Today.Az » Politics » Azerbaijan elected UNESCO Executive Board member
18 November 2021 [10:00] - Today.Az


By Azernews

By Vafa Ismayilova/Laman Ismayilova

Azerbaijan has been elected a member of the UNESCO Executive Board for 2021-2025, the Foreign Ministry reported on November 17.

"The fact that our country's candidacy was supported by a large number of states is an indicator of the global assessment of the high attention paid by the Republic of Azerbaijan to science, education and culture and the attention paid to the protection of cultural heritage," the Foreign Ministry said.

The ministry expressed its gratitude to all UNESCO member states for their valuable support to Azerbaijan's candidacy.

"During its membership of the UNESCO Executive Board, the Republic of Azerbaijan will make a valuable contribution to the effective implementation of UNESCO's mandate, especially in developing countries," the statement added.

The election of a member of the UNESCO Executive Board for 2021-2025 was held on November 17, 2021, within the ongoing 41st session of the UNESCO General Conference.

During the election, Azerbaijan was nominated for one of three vacancies allocated for the East European Group.

Azerbaijan gained 143 votes during the election held in conditions of intense competition.

Notably, Azerbaijan was also a member of the UNESCO Executive Board in 2005-2009.

Azerbaijan and UNESCO have been enjoying successful cooperation since 1992.

In 2003, the parties signed the framework agreement on cooperation in the areas of culture, science, education, and communication, which allowed Azerbaijan to become one of the donors of UNESCO.

Many Azerbaijani cultural sites have been included in UNESCO's World Heritage List.

Icherisheher (Old City), Maiden Tower, and Shirvanshah's palace were included in the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2000, while since 2007 the Gobustan National Historical-Artistic reserve was also listed among these heritages.

Shaki, an important city at the crossroads of the historic Silk Roads was inscribed on UNESCO's World Heritage List during the 43rd session of the World Heritage Committee held in Baku.

In 2017, UNESCO recognized Azerbaijan's dolma as the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

Art of crafting and playing with kamancha, presented jointly by Azerbaijan and Iran, was also inscribed on the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

Moreover, the Pomegranate Festival, Art of miniature were inscribed in UNESCO Representative List in December 2020.

UNESCO also successfully celebrated the 600th anniversary of the death of the great Azerbaijani poet and thinker Imadaddin Nasimi and the 200th anniversary of the first settlement of Germans in Azerbaijan.

In 2021, Lankaran region was included in the UNESCO list "Network of Creative Cities."



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