BAKU, Azerbaijan, Might 4. On Might 4, the ICESCO
headquarters in Morocco hosted the inaugural presentation ceremony
of the “ICESCO-Azerbaijan Natavan Excellence Award,” collectively
established by the Heydar Aliyev Basis and ICESCO, Pattern stories.
The ceremony was held as a part of the worldwide convention on
“Managing Heritage in Battle and Publish-Battle Conditions within the
Islamic World.”
Based in 2025 and named after outstanding Azerbaijani poet
Khurshidbanu Natavan, the daughter of the Garabagh Khan, the award
promotes greatest practices in preserving and managing tangible
cultural heritage. The “Natavan Heritage Excellence Award”
highlights Azerbaijan’s dedication to nationwide values and humanism,
whereas additionally facilitating to advertise its literary and cultural
legacy. Offered by the Heydar Aliyev Basis and ICESCO, the
award serves as a tribute to the poet’s legacy and contributes to
the preservation and promotion of Garabagh’s wealthy cultural
heritage.
The ceremony was attended by Director-Common of ICESCO Salim
bin Mohammed AlMalik; Assistant to the President of the Republic of
Azerbaijan, Govt Director of the Heydar Aliyev Middle Anar
Alakbarov; and Princess Dana Firas of Jordan, President of Petra
Nationwide Belief and Vice President of the Worldwide Council on
Monuments and Websites (ICOMOS).
The biennial “Natavan Heritage Excellence Award” is introduced in
particular person and undertaking classes to initiatives in ICESCO member
states targeted on preserving tangible heritage.
This yr, 54 functions have been shortlisted, and the
worldwide jury chosen the Hebron Rehabilitation Committee
(Palestine) because the undertaking class winner, in recognition of its
main efforts in safeguarding cultural heritage within the Outdated Metropolis
of Hebron/Al-Khalil.
Within the “Particular person Class,” the winner is Iraqi nationwide Ayoob
Thanoon. Because the Founder and President of the Mosul Heritage
Basis, he exemplifies “heritage continuity” in one of the
closely broken city heritage environments within the Islamic world.
As a younger skilled, his work focuses on restoring id and
social cohesion in a post-conflict, multiethnic context.
In his remarks on the worldwide convention, Anar Alakbarov,
Govt Director of the Heydar Aliyev Basis, highlighted
cooperation between Azerbaijan and ICESCO, together with joint initiatives
underneath the Memorandum of Understanding signed in 2024 in Shusha. He
famous that Shusha, thought to be a cultural cradle of Azerbaijan and
identified for its multiculturalism and tolerance, was named ICESCO’s
“Capital of Tradition within the Islamic World” for 2024. He additionally
emphasised the importance of creating the “Natavan Heritage
Excellence Award” inside ICESCO in 2025. He additionally underlined the important thing
position of President Ilham Aliyev and President of the Heydar Aliyev
Basis, ICESCO Goodwill Ambassador Mehriban Aliyeva, in
advancing efficient cooperation with ICESCO.
Anar Alakbarov emphasised the significance of preserving cultural
heritage within the Islamic world and passing it on to future
generations amid ongoing world conflicts. Individuals have been
knowledgeable about initiatives applied by the Heydar Aliyev Basis
each in Azerbaijan and overseas. He supplied details about
restoration efforts in Garabagh and East Zangezur areas, which
have been liberated from Armenian occupation, together with the
reconstruction of historic monuments and mosques by the
Azerbaijani state and the Basis. He famous that these
initiatives lengthen past the nation, with the Basis actively
engaged internationally, together with in Africa. Particularly, inside
cooperation with ICESCO, numerous instructional initiatives have been
efficiently carried out in Burkina Faso and different nations.
Through the occasion, an Azerbaijani carpet honoring Khurshidbanu
Natavan was introduced to ICESCO by the Heydar Aliyev
Basis.
Princess Dana Firas, a jury member of the “Natavan Heritage
Excellence Award,” confused its significance amid rising threats to
cultural heritage throughout conflicts. She cited preservation efforts
in Aleppo, Mosul, and Timbuktu, and described the award as a well timed
initiative to advertise experience-sharing, consciousness, and greatest
practices throughout the Islamic world.
In his tackle, Salim bin Mohammed Al Malik emphasised that
conflicts throughout the Islamic world have broken or destroyed
a whole bunch of cultural heritage websites, with over 27 World Heritage
properties presently underneath critical risk. He highlighted ICESCO’s
evaluation mission in Garabagh, together with Shusha, the place greater than
120 websites have been inspected and a restoration plan was ready, and
famous an analogous upcoming mission in Syria. He additionally confused
ICESCO’s robust cooperation with Azerbaijan and the Heydar Aliyev
Basis.
Talking on the convention, Palestinian Minister of Tourism and
Antiquities Hani Al-Hayek thanked the organizers for choosing the
Hebron restoration undertaking as a profitable initiative and for
supporting its implementation.
The primary recipients of the “Natavan Heritage Excellence Award”
additionally expressed their gratitude to ICESCO and the Heydar Aliyev
Basis for the eye given to the submitted initiatives and
for establishing such a world award.
Company later visited the Sultan Qaboos Library at ICESCO and a
photograph exhibition devoted to greatest practices in restoration
initiatives in battle zones. The exhibition featured pictures of
restored historic, cultural, and spiritual monuments in areas
beforehand underneath practically 30 years of Armenian occupation, in addition to
initiatives applied by the Heydar Aliyev Basis in
Garabagh.
On the sidelines of the convention, Anar Alakbarov met with
Salim bin Mohammed Al Malik to debate future joint initiatives in
Azerbaijan and different nations.
