On December 15, the State Historical and Architectural Reserve Icherisheher hosted an annual plenary session within the framework of the event “ICOM Azerbaijan National Committee is 25”. All members of ICOM Azerbaijan National Committee participated in the event. The letters of Suay Aksoy, President of ICOM, and Elmar Mammadyarov, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan were read at the conference.

Shirin Melikova, Chairman of ICOM Azerbaijan National Committee, Director of the Azerbaijan Carpet Museum, PhD in Arts, took part at the plenary session and spoke about the organization’s 25-year background. She noted that ICOM Azerbaijan National Committee was established in 1992 by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of the Republic of Azerbaijan at the Museum Workers Congress. In the same year, the organization charter was adopted and the chairman was elected. Shirin Melikova emphasized that the first National Committee in the post-Soviet space was established in Azerbaijan. And on June 8, 1993, ICOM Executive Board formally endorsed ICOM Azerbaijan National Committe at its 78th meeting. Shirin Melikova noted that ICOM National Committee which counted 10 members in 1993-1996, today increased to 106 individual and 1 institutional members. She informed that they represent 43 museums (including 30 Baku museums and 13 regional museums), as well as 14 other organizations. She also added that ICOM Azerbaijan National Comittee as a public organization unites Azerbaijani museums, scientists, artists, art representatives, people assosiated with the museum sphere, and ICOM members. The main aims of the National Committee are to strengthen cooperation in museum work and culture, as well as to study the progressive experiences of foreign museums.

One of the priorities of ICOM National Committee is the salvation of cultural wealth during armed conflicts and their protection from illegal trade, the preservation of cultural heritage, and the development of museum management in the country. Shirin Melikova said that as a result of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Azerbaijan, as a country suffering from the occupation policy of Armenia, has lost part of its territory. The national and spiritual heritage of our people, our cultural monuments were victims of Armenian vandalism and destroyed in these areas, including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounding regions. She also added that Carpet Museum and ICOM Azerbaijan National Committee is actively working in the direction of protection and promotion of Azerbaijan’s cultural heritage.

Sevda Mammadaliyeva, Deputy Minister of Culture and Tourism of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Asker Alekberov, Head of State Historical-Architectural Reserve Icherisheher, and the representative of the National Commission of the Republic of Azerbaijan for UNESCO made a speech at the plenary session and wished success to the working process of conference and National Committee’s future activities.

The updated website of ICOM National Committee was presented at the conference. Then, three most active members of ICOM Azerbaijan National Committee were awarded diplomas.

After the plenary session, the conference continued its work. The active members of ICOM Azerbaijan National Committee made presentations at the conference.

The upcoming updated version of ICOM National Committee Charter, determination of the Azerbaijani delegation’s working groups for ICOM General Conference 2019 in Kyoto, issues related to giving grants to the nominees in “Best Year Museum Project” and “Most Active Member” were discussed during the conference.

At the end of the conference, at the Museum Center, on occasion of including Kamancha, a national musical instrument of Azerbaijan, into UNESCO Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage, was held a concert “Kamancha as a stringed musical instrument, and its performing art”. In addition, at the evening, the opening of an exhibition of Georgian puppet artists entitled “Under the Wings of an Angel” was held in the exhibition hall of the Museum Center.