On the 26^th of December in 2025 the II Republican Scientific-Practical Conference on the topic “Western Azerbaijan Folklore: Problems and Prospects” was held in Baku, jointly organized by the Institute of Folklore of the Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences, Azerbaijan State Pedagogical University and the Western Azerbaijan Community. The conference aimed to investigate the rich folklore heritage of Western Azerbaijan scientifically, to discuss existing problems and identify future research directions. The event began in the Great Assembly Hall of the Azerbaijan State Pedagogical University. Before the opening ceremony of the conference, the exhibition of books published in recent years on the history, culture, ethnography, dialects, folklore, literature and architecture of Western Azerbaijan was viewed. 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.

Sarkhan Khavari, Head of the Science and Education Department of the Presidium of the ANAS, Doctor of Philological Sciences, made a report at the opening ceremony of the II Republican Scientific and Practical Conference on the topic “Western Azerbaijan Folklore: Problems and Prospects”.

The scientist mentioned that after the historic Victory achieved under the leadership of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, the Victorious Supreme Commander-in-Chief Ilham Aliyev, the return had risen to the level of the nationwide movement and that in the next stage, the return to Western Azerbaijan was one of the main priorities of state policy. He said that the President’s statement “Dear Shusha, we are back!” had become a symbol and emblematic sign of return in state policy.

Sarkhan Khavari noted in his speech that return was not just a geographical movement, but also the restoration of fragmented time, lost memory and shattered meaning. The scientist added that the study of folklore materials in the context of socio-demographic dynamics was one of the current directions of modern folklore studies and allowed for the identification of the echoes of historical processes in collective memory. That fact ensured the transition of folklore from the classical descriptive stage to the conceptual and analytical stage. At the same time, folklore examples preserve national and spiritual values, reflect traces of real-historical and ethnographic processes and support the scientific support of the ideological policy pursued by the state in this area.

Sarkhan Khavari mentioned that Western Azerbaijani folklore was a living part of the common Turkic epic thought system and had the same structural codes as the cultural environments of Anatolia, Karabakh and Borchali.

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.

Later director of the Institute of Folklore of ANAS, Doctor of Sciences in Philology Hikmat Guliyev made a speech and mentioned that Western Azerbaijan folklore had great potential in the scientific provision of strategic goals in this field. Noting that folklore was one of the main sources of the national, historical and genetic memory of the people, the scientist paid special attention to the importance of historical memory in the study of the cultural heritage of Western Azerbaijan.

Hikmat Guliyev recalled President Ilham Aliyev’s meeting with a group of intellectuals from Western Azerbaijan on his birthday three years ago. He noted that President’s speech at that meeting defined the main directions of Western Azerbaijan policy. The scientist especially drew attention to the issue of “historical memory” mentioned by the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, noting that that factor was of great importance in the return to Western Azerbaijan.

In his speech Hikmat Guliyev also recalled President Ilham Aliev’s speech at the 80^th anniversary of Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences on the 3^rd of November of this year.

At the end of his speech Hikmat Guliyev mentioned that the conference, about 106 reports would be presented, would play an important platform in terms of studying, protecting and researching the cultural heritage of Western Azerbaijan, as well as expanding cooperation among the scientific and educational institutions.

After the plenary session, the event continued in the conference halls named “Dereleyez”, “Goycha”, “Aghbaba”, “Derechichek”, “Zangibasar”, “Vedibasar”, “Girkhbulag”. The reports in the section sessions mainly discussed various aspects of Western Azerbaijan folklore and the importance of this heritage in terms of scientific research. The reports at the section meetings mainly discussed various aspects of Western Azerbaijani folklore and the importance of this heritage from the scientific and research perspective.

A total of 106 reports were heard at the conference.

The event concluded with the Closing Meeting in the Great Assembly Hall of the Azerbaijan State Pedagogical University after the section meetings. The general results of the conference were presented at the meeting and future directions for the study of Western Azerbaijani folklore were determined. Decisions were made to strengthen cooperation between the organizers and implement new projects. At the end of the event the certificates were presented to the participants and success was wished in future research work.