BAKU, Azerbaijan, January 9. The first meeting
of the Board of Directors of Azerbaijan's Press Council for 2026
was held today, the council's statement says, Trend reports.


Opening the meeting with a welcome speech, the Press Council
Chairman Rashad Majid said that President of Azerbaijan Ilham
Aliyev emphasized the importance of protecting the Azerbaijani
language in his speech during the meeting dedicated to the 80th
anniversary of the National Academy of Sciences of Azerbaijan on
November 3 last year.


Majid reminded that his organization, together with the Media
Development Agency, held a conference on November 7 last year on
the topic of "Correct application of the norms of the Azerbaijani
literary language in the media". According to the chairman, the
agency has prepared a summary of this conference, which not only
holds significance for the call to protect the Azerbaijani language
but also provides a systematic perspective on the parameters of the
work to be done.


He also mentioned that during the last meeting of the Board of
Directors in 2025, the issues raised by President Ilham Aliyev were
discussed. As a result, the composition of the Press Council's
Language Commission was restructured. The chairperson of the
commission was appointed as Vusala Mahirgizi, a member of the Board
of Directors and the head of APA Holding. Other members
representing the Press Council include Aflatun Amashov, the
editor-in-chief of Khalq Newspaper, Professor Gulu Maharramli from
Baku State University, Akif Ashirli, the editor-in-chief of Sharq
Newspaper, Elshan Aliyev, a member of the Council's Monitoring and
Inspection Commission and editor-in-chief of "Vatan Sasi
Newspaper", Tahir Aydinoghlu, the head of the Press Council’s
Council of Senior Journalists and deputy editor-in-chief of Khalq
Newspaper, and Seyfaddin Hüseynli, the deputy editor-in-chief of
525-ci Newspaper.







Majid also pointed out that on January 5, President Ilham Aliyev
gave an extensive interview to local television channels, further
emphasizing the importance of protecting the Azerbaijani language.
The head of state described the language as one of the main
attributes of statehood, even placing it along with the flag, coat
of arms, and anthem, and noted that the long-term hardships endured
by the nation have had negative impacts and consequences on the
mindset. It's crucial to eliminate these negative effects.


The council chairman highlighted that the Press Council’s
Language Commission would hold an expanded meeting today to discuss
President Ilham Aliyev's statements in more detail and to determine
specific areas of action. Before this, the Board of Directors would
review the representation of several experts in the Language
Commission. Majid announced the names of the candidates, and after
the discussions, the membership of Professor Tofig Hajiyev (Tofig
Muzaffaroghlu), the head of the Department of Modern Azerbaijani
Language at Baku State University's Faculty of Philology, Associate
Professor Rasim Heydarov, the head of the Education Department at
the Nasimi Institute of Linguistics at the National Academy of
Sciences of Azerbaijan (ANAS), the renowned TV presenter and
honored artist Nargiz Jalilova, and Vasala Mammadova, a presenter
at ITV TV channel, was confirmed in the commission. Additionally,
Nadir Yalchin, an editor at the APA Information Agency, was elected
as the secretary of the commission. Thus, the Language Commission
of the Press Council was formed with 12 members, including the
Chairperson Vusala Mahirgizi, Vice Chairperson Seyfaddin Huseynli,
and Secretary Nadir Yalchin.