BAKU, Azerbaijan, December 9. A Women’s
Creativity Forum was held in Baku as part of the ongoing “OIC
Cultural Festival: Baku Creative Week-2025,” organized by the
Ministry of Culture of Azerbaijan and the Organization of Islamic
Cooperation (OIC), in partnership with the Heydar Aliyev
Foundation, Trend
reports.
The forum was co-organized by the Ministry of Culture of
Azerbaijan, the Women Development Organization (WDO) of the OIC,
the Women’s Entrepreneurship Development Association in Azerbaijan
(AQSIA), and the Creative Azerbaijan platform.
Leyla Aliyeva, Vice-President of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation;
Sümeyye Erdoğan Bayraktar, KADEM Chair of the Board of Trustees;
Afnan Al-Shuaiby, Executive Director of the WDO; as well as female
innovators and entrepreneurs from Kazakhstan, Bahrain, and
Uzbekistan attended the forum.
In her opening address, Afnan Al-Shuaiby expressed her gratitude
to the organizers. She emphasized the crucial role of women in
shaping a knowledge-based society and reaffirmed the commitment to
supporting their empowerment and contributions. “Our main mission
is to enable women to realize all of their potential as
entrepreneurs and cultural innovators. We are ready to mobilize all
our resources to help women advance, promote their work, and
implement their creative projects,” she said.
Highlighting women’s central role in creativity, Sümeyye Erdoğan
Bayraktar stressed that women are key to passing down values across
generations as primary carriers of cultural heritage. “The art of
carpet weaving in Azerbaijan stands as one of the most beautiful
examples of this. Similarly, Iznik and Kütahya ceramics and other
art schools were shaped by the creative spirit, craftsmanship, and
aesthetic taste of women. Turkish motifs and their embodiment in
art clearly demonstrate women’s role throughout history,” she
noted.
In her remarks, AQSIA Chairwoman Sakina Babayeva described the
forum as an ideal platform for exploring opportunities and future
prospects for women in the creative field, also highlighting strong
state support in Azerbaijan.
A conceptual visual composition inspired by Mevlana Jalaluddin
Rumi’s quote “Come out of the circle of time and step into the
circle of love,” was showcased following the official opening of
the forum.
The illustrative part of the project was presented based on the
works of artist Leyla Aliyeva. The author of the visual concept is
Honored Artist Sabina Shikhlinskaya, and the music composer is
Orkhan Aghayev (DJ Pancho).
The Women’s Creativity Forum also featured discussions on the
topics “Enhancing global trade for women in creative industries”
and “The role of innovation, technology and investment in women’s
empowerment.” Speakers highlighted support for women entrepreneurs,
strengthening global ties, and leveraging innovation for economic
growth, reaffirming a shared commitment to women’s leadership in
creative fields and fostering international cooperation to drive
transformation.
