NEWS
Aziz Alakbarli: “Western Azerbaijani folklore is the guarantee of our national identity and historical truths”
On the 26th 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 the West Azerbaijan Community. Speaking at the opening ceremony of the conference, Aziz Alakbarli, the deputy of the Milli Majlis of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the West Azerbaijan Community, Head of the Department of West Azerbaijan Folklore of the Institute of Folklore of ANAS, Doctor of Philosophy in Philology, Associate Professor, greeted the participants of the event and expressed his gratitude to the leadership of the Azerbaijan State Pedagogical University for hosting the conference. He noted that such scientific events play an important role in the preservation and development of the cultural heritage of Azerbaijan.
During his speech Aziz Alakbarli recalled the speech made by the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev at the administrative building of the West Azerbaijan Community three years ago. In that speech he mentioned that the strategic goals of the state and people for the period after the Karabakh war were determined and a roadmap for the return to historical lands and steps to be taken in this direction was formed.
Aziz Alakbarli noted the importance of studying both national and regional characteristics of folklore and said that scientific research in this field was ongoing. He noted that the conference, which would currently feature more than 100 reports, was the second major scientific event on the topic of Western Azerbaijan folklore and that he had no doubt that it would make the worthy contribution to this field.
In conclusion, Aziz Alakbarli wished the conference participants success and expressed his hope that the event would create opportunities for the formation of new scientific approaches and study of Western Azerbaijani folklore in the future.
