The special panel session featuring Professor Ojal Oghuz, Chair of the Executive Board of the Turkish National Commission for UNESCO and the distinguished folklorist, was held within the framework of the VIII International Scientific Symposium “From the Common Turkic Past to the Common Turkic Future”, entitled “Turkological Folklore Studies: Theoretical Context, Practical Aspects and Analytical Perspectives” dedicated to the 100^th anniversary of the First Turkological Congress.

Opening the panel Director of the Institute of Folklore of the Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences (ANAS), Doctor of Sciences in Philology, Associate Professor Hikmat Guliyev mentioned the exceptional place of the First Turkological Congress in the history of the scientific and cultural thought of the Turkic peoples. He noted that this remarkable scholarly legacy should be regarded not only as a historical event, but also as a significant intellectual platform that had shaped the methodological foundations of contemporary Turkological and folklore studies. Hikmat Guliyev noted that in the context of globalization and digital transformation, identifying the new challenges facing folklore studies, conducting research on the shared Turkic cultural heritage on a solid scientific basis and ensuring its transmission to future generations make closer cooperation among scholars of the Turkic world more essential than ever.

Hikmat Guliyev further mentioned that the panel featuring Professor Ojal Oghuz, Chair of the Executive Board of the Turkish National Commission for UNESCO, was of particular importance in terms of expanding academic cooperation across the Turkic world, safeguarding intangible cultural heritage and sharing international scholarly experience. He noted that such academic discussions make a significant contribution to the advancement of Turkological thought, the promotion of UNESCO’s principles for safeguarding intangible cultural heritage within the academic sphere, and the development of a common scientific strategy.

Professor Ojal Oghuz then made a presentation entitled “The Journey of Folklore Studies in the Field of Intangible Cultural Heritage”. In his lecture, he addressed both the theoretical and practical aspects of safeguarding intangible cultural heritage in the contemporary world and analyzed the current challenges in this field.

The panel continued with an interactive discussion. During the session Academician Kenjehan Matijanov, Director of the M. Auezov Institute of Literature and Art, Professor Jabbor Eshonkul of the Academy of Sciences of Uzbekistan, the researchers of the ANAS Institute of Folklore such as PhD in Philology, Associate Professor Afaq Ramazanova, PhD in Philology, Associate Professor Aynur Ibrahimova, Vafa Saleh, Associate Professor Laman Suleymanova, PhD in Philology, the lecturer at Baku State University Muhammad Mammadov and the doctoral student at the Institute of Folklore ANAS Amil Azimli addressed questions to Professor Ojal Oghuz concerning the theoretical and methodological issues of Turkological folklore studies, the study of shared cultural heritage, the prospects for international academic cooperation and current trends in contemporary folklore research.

Responding comprehensively to the questions Professor Ojal Oghuz shared his views on the current development trends in folklore studies across the Turkic world, the safeguarding of intangible cultural heritage, the importance of comparative research and the expansion of joint academic projects. Conducted in an atmosphere of lively intellectual exchange, the panel was marked by productive scholarly discussion and attracted great interest from the participants.