From October 31 to November 1, 2013, 794 participants, including seven former presidents, 13 Nobel Prize laureates, seven professors emeritus, 107 world-renowned public and prominent political figures were gathered together at one venue for the third Baku International Humanitarian Forum. Among the experienced pool of professionals from diverse fields, I was the youngest participant attending the forum.
It is important to see how such events make a difference, along with presenting an analysis of differences and similarities between Azerbaijan and Pakistan that I have been able to figure out.
The Baku International Humanitarian Forum is an annual event that brings famous representatives of the world community together to hold dialogues, discussions and exchange views on a wide range of global humanitarian issues. The forum was founded in 2010 by the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev and his counterpart, the President of the Russian Federation, Dmitriy Medvedev. It is effectively working on its goals that include building a dialogue through round tables and providing every single person a chance to be listened to and heard; providing constructive ground for the exchange of ideas, theoretical and practical knowledge; and bridging the gap between Western and Islamic cultures, bringing the two sides together to address common humanitarian issues.
President Aliyev opened the forum with a comprehensive speech covering national and international topics of global concern, along with highlighting the need for the resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh issue on humanitarian grounds, demanding the international community to take a stand on the illegal Armenian occupation of Azerbaijani lands so as to make regional peace and stability possible.
After the opening speech, the messages of Russian President Vladimir Putin and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to the Forum participants were read out. A video address by Director-General of UNESCO Irina Bokova was featured. Other speakers on the first day included the DG UNESCO, former presidents of the Baltic states, 13 Nobel Prize laureates and presentations by chairmen of the roundtables.
On the second day, the forum featured roundtable meetings on multiple topics encompassing Converging Technologies and Outlines of the Future; Humanitarian Aspects of Economic Development; Scientific Innovations and their Transfer into Education; Multiculturalism and Originality; National Identity in the Postmodern Era; Sustainable Development and Ecological Civilization; Achievements in Molecular Biology and Biotechnology and topical Issues of Mass Media in the Globalizing Information Network.
I was one of the speakers in the third panel of the roundtable discussing the topical issues of mass media, in which I gave a presentation on the topic: “Don’t let the media fool us: Analysing Trends to Understand the Confusion”.
The forum closed with the vote of consent of the delegates accepting the final declaration of the Forum for practical implementation.
For the next two days, excursion tours to five regions of Azerbaijan, i.e. Nakhchivan, Gabala, Ganja, Lankaran and Guba were arranged in order to acquaint the delegates with Azeri culture, history and traditions.
For six days we were hosted as the guests of the president of Azerbaijan. The hospitality of the government of Azerbaijan and the Azeri people, and officials from multiple sectors stays unmatched. The management, organisation and arrangement of such a huge event are tiresome tasks but each delegate received equal respect and care.
Why are such events important? Before attending this forum, I used to wonder why states spend large amounts of money on holding them; rather, that money should be used for some constructive purpose. But after attending the forum I have come to the realisation that it is not spending without thinking; instead it is an act of being smart on diplomacy. Inviting prominent figures — who follow global ideals — from every professional field worldwide is but an investment for a better future.
In a wide reaching, connected world when such personalities share their experiences of being at the conference what impact does it leave? Firstly, many get to know about Azerbaijan as a country, its history, its significance and geostrategic location. Secondly, prominent professional figures from multiple sectors of Azerbaijan get a platform to hold meetings with their counterparts and many MoUs are signed on the sidelines of the conference. In addition, students also get to meet professionals from their specialisations, and become aware of new innovations.
Though one article will not suffice to discuss the similarities and differences between these two countries, they can be mentioned in a general way. Talking about the similarities, the people of both the nations are hospitable and generous; many dishes in the cuisine are similar; lifestyle of families is based on strong moral values; most customs and traditions originate from the same cultural and religious beliefs; the landscape and weather is somewhat the same; even the traffic in Baku is the same as we have in Karachi, and our airlines’ performance is also on the same scale.
Coming to differences, the foremost is that the Azeri people owe trust and respect to their government, and their rulers are credited for their visionary leadership that has guided their nation towards progress. Secondly, there is no differentiation between the civilian and army sectors; they are situated together, and cleanliness is ensured at its best. The third is the level of development, as in just 22 years after independence they have made commendable progress. As President Aliyev mentioned, the poverty level has been brought down from 55 percent to 5.5 percent. Impressively, Baku has turned into a city of lights, using technology at its best to illuminate buildings. The fourth is the importance given to education. For example, in only Nakhchivan city, having a population of 75,000, there are three universities and 29 colleges. The fifth is the difference in the worth of the currencies; the Azeri manat has more worth as one manat equals one euro. The sixth is the attachment of the Azeri people to their history and the commendable way they have preserved it. The seventh is the connection with the outer world; 70 percent of the Azeri population is Internet users, and students are given special training on how to use social media in an effective way to gain benefits.
There is much more to mention but the word limit is the constraint. Thus summing it up, I want to mention that wearing my flag everywhere was a source of pride for me. Everyone whom I met greeted me with much respect on being the youngest participant and on representing a soft image of Pakistan and Muslim women. I assured them all that we have a huge resource of talented individuals, which just needs to be utilised in a better way. I wish to see my country at a higher place in the near future so as to get a reciprocal chance to become the host to such a conference.
The writer is a PhD scholar in IR. She is also a researcher and associate producer at Capital TV