On the 26^th of December in 2025 the II Republican Scientific and Practical Conference on “Western Azerbaijan Folklore: Problems and Prospects” began its work, jointly organized by the Institute of Folklore of the Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences, Azerbaijan State Pedagogical University and Western Azerbaijan Community.

At the opening ceremony of the conference the Vice-Rector for International Relations of the Azerbaijan State Pedagogical University, Doctor of Sciences in Philology, Professor Mahira Huseynova made the opening speech. Greeting the participants, she spoke about the scientific, social and cultural significance of the event, mentioning that important scientific and cultural events had been held in the hall of the university for years and it had played a special role in the formation of scientific traditions.

In her speech Professor Mahira Huseynova noted the special importance of organizing the conference around the topic of “Western Azerbaijan”, mentioning that that topic was an important component of the ideology of Azerbaijaniism. She drew attention to the place that the territories of Western Azerbaijan hold in the historical memory, cultural identity and spiritual world of the Azerbaijani people.

Professor Mahira Huseynova, recalling President Ilham Aliyev’s statement dated December 24, 2020, noted that the idea of Azerbaijan returning to its ancestral lands is of strategic importance from the historical and political perspective. She said that the liberation of Karabakh was a clear example of Azerbaijan restoring its territorial integrity and this struggle had never been aimed at claiming the lands of other peoples.

In conclusion, Professor Mahira Huseynova mentioned the importance of such scientific-practical conferences, especially for young researchers and drew attention to the importance of systematically studying Western Azerbaijani folklore in the context of Turkic peoples and from the aspect of Turkic languages.