Azerbaijan Culture Minister Adil Karimli has addressed the
expanded collegial meeting regarding the Ministry's activities for
2023-2024, Azernews reports.
In his speech, Adil Karimli touched upon the ministry's
activities in the fields of arts, cultural heritage, publishing,
cinematography, and cultural and creative industries.
"Azerbaijan Culture Ministry organizes its activities in the
fields of arts, cultural heritage, publishing, cinematography, and
cultural and creative industries. Efforts are being made to ensure
that activities in these areas correspond adequately to the overall
development of the country. Successful performance in the field of
culture heavily depends on the knowledge and skills of its
administrators, as well as their worldview. To this end,
partnerships have been established with several higher education
institutions," he said.
The Minister also stated that starting from the 2024/2025
academic year, the preparation of specialists in cultural law at
the master's level will be implemented at Baku State
University.
"Currently, there are four students studying in the Azerbaijani
section and one student in the English section of this
specialization. In addition, the realization of specialist training
in the fields of 'Cultural Manager', 'Cultural Law', 'Cultural and
Creative Industries', and 'Cultural Heritage' in partnership with
ADA University and several universities in Italy within the
framework of a dual program will play a significant role in
achieving the goals set in the field of culture."
Adil Karimli also spoke about new approaches being implemented
in the recruitment of teachers, directors, and deputy directors to
improve the staffing of art schools, with this process being
conducted electronically through a competitive selection
process.
"New approaches are being implemented in the recruitment of
teachers, directors, and deputy directors to improve the staffing
of art schools, with this process being conducted electronically
through a competitive selection process. Sixty-five percent of the
newly hired teachers hold higher education degrees. The number of
individuals with higher education in the field of culture has
increased by 4.13 percent compared to 2023. This is an ongoing
process, and our goal is to further increase this number," Adil
Karimli said.
He emphasized that the Culture Ministry also focuses on
assessing the knowledge and skills of teachers working in artistic
educational institutions. To this end, the certification of
teachers is planned to take place between 2025 and 2026.
Speaking about the activities of museums and art galleries, the
Minister noted that a registry and digital archive of the
Azerbaijan State Art Gallery has been created by the "Deloitte"
company, which is also continuing work on the inventory and
barcoding of exhibits at the Azerbaijan National Carpet Museum, the
Azerbaijan National History Museum, Azerbaijan State Museum of
Musical Culture, as well as National Museum of Azerbaijan
Literature.
In his speech, Adil Karimli pointed out that three films were
produced in 2023 with the support of the Culture Ministry and the
Cinema Agency, while in 2024, this number reached 21. The
production of 26 films is currently underway.
Speaking at the expanded collegium meeting on the Culture
Ministry's activities for 2023-2024, Adil Karimli said that in
recent times, the country's leadership has been paying close
attention to improving the material well-being of theater workers
and the technical equipment of theaters.
The Minister added that the "national" status has been awarded
to the Azerbaijan State Academic Drama Theatre, the Azerbaijan
State Theater of Young Spectators, and the Ganja State Drama
Theater.
Meanwhile, the "international" status has been awarded to the
Shusha State Musical Drama Theater. Efforts have been also made to
improve the level of cultural participation in the regions.
In 2023, an expert council was established to evaluate the
annual repertoires of theater and drama institutions, as well as
drama performances ordered by the state.
Also, "national" status was given to the Azerbaijan State
Academic Drama Theatre, and "leading" status was given to the
Shusha State Musical Drama Theater.
Moreover, International status was given to the International
Mugham Center.