Baku to welcome European festival of cultural heritage

AThe festival will take place in Azerbaijan's capital on November 1-10 as part of the Year of Cultural Heritage in Europe.

The head of the EU Delegation to Azerbaijan, Ambassador Kestudis Jankauskas, the first adviser to the EU representation in Azerbaijan Denis Danilidis, the heads of the diplomatic missions in Azerbaijan Aurelia Buschez (France), Onno Kervers (Netherlands), Marek Janusz Tsalka (Poland), Victor Shederkenyi (Hungary) , Andrea Syuhl (Germany), Rodrigo Labardini (Mexico), the head of the Office of the State Historical and Architectural Reserve "Icherisheher" Riad Gasimov, the head of the Department of International Relations of the State Agency ARISING Tourism Jamil Talibzade, director of Azerbaijan Carpet Museum Shirin Melikova, artist Sabina Shikhlinskaya and others attended the press conference.

A video of the festival was presented at the event. The speakers noted that various concert programs, seminars, excursions, film screenings, exhibitions and a number of other events will be organized within the framework of the festival.

It was stressed that Azerbaijan is one of the important partners of the European Union and the state pays special attention to the preservation and propaganda of the national, historical and cultural heritage.

The festival received its name from the architectural landmark of Baku - the Fantazia bathhouse, which was built at the end of the 19th century, and it closely intertwined Eastern and European traditions.

2018 is declared the Year of Cultural Heritage in Europe. The slogan for the year is: "Our heritage: where the past meets the future".

During this year, projects are underway in Europe devoted to a diverse cultural heritage, both at the level of the European Union and at the national, regional and local levels. The aim of the European Year of Cultural Heritage is to encourage more people to discover and engage with Europe's cultural heritage, and to reinforce a sense of belonging to a common European space.

The cultural heritage forms our identity and determines the course of our daily life, according to the speakers.

We can see it in big cities, small towns of Europe, natural landscapes and archaeological sites. It also manifests itself in literary works, art, folk crafts, passed down from generation to generation. This legacy comes to life in our stories told to the children; in food, which we share with friends, and in films in which we learn ourselves.

It is important to preserve the cultural heritage and pass it on to future generations. We are used to treating the cultural heritage as something static, something related only to the past. In fact, the cultural heritage is developed through our interaction with it. It is also important to understand that our heritage plays a significant role in building the future of Europe.

The festival is held by the European Union Delegation in Azerbaijan in cooperation with the Embassies of Germany, France, Greece, Poland, Croatia, the Netherlands and Hungary, with the participation of the diplomatic missions of Mexico, Moldova and Morocco and the support of United Cultures.

The official partners of the festival are the State Tourism Agency, Administration of the State Historical-Architectural Reservation Icheri Sheher, Azerbaijan Carpet Museum, Maksud Ibrahimbeyov Creative Centre, Yarat Contemporary Art Center, Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, ADA University, Azerbaijan National University of Culture and Arts, The Landmark Hotel and Baku Business Center.

Media partners of the event are Azernews.az, Trend.az, Day.az, Milli.az.