In her tenure as the founding president of the International Turkic Culture and Heritage Foundation, Ambassador Günay Efendiyeva passionately underscored the organization's core mission: fortifying cultural and spiritual bonds among Turkish states.
Handing over the presidency within the foundation to the former Culture Minister of Kazakhstan Aqtoty Raiymqulova in November, Efendiyeva highlighted their eight-year commitment to exploring the culture, art and history of the Turkic world.
Efendiyeva recalled her appointment as the foundation's first president eight years ago in Astana, a decision made collectively by Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Türkiye.
"Undertaking this responsibility required establishing a new international organization aimed at introducing the ancient culture of the Turkic world, revealing our roots and traditions and bringing Turkic peoples closer together," she said.
"In addition to important tasks such as strengthening cultural and spiritual ties among Turkic states, we've also collaborated with other nations through cultural diplomacy. This has played a significant role in promoting the ancient and rich Turkish cultural heritage," she added.
Efendiyeva highlighted that cultural diplomacy involves strengthening international dialogue and intercultural communication through the "language" of literature, music, art and similar spiritual concepts. She noted that through sharing national spirits and identities, human values come to the forefront. This leads to partnerships, mutual understanding, sympathy, transcending spiritual boundaries, deepening relations between countries and influencing international collaborations.
Shusha: Cultural capital
Regarding the declaration of Shusha, Azerbaijan, as the "Cultural Capital of the Turkic World 2023," Efendiyeva mentioned the foundation's initiative in 2022 to organize "Shusha Days" in Türkiye's Bursa. She highlighted that this initiative was reflected in the declaration accepted and signed by heads of state during the Turkic Council Summit.
Describing "Shusha Days" as a comprehensive project encompassing various programs such as literature, theater, film, music, photography and traditional clothing arts, Efendiyeva emphasized that these projects effectively showcased Shusha's historical heritage and the cultural richness of Karabakh.
She further mentioned that events dedicated to Shusha were organized not only in various cities of the Turkic world like Bursa, Tashkent, Astana and Turkistan but also in Budapest.
Commemoration of Heydar Aliyev
Speaking about commemorating the 100th anniversary of Heydar Aliyev's birth, which was celebrated fervently in Azerbaijan and several other countries, Günay Efendiyeva highlighted their international projects and events conducted in this regard.
She detailed their efforts to promote Aliyev's services to the Turkic world and his legacy across different nations. Efendiyeva recalled organizing an international conference titled "Heydar Aliyev and the Turkic World" at the Kazakhstan National Academic Library in collaboration with the Turkish Academy.
Promotion of Turkic history
Efendiyeva mentioned their significant projects related to promoting Turkic history. She discussed organizing exhibitions on ancient Turkic scripts like petroglyphs, tamgas and runic signs in various capitals of Europe. These exhibitions showcased the artistic engravings of renowned artists from the Turkic world on stone and ceramics, along with providing lessons on historical symbols.
In closing, Efendiyeva reiterated that this year, an international conference dedicated to the 130th anniversary of the decipherment of Old Turkic script was held in Baku. The conference was organized in collaboration with the Turkish Academy and the UNESCO Azerbaijan and Türkiye National Commissions.