Winter School organized by Azerbaijan Institute of Theology continues

Azerbaijan Institute of Theology (AIT) holds seminars for students in the frame of the Winter School on Religion, Culture and Society-2 organized in Gabala.

Mehman Ismayilov, Executive Director of the Fund for Propogation of Moral Values under the State Committee on Religious Associations of the Republic of Azerbaijan, delivered a presentation on National and Moral Values in a Changing World at the winter school. He noted that our national values that enlighten people’s spiritual world and glorify our history, are the embodiment of the high ethical standards of Azerbaijan. He stressed that the Azerbaijani people are recognized for their ancient national and spiritual values, occupy a special position in the world for their cultural heritage, humane ideas, traditions and national specificities. He emphasized that the Azerbaijani people have always been loyal to the traditions for thousands of years and that these values were formed long time ago.

Rashad Ilyasov, Chief of the Analytical Department of the Baku International Multiculturalism Center, delivered a speech on the Model of Multiculturalism in Azerbaijan. R.Ilyasov noted that multiculturalism emerged in the 60s and 70s of the 20th century in Canada and then in several multicultural countries in Europe, causing specific multicultural models to develop. Noting that global multicultural models are shaped primarily by migration and immigrants, the speaker said that starting from the 12th century, the process is still in progress. He said that this trend is more prominent in Canada, Australia, USA, France, England, Germany, Switzerland and other countries. Compared to the mentioned models, the history of Azerbaijani multicultural model is even more ancient. This model includes both the autakhton and the allakhton ethnicities.

R.Ilyasov said that more than 35 ethnic groups exist in Azerbaijan currently. It is no coincidence that Azerbaijan is also called an “ethnographic museum”. The scholarly literature on multiculturalism includes the terms “multicultural citizenship” and “constitutional citizenship”. This can be directly explained in the context of multiculturalism as a way of life and public policy in Azerbaijan. The literary-artistic and philosophical-publicistic sources of Azerbaijani multiculturalism prove that the model of multiculturalism in our country enables coexistence of diverse nations in this place.

The winter school aims to enrich the students’ world outlook and familiarize them with the multicultural and tolerant environment in our country.