, multiculturalism, cooperation and interaction of people from all over the world.The Baku Declaration will be passed at the end of the Global Forum on Youth Policies. It will be recommendatory and will allow development of a common mechanism for participation of young people in political affairs of the world in the futu