Azerbaijan first included “Azerbaijani mugham” (2008) and then “Azerbaijani Ashiq Art” (2009) in “Representative List of intangible cultural heritage of humanity” of UNESCO. In the same year, Turkey also listed the “Tradition of Ashik art”. Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan have also taken similar steps to preserve similar traditions such as “Akinlik” and “Bahshilik”. It was mentioned by Professor Metin Ekiji, the employee of the Institute of Turkic World Studies at the Ege University in Turkey, during his speech at the international scientific symposium “From Ashiq Alasgar to Uzeyir Hajibeyli: Cultural Codes of the Turkic World", dedicated to the 140^th anniversary of the birth of Uzeyir Hajibeyli.

Professor Metin Ekiji spoke about the importance of the UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage in the formation of national identity and mentioned the importance of the Convention against the pressures created by globalization on national cultures.

Speaking about the need to rebuild the national identities of the Turkic republics that gained independence after seceding from the Soviet Union at the end of the 20^th century, the scholar said that this Convention, adopted in 2003, played an important role in that process.

He mentioned that the art of ashiq carries the common cultural codes of the Turkic world and that independent states in different geographies were determined to keep this heritage alive. Professor Metin Ekiji also noted the role of Ashiq Alasgar in keeping the art of ashiq alive to nowadays and his contributions to Turkic cultural identity.