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The “Fabric of the Future” event, organised under the SHE platform in partnership with Azercell, brought together cultural heritage, traditional craftsmanship and women’s empowerment, highlighting opportunities for women to develop their skills and expand their economic participation.

The initiative, held under the SHE platform established by the Azerbaijan Business Women organisation, centred on qurama, a traditional Azerbaijani patchwork art form, exploring how cultural traditions can be preserved while creating new opportunities through technology and entrepreneurship.

A central feature of the event was the presentation of a new collection by Amina Malikova, whose work focuses on researching, reviving and promoting qurama internationally.

Opening the event, Tatyana Mikayilova, Chair of Azerbaijan Business Women and founder of the SHE platform, outlined the initiative’s objectives and its significance for promoting women’s creativity and professional development.

Speaking at the gathering, Shirin Aliyeva, Azercell’s Chief Legal and Data Strategy Officer, emphasised the role of digital technologies and responsible business practices in helping women turn traditional skills into sustainable economic opportunities.

“Technology helps not only to preserve our cultural heritage but also to transform it into new economic opportunities. Through digital skills and access to technology, women can showcase traditional crafts to a wider audience and grow their businesses. Our goal is to preserve the cultural values inherited from the past while creating broader opportunities for future generations,” Aliyeva said.

She also highlighted Azercell’s initiatives aimed at supporting the personal development, digital inclusion and social well-being of girls and women.

As part of the programme, Azercell organised a panel discussion titled “Shaping Our Future,” focusing on societal expectations of women and the accessibility of support services for women and girls.

During the discussion, Sona Abbasova, Director of Azercell’s Corporate Communications Department, addressed the importance of strengthening women’s social and economic independence and expanding development opportunities for girls.

She presented information about two initiatives supported by the company: the Women’s Support Line and the Offline Women digital platform.

According to Abbasova, both services are designed to help women facing difficult life circumstances obtain timely assistance and access relevant support resources.

She noted that Azercell subscribers can contact the Women’s Support Line free of charge, while the Offline Women platform can be accessed without an internet data package.

These arrangements are intended to reduce barriers to essential services, particularly for women who may have limited access to communications or digital resources.

The event also featured a conversation between actor, playwright and television presenter Kamran Aghabalayev and Amina Malikova, exploring the cultural significance of traditional craftsmanship and its place in contemporary creative practices.

Through its partnership with the SHE platform, Azercell continues to support initiatives focused on women’s education, digital skills, social protection and economic participation.

The traditional Autumn Festival – Harvest Day was held with great enthusiasm at ADA School, operating under ADA University.

Leyla Aliyeva, Vice-President of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation, attended the festival, along with state and government officials, representatives of partner companies and members of the public.

As part of the Harvest Day celebrations, three new sculptures were unveiled at ADA School, marking the conclusion of the Sculpture Symposium. The works were created by Azerbaijani sculptors Kamran Asadov, Mushfig Heydarov and Imran Mehdiyev. The project aimed to involve schoolchildren in the creative process and reflect their ideas and imagination in the initial sketches of the sculptures.

The event aims to foster a sense of responsible citizenship among pupils and students, promote national and moral values, preserve charitable traditions and nurture young people from an early age to become responsible members of society.

The programme continued with musical, dance and creative performances by students of ADA School, Children’s Art School No. 3 named after G. Aliyeva, 11-Year Children’s Art School No. 6 named after F. Amirov, and 11-Year Music Schools No. 24 and 33, adding to the festive atmosphere.

A charity exhibition and sale was also organized as part of the festival. It featured handicrafts made by students of ADA School and the Azerbaijan State University of Culture and Arts, as well as products from partner companies. The proceeds will be allocated to educational social projects.

The AZN 27,309 raised at last year’s Harvest Day was used to implement five social projects: ‘Victory Theatre’, ‘Stories’, ‘Girls’ House’, ‘Neighbourhood (Urban Planning)’ and ‘Qala Society’. A total of 600 people benefited from these projects, which focused on collaboration, creativity, empathy, psychological well-being and the development of vocational skills.

Held with the support of its main and permanent partner, Veyseloglu Companies Group, the festival also featured the sale of fruits and vegetables, bread, sweets and other locally grown produce from various regions of the country, as well as non-food products. The group’s partners include Veyseloglu Distribution, Ulduz, Araz and OBA supermarket chains, Khoncha, Veyseloglu-Rossmann, Decoliv, O to Go and Entree.

Azerpambig, Tamiz Shahar, AZ Projects GROUP and Liv Bona Dea Hospital also provided organizational support for the event.

Azerbaijan will play its final match at the FIFA U-15 World Cup and Festival, being held in Baku, today.

The team coached by Famil Khalilov will face Afghanistan in a match for 83rd place. The game is scheduled to kick off at 11:30 a.m. at the Hovsan Sports Complex.

The tournament will conclude today with six final matches at the Baku Crystal Hall, followed by the awards ceremony and closing ceremony.

A book dedicated to the 120th anniversary of the birth of renowned Azerbaijani poet and People’s Poet Samad Vurgun was presented at the Azerbaijan Writers’ Union.

Titled The Poet of Great Ideals and Dreams, the book was written by Reyhan Mirzazade, a member of both the Azerbaijan Writers’ Union and the Azerbaijan Journalists’ Union, as well as a publicist, researcher and political analyst.

Speaking at the presentation ceremony, historian and library science scholar Latifa Mammadova highlighted the internationalist themes and legacy reflected in Samad Vurgun’s literary works.

The event featured contributions from several prominent cultural, academic and public figures, including Ilham Pirmammadov, chairman of the Gazakh Charitable Society; Milikh Yevdayev, head of the Baku Religious Community of Mountain Jews; Vurgun Vakilov, the poet’s great-grandson and director of the Samad Vurgun House-Museum; renowned artist Zinaida Mirzazade; researcher of Samad Vurgun’s literary heritage Aslan Salmansoy; public figure Ramiz Goyushov; writer Zohra Asgarova; poet Ilham Gazakhli; Lyubov Yakunina, chairwoman of the Association of Teachers of Russian-Language Educational Institutions; and Maria Zolotoryova, a representative of the Russian Embassy in Azerbaijan.

The speakers praised the publication for its contribution to preserving and promoting Samad Vurgun’s literary legacy and wished the author continued success.

The cultural programme also featured performances by Cavid and Fakhri Agalarov, students of Secondary School No. 10 in Baku’s Nizami District, who recited excerpts from Samad Vurgun’s poetry. Young vocalist Raul Hamidov performed a musical piece for the audience.

The book The Poet of Great Ideals and Dreams explores Samad Vurgun’s appreciation of Russian classical literature, his translations of works by Russian writers and his high regard for Russian literary traditions.

It also sheds light on the poet’s friendships and cultural connections with prominent literary figures, including Nikolay Tikhonov, Konstantin Simonov, Rasul Gamzatov, Alexander Fadeyev, Pavel Antokolsky, Yevgeny Yevtushenko, Mikhail Sholokhov and Maksim Rylsky.

An internationalist poet with a broad cultural outlook, Samad Vurgun maintained friendships and fraternal ties with numerous distinguished poets, writers, artists, composers and other cultural figures from around the world.

His life and literary contributions have inspired numerous books, narrative poems, poems, prose works and memoirs, reflecting his enduring influence on Azerbaijani literature and his connections with the wider international literary community.

A delegation from the Central Bank of Uzbekistan has paid a working visit to the Central Bank of Azerbaijan (CBA).

According to the CBA, meetings held during the visit focused on the identification and assessment of strategic and operational risks, the implementation of key risk indicators (KRIs), risk and control self-assessment (RCSA), and the coordination of governance, risk and compliance (GRC) processes.

The discussions also covered model risk management, information technology and cybersecurity risks, financial risk management, assessment methodologies and institutional approaches.

Meanwhile, CBA Governor Taleh Kazimov said at a press conference held the previous day that the regulator was open to expanding the presence of foreign financial institutions in Azerbaijan, including banks, as well as companies operating in the capital markets and insurance sectors.

He noted that the CBA participates in international events and presents Azerbaijan’s financial sector to attract greater interest from foreign investors.

“We are very open not only to foreign banks but also to capital markets and the insurance sector. One of the reasons I frequently travel abroad and speak at various conferences is to promote Azerbaijan’s financial sector. We need to raise awareness of our financial sector so that interested parties can ask questions and visit Azerbaijan,” Kazimov emphasized.

The CBA governor also addressed the integration of payment systems and data exchange between Azerbaijan and other countries. He noted that there is currently no international digital platform connecting the central banks of different countries through a unified system.

The exhibition Beyond Memory, which opened at QGallery on October 30 as part of the ‘Fly to Baku. Art Weekend. Feel the Future NOW’ programme, features carpet collections by Azerbaijani artists Faig Ahmed and Farid Rasulov, created in collaboration with Azerkhalcha OJSC.

The exhibition explores how cultural memory is preserved and reshaped through materials, spaces and everyday experiences. The distinct artistic approaches of Ahmed and Rasulov demonstrate how traditional heritage can acquire new meanings and forms of expression in contemporary art.

The exhibition is curated by Emin Mammadov.

Faig Ahmed’s From Sketch to Carpet collection traces the creative journey from an initial artistic concept to a finished handwoven carpet.

Produced as a limited edition, the collection comprises seven designs, with 10 pieces of each: Turquoise, Goychay; Midnight, Gonaqkand; Spring, Goychay; Rose, Goychay; Ink, Goychay; Crystal, Goychay; and Magenta, Gonaqkand.

Inspired by the Quba and Western Azerbaijan schools of carpet weaving, the pieces are crafted from a blend of wool and silk threads. Traditional motifs are reinterpreted through digital distortions, optical illusions, melting effects and pixelated elements, creating a striking dialogue between heritage and contemporary visual language.

Farid Rasulov’s collection, Knots That Keep Stories Alive: Karabakh Carpets, features six designs: The Tale of the White Horse and Birds, The Legend of the Karabakh Horse, The Pattern of Grace, Echoes of Golden Feathers, The Tiger in the Knots, and Pomegranate, Crown of the Night.

Made from a wool and silk blend using a three-dimensional weaving technique, the carpets combine the ornamental language of the Karabakh carpet-making tradition with contemporary visual storytelling.

All the carpets featured in both collections were handwoven by experienced female artisans at Azerkhalcha’s regional workshops, highlighting the continued importance of traditional craftsmanship in contemporary artistic practice.

While Ahmed explores the visual structure of carpets and the transformative possibilities of traditional ornamentation, Rasulov approaches the medium as a vehicle for cultural memory and storytelling.

Rather than presenting cultural heritage as a fixed remnant of the past, Beyond Memory examines it as a living, evolving process capable of generating new meanings and artistic expressions.

Through the works of Ahmed and Rasulov, the exhibition brings together traditional Azerbaijani carpet weaving and contemporary artistic vision, offering a fresh perspective on the enduring relevance of the country’s rich cultural heritage.

An international academic and practical conference titled ‘Applied and Decorative Arts of the Turkic World: History, Modernity and Future Prospects’ has been held at the Kamoliddin Behzod National Institute of Fine Arts and Design in Tashkent.

The event was reported by the Heydar Aliyev Azerbaijan Cultural Center, operating under the Embassy of Azerbaijan in Uzbekistan.

The conference was jointly organized by the Kamoliddin Behzod National Institute of Fine Arts and Design and the international academic journal Science and Innovation. It brought together scholars, art historians and experts from Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Trkiye, France and China.

The main objective of the conference was to explore the rich applied and decorative arts heritage of Turkic peoples, preserve national artistic traditions and pass them on to future generations. Participants also discussed opportunities for developing traditional art forms within contemporary art and strengthening international academic and cultural cooperation in the field.

Azer Handamov, an adviser at the Azerbaijan Cultural Center, delivered a presentation entitled ‘National Identity and Cultural Memory in the Artistic and Aesthetic Thought of the Turkic World.’

The conference programme featured presentations on a wide range of subjects, including Uzbekistan’s traditional weaving techniques, the restoration and development of Azerbaijan’s applied and decorative arts, the symbolic meanings of Kazakh ornaments, and jewellery-making traditions across the cultural landscape of the Great Silk Road.

Other discussions focused on the role of national artistic traditions in art education, the relationship between traditional craftsmanship and contemporary trends in Central Asia’s fashion industry, and the rich cultural heritage shared by Turkic peoples.

As part of the event, participants also visited an exhibition titled ‘Moviyga Parvoz’ (‘Flight into the Blue’), organized at the institute’s exhibition hall.

The international conference served as an important platform for researching and promoting the shared cultural heritage of Turkic peoples, supporting the development of traditional art forms, facilitating the exchange of academic expertise and strengthening cultural ties among participating countries.

A series of cultural events under the project “A Breath of Culture” is being held across Azerbaijan’s regions, organised by the Scientific-Methodological and Professional Development Centre for Culture (MEMIM) of the Ministry of Culture, with the support of the Guba-Khachmaz Regional Department of Culture.

As part of MEMIM’s “Dialogue on Art” initiative, a masterclass and discussion featuring People’s Artist and Azerbaijani tar virtuoso Elchin Hashimov was held at the Heydar Aliyev Khachmaz District Cultural Centre.

Opening the event, MEMIM’s acting director, Associate Professor and Doctor of Philosophy in Art Studies Vugar Gumbatov, said the project aims to promote the exchange of experience between renowned artists and young creative talents while raising awareness of Azerbaijan’s national cultural heritage. He noted that the initiative also seeks to support the development of musical arts in the country’s regions.

Fuad Orujov, acting head of the Guba-Khachmaz Regional Department of Culture, thanked MEMIM for organising the event in Khachmaz and emphasised the importance of such educational initiatives, particularly for children and young people.

The masterclass was moderated by Nijat Hasanazade, head of a MEMIM sector. During the session, Hashimov discussed ways to strengthen young performers’ professional skills and theoretical knowledge. He also shared his views on the development of national musical traditions, the distinctive characteristics of tar performance and the importance of passing this artistic heritage on to future generations.

The programme featured performances by Hashimov, Huseyn Jafarov, a student of the Khachmaz Children’s Music School, and Polad Amirbalaev, a student of the Guba Children’s School of Arts. Students from Hashimov’s class at the Azerbaijan National Conservatory – Mehdi Sadigzade, Araz Gasemi and Fateh Iskender – also performed. Siyavush Karimov accompanied the musicians on the nagara.

At the conclusion of the interactive meeting, Hashimov answered questions from participants.