On April 7-9, 2023, the President of the Turkic Academy Shahin Mustafayev took part in the 9th meeting of the National Commissions of the TURKSOY Member States for UNESCO, which was held in Azerbaijan.
The event was organized by the National Commission of the Republic of Azerbaijan for UNESCO under the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, the International Organization of Turkic Culture (TURKSOY), ADA University and the Institute for Development and Diplomacy operating under it. On April 7, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Chairman of the National Commission of the Republic of Azerbaijan for UNESCO Ceyhun Bayramov, Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources of the Republic of Azerbaijan Mukhtar Babayev, Acting Minister of Culture of the Republic of Azerbaijan Adil Karimli, Deputy Secretary General of TURKSOY Bilal Çakıcı, Chairman of the Turkish National Commission for UNESCO Öcal Oğuz, Deputy Head of the UNESCO Department of External and African Relations Firmen Eduard Matoko spoke at the opening ceremony At the event, which took place at the ADA University, current issues of the material and intangible cultural heritage of the Turkic world were discussed. During the meeting, the Chairmanship in the National Commissions of the TURKSOY member countries for UNESCO passed from the National Commission of the Republic of Türkiye to the National Commission of the Republic of Azerbaijan. The event was also attended by the first chairman of the National Commission of the Republic of Azerbaijan for UNESCO Hasan Hasanov, Chairman of the Milli Majlis Committee on Health, Chairman of the Council of Elders of the West Azerbaijan Community, well-known scholar Ahliman Amiraslanov, Chairman of the Board of the Icherisheher State Historical and Architectural Reserve Shahin Seyidzade, as well as scholars and experts. After the opening ceremony, panel discussions and workshops began. The President of the Academy in his speech noted that the National Commissions for UNESCO of the Turkic countries, together with the Organizations of Turkic Cooperation, should join their efforts in preserving the common heritage of the Turkic civilization, called for this to work together on the survey, research and inclusion of cultural and natural cites of the Turkic countries into the List UNESCO World Heritage List. In this regard, he stated that the Turkic Academy is ready to contribute to the process. “This year we have launched a new project called Sacred Sites of the Turkic World, which was previously mentioned in the Declarations of the Summits of the Heads of State of the Turkic countries. I think that this project can serve as the basis for the World Turkic Heritage List,” said Mustafayev. After discussions on tangible and intangible cultural heritage, protection of natural heritage and education, and hearing the opinions of experts, the final statement of the 9th meeting of the National Commissions of the TURKSOY member countries for UNESCO was prepared. On April 9, the participants of the event went to the city of Shusha, the cultural capital of the Turkic world in 2023, and took part in the closing ceremony of the meeting. At the closing ceremony, the final statement of the 9th meeting of the National Commissions of the TURKSOY member countries for UNESCO was adopted.
