BAKU, Azerbaijan, October 26. Six forums have
been held within the framework of the Baku Process so far, and this
year, Azerbaijan marks the 15th anniversary of the forums, Deputy
Minister of Culture of Azerbaijan Farid Jafarov said on Monday at a
press conference dedicated to the 7th World Forum on Intercultural
Dialogue, which will be held from October 27 through 29, Trend's correspondent
reports from the event.
“The first forum was held in 2011. Since then, the scale of the
forums and the range of participants have expanded. This platform
has brought together governments, international organizations,
non-governmental organizations, media representatives, youth, and
religious leaders,” he remarked.
Jafarov noted that this year’s forum is dedicated to the theme
‘Building Bridges in a Fragmented World’.
“The theme was determined by taking into account the ongoing
inequalities and conflicts between countries and various groups
within society. The goal is to bring together different segments of
society, as well as representatives from governments and
international organizations, to discuss common issues,” he
added.
The deputy minister pointed out that the forum will officially
begin on October 27. However, events within the framework of the
forum are already underway.
“The initial objective of the ‘Baku Process’ was to bring
together ministers of culture from Eastern and European countries
in Baku to hold consultations on cultural matters.” He stated that
Azerbaijan is prepared to share its experience in the restoration
of cultural heritage in the liberated territories with the rest of
the world.
According to the deputy minister, Azerbaijan, which is currently
undertaking the restoration of cultural heritage destroyed in the
territories liberated following the conflict, intends to share its
experience in this field with its international partners.
“One of the forum’s panels will be dedicated to Azerbaijan’s
experience in restoring tangible and intangible cultural heritage
in conflict-affected regions. We wish to share this experience with
the world. We also seek the support of our international partners
for this approach, so that other regions affected by or emerging
from conflict may benefit from it,” emphasized Jafarov.
He noted that six objectives have been established for the
forum, the most significant of which is the strengthening of
cross-sectoral partnerships.
“At times, we observe a lack of sufficient cross-sectoral
partnership between various segments of society and
decision-makers. Expanding opportunities for future generations is
also among the forum’s objectives,” the deputy minister added.
