Connecting people and religions

By Vestnik Kavkaza

This year Azerbaijan and UNESCO mark 20 years of its active cooperation. In 1993 Heydar Aliyev returned to power, and Baku started reforms in the sphere of human rights and freedom, brought the national legislation in line with international legal norms and began cooperation with international organizations, first of all with the UN organizations, including UNESCO.

At the moment, relations between Azerbaijan and UNESCO are going through the most fruitful period of their development. And the deepening cooperation is at the center of attention of the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and the President of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation, the UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador, Mehriban Aliyeva.

Mrs. President has been the ambassador for 10 years. Using their influence, Goodwill Ambassadors participate in certain programs of UNESCO, for example, anti-illiteracy programs. It is no accident that one of the directions of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation, which is headed by Mehriban Aliyeva, is the development of education. UNESCO appreciates its contribution to the sphere, from the project of construction of modern schools “New Schools to Renewing Azerbaijan”, the education of girls and intercultural dialogue, to musical education.

It is difficult to name all the problems which Aliyeva is dealing with. Along with her well-known activity reviving and promoting the national art, mugham, Mrs. President personally supervises cultural and sporting facilities in all regions of the country, and development of healthcare facilities, especially those who deal with sick children and disabled people.

Mehriban was awarded the WHO prize for exclusive achievements in protection and improvement of the health of mothers, children and families. She became a winner of the Caspian Energy Integration Award as a nominee for a Social Activist of the Year in the Caspian and Black Sea Region, and in November 2006 she became a Goodwill Ambassador of UNESCO.

In September 2009 the First Lady of Azerbaijan was awarded the Grand Commodore Cross of The Republic of Poland's Order of Merit for development of friendly relations between Baku and Warsaw. In February 2010 the French President awarded her the office degree of the Legion of Honor for her achievements and demonstrated loyalty to France, social charity work and contribution to the development of education and culture not only in Azerbaijan, but also in the world.

This summer in Paris Mehriban Aliyeva agreed with the UNESCO Director General, Irina Bokova, on including more cultural monuments of Azerbaijan on the World Heritage List of UNESCO. Moreover, the government of Azerbaijan and UNESCO signed the framework agreement on cooperation in the spheres of culture, science, education and communication. Mehriban Aliyeva presented UNESCO with stone sculptures of a horse and a ram as a gift from Azerbaijan on the 20th anniversary of its membership of the organization. The monuments will be regularly exhibited in a courtyard of the UNESCO head office. They were created in the 12-13th centuries and found in the village of Ashagy Aiybly in the Tovuz Region. Stone sculptures of horses and rams are thought to be a popular kind of Azerbaijani traditional craft.

Receiving the gifts, Bokova said: “I see the spirit of your country in the sculptures. They demonstrate an artistic form which appeared in the Middle Ages. They reflect a cosmography that connects nations and religions, the worlds of people and animals, facets of life and death. The richness of Azerbaijan is reflected in the history of the Central Asian civilization, in walls of ancient Icherishekher which is included on the World Heritage List. But we witness this also though the original non-material heritage of Azerbaijan. I mean the ancient art of carpet weaving, as well as Novruz, a holiday which is celebrated in Turkey, India, Iran, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, and Uzbekistan. Cooperation between UNESCO and Azerbaijan is rich and wide-scale. Today we are improving it.”

In September UNESCO saw the ballet “Shadows of Gobustan” and the exhibition of photos of cave paintings of Gobustan, which is also one of the masterpieces of cultural heritage. Shadows of Gobustan by the prominent Azerbaijani composer Faraj Kaeayev was performed for the first time 45 years ago in Paris. And returning to the topic in the capital of France was a valuable present for local art lovers. The audience admitted that the harmony created by the ballet, which is a spiritual bridge between the past and the present, turned into an important element in bilateral cooperation.

At the moment Mehriban Aliyeva is preparing for a big event – on May 18th 2015, Baku will open the World Intercultural Dialogue Forum; UNESCO will be a co-initiator of it. “As the Goodwill Ambassador and president of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation, I feel my importance. Everyday I receive more than 200 letters. None of them is left unattended. I want to do certain business, help certain people, and solve certain problems. This is my choice,” Mehriban Aliyeva says.