Russia, Moscow, 11 February / Trend corr R. Agayev / A charity concert "We Love the Life' took place in the Baku Cinema in Moscow. It was organized by the representative office of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation in Russia, the inter-regional public youth organization World of the Hard of Hearing with the assistance of the organization Country of the Deaf.
"I am very pleased to see the representative office of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation in Russia holding this event today. We tried to do our best to create a merry and festive atmosphere. I believe together we will continue holding lots of such events and doing good deeds," Leyla Aliyeva, the head of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation's Russia Office, said when opening the event.
Warmly welcoming the guests and participants of the concert, she stressed that the Heydar Aliyev Foundation is carrying out wide spread work in the social field of Azerbaijan, in the construction of schools, preservation of cultural values, restoration of monuments, publication of books, and numerous health projects.
"I see plenty of beautiful, cheery and inspired children in this hall. I wish you health, happiness and luck. Always be as cheerful and courageous as you are now. And we in turn will do all that is possible to make your wishes come true in Russia," Leyla Aliyeva said to disabled children.
Aleksand Punishin, the advisor to the chairman of the Council of the Federation of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation, emphasized that the charity concert had been organized by the Heydar Aliyev Foundation. "That means our friends extended a helping hand to us and that is very pleasant," he said after reading out a complimentary address on behalf of the Council of the Federation's chair Sergey Mironov. In that complimentary address Mironov, who is also the Speaker of the Upper Chamber of the Russian Parliament, expressed his deep gratitude to the Russian Office of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation and to the head of the Foundation Leyla Aliyeva for organizing the concert 'We Love the Life' planned for disabled children and their families, as well as for other charity actions in Russia. "The Heydar Aliyev Foundation is doing a good deed when making people familiar with the traditions and cultural achievements of the Azerbaijani nation, with which Russians have had friendly neighbour relations for many years. I think accustoming a person to cultural values of our nations since childhood spiritually enriches him and extends his ideology," Mironov's complimentary address says.
The Russian MP Natalya Karpovich, the first deputy chair of the parliamentary committee for family, woman and children's affairs, noted that the disabled are full value members of society. "I wish prosperity to the Heydar Aliyev Foundation, for it does a very good deed for all us. We all have to learn about being kind and real, and to make everyone equal in our country," Karpovish said.
The Azerbaijani Ambassador to Russia Polad Bulbuloglu also voiced his gratitude to the Heydar Aliyev Foundation and its office in Russia for organizing the festival for children. "Our duty is to help children with restricted physical opportunities at least morally. If these children can sing, play and express themselves through art, so they are full value people," Bulbuloglu said. According to the diplomat, the fact that the event took place in the Baku Cinema means that the children will know that not only their country loves and takes care of them, but also other countries, which have friendly relations with Russia. "Today, we live in different sovereign republics, but maintain relations. There are feelings making us close. One of such feelings is our attitude towards children. We are happy to somehow help the children," Bulbuloglu said.
The head of the Moscow State Socio-Humanitarian Institute Vagif Bayramov voiced his hope for further development of such actions. Andreas Liepa, the chair of the Charitable Foundation named after Maris Liepa, also stressed the importance of implementing joint charity projects.
Russian and Azerbaijani disabled children, the dance group Angels of Hope and well-known singers performed at the concert, which began with a song by popular Russian singer Diana Gurtskaya. Russian folk dances, the Azerbaijani national Karabakh dance, a soldier dance, songs by popular singers accompanied by sign language and many other compositions performed by the disabled children left nobody unmoved.
The event took place in the Year of Family and was dedicated to dialogue amongst cultures, tolerance, and cooperation in Russia. It is the first time such a charity action took place in Russia. It promoted approach among different nations and overcoming stereotypes towards not only disabled children but also inter-cultural interaction and understanding of different nations living in Russia.