On December 16, the nomination document “Miniature Art” prepared jointly by Turkey, Azerbaijan, Iran and Uzbekistan was discussed and decided to include this cultural element in the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, the Ministry of Culture told QİA.AZ.
The adoption of such an important decision for our country was possible due to First Vice-President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, President of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation, UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador Mehriban Aliyeva’s support and the joint activities of the Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Permanent Mission of the Republic of Azerbaijan to UNESCO and the National Commission of the Republic of Azerbaijan for UNESCO.
Azerbaijani miniature art, which is an interesting and rich part of the art of the peoples of the Middle East, has a special place in the history of world art. The multinational nomination document states that miniature art is considered an integral part of the social and cultural identity of the societies of the countries presenting it. Each miniature works contributes to the existence of historical and cultural heritage, strengthens the cultural ties between the past and the present, and serves as a historical document with a rich visual content that reflects traditional architecture, ceremonies, cultural events and many other areas of daily life.
With the support of the First Vice-President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, President of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation, Goodwill Ambassador of UNESCO and ICESCO Mehriban Aliyeva, who has rendered invaluable services in expanding cooperation with UNESCO, protection and promotion of our cultural heritage worldwide, currently, “Dada Gorgud’s heritage: Epic culture, folk tales and music”, the preparation of kamancha and performing art, dolma making and sharing tradition, Azerbaijani mugam singing, lavash cooking and sharing tradition, Lahij coppersmith art, ashug art, Novruz holiday, carpet art, tar performance, the art of kalagai are included in the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, as well as the Chovgan – traditional Karabakh equistrian game and “Yalli, traditional group dances of Nakhchivan” are on the list of cultural heritage.
The 15th meeting of the UNESCO Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage is being held on December 14-19.
It should be noted that, as always, this time the Republic of Armenia tried to sabotage a few weeks before the meeting, and in the relevant protests sent to UNESCO, it was stated that the nomination document mentions issues related to Azerbaijan’s miniature art in Karabakh. . At the same time, they claimed that Karabakh miniature art belongs only to Armenians and Christian heritage. Azerbaijan responded to the provocative country in accordance with the principles of international law, the spirit of the 2003 Convention and historical facts.