The Institute of Folklore of the Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences (ANAS) held an expanded meeting of its Academic Council to review the results of its activities for the first half of 2026. The meeting, organized in a hybrid format, was attended by the staff of the Institute, as well as Sevil Adigozalova, PhD in Philology and Executive Officer of the Presidium of ANAS.

Opening the meeting Director of the Institute of Folklore, Doctor of Sciences in Philology Hikmat Guliyev mentioned that in accordance with the relevant decision of the Presidium of ANAS, the half-year report had been prepared based on discussions held in all of the research departments of the Institute. He noted that the meeting was not only an opportunity to review the achievements of the past six months, but also an important occasion to determine the future priorities and strategic directions of the Institute.

In his remarks Hikmat Guliyev addressed the methodological changes taking place in the humanities in recent years. He mentioned that the rapid development of information and communication technologies, the expansion of the digital environment and ongoing social transformations had made it necessary to update folklore research methodologies and adopt new approaches. These developments had led to the revision of the research agenda and the redefinition of its scientific priorities.

Hikmat Guliyev also noted measures undertaken to strengthen the academic environment of the Institute. During the reporting period, departmental seminars were systematically improved, while institute-wide seminars served as an important platform for discussing new research ideas, methodological approaches and scientific findings. These initiatives contributed to the renewal of scholarly thinking and enhanced the overall quality of research conducted at the Institute.

Hikmat Guliyev further noted that the Institute had significantly expanded its international cooperation during the reporting period. Collaboration with the Foundation for Turkic Culture and Heritage, the Azerbaijan and Turkiye National Commissions for UNESCO, TÜRKSOY, leading higher education institutions in Azerbaijan, as well as prominent research centers in Turkiye and Kazakhstan, had entered a new stage. These partnerships created favorable opportunities for implementing joint projects, organizing international seminars, and establishing new academic networks.

The Scientific Secretary of the Institute, PhD, Associate Professor Elchin Abbasov presented the half-year report, providing detailed information on the Institute's research activities, scientific organization, international cooperation and publishing performance.

During the reporting period, research was conducted on 9 research problems, 12 research topics and 86 individual projects. The studies covered a broad range of fields, including mythology, epic studies, ashiq traditions, ritual culture, digital folklore, the relationship between artificial intelligence and folklore.

The Institute also maintained an active publishing program. During the first half of the year, it published 17 books, including 4 published in abroad, as well as 2 academic journals. In addition, the Institute’s researchers published more than 100 scholarly articles and conference papers, including 79 in national journals and 21 in international journals. Among these publications, one article appeared in a journal indexed in both the Web of Science and Scopus databases, while eight articles were published in journals indexed in other internationally recognized databases.

Considerable efforts were also made to improve the scient metric indicators of the Institute's researchers and expand their visibility in international academic databases. At present, Institute staff maintain 80 Google Scholar profiles, 55 ResearchGate profiles, 50 Academia.edu profiles, 66 NHR profiles and 52 ORCID profiles. Furthermore, 10 articles have been indexed in ERIH PLUS, while 44 articles have been indexed in DergiPark. The total number of citations to the scholarly works of the Institute's researchers has reached 5,813, with 95 citations recorded during the past six months.

In her remarks, Sevil Adigozalova, PhD in Philology and Executive Officer of the Presidium of ANAS, highly praised the half-year report of the Institute. She noted that the research addresses of the Institute highly relevant scientific issues and noted that its emerging research agenda on digital folklore, artificial intelligence and cultural memory was well aligned with the contemporary challenges facing the humanities.

The meeting also addressed several additional agenda items. Reports were presented in honor of the 75^th anniversary of Professor Ramazan Gafarli, Doctor of Philology and Head of the Dede Gorgud Department and the 65^th anniversary of Professor Seyfaddin Rzasoy, Doctor of Philology and Head of the Department of Mythology. Their significant contributions to the development of Azerbaijani folklore studies were recognized and both scholars were honored for their many years of distinguished academic service.