Azerbaijani President and his spouse attend opening of Baku International Humanitarian Forum (PHOTOS)

Azerbaijan, Baku, Oct.4 / Trend/

The 2nd Baku International Humanitarian Forum has today started in Azerbaijani capital at the Heydar Aliyev Center.

President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and his spouse Mehriban Aliyeva attended the opening ceremony.

Baku International Humanitarian Forum is a high-profile global scientific and political platform for tackling the challenges facing humanity in the 21st century, holding a wide spectrum of dialogues, discussions and the exchange of views on a wide range of issues of humanitarian cooperation.

The Forum's participants include world-renowned statesmen, Nobel Prize's winners in various fields of science, leaders of influential international organizations, and representatives of political, scientific and cultural elite of the world, who can form international social and political opinion.

On October 10-11, 2011, the First Baku International Humanitarian Forum took place under the motto "The 21st century: hopes and challenges" in accordance with a decision of the First Azerbaijan-Russia Forum on Humanitarian Cooperation, which was held in Baku on the initiative of the presidents of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Russian Federation in 2010.

The Forum featured lively discussions on a topical issues including multiculturalism, achievements and problems; modern technologies that changed the world; convergence of sciences; biotechnologies and ethical problems; humanitarian aspects of economic development models; social journalism and high technologies; traditional value systems in postmodern culture.

Supporting the Baku Declaration, which reflects the position of the Forum`s participants, and taking into consideration the relevancy of humanitarian issues highlighted at the Forum, the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan signed an Order "On the Outcomes of Baku International Humanitarian Forum" on October 24, 2011.

Under the Presidential Order, a decision has been made to traditionally host the Baku International Humanitarian Forum.

The initiators of the Forum are President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin.

The main goal of Baku International Humanitarian Forum is creating humanitarian and integration impulses, along with bringing humanitarian problems to the forefront of global agenda.

The task of the Forum is to build a theoretical and practical ground for the exchange of ideas, theoretical and practical knowledge, as well as for constructive debates and discussions.

Outcomes of the Forum are embodied in recommendations and calls to international organizations, states and every person separately.

The 2nd Baku International Humanitarian Forum is being attended by 694 delegates from 70 countries and 7 influential international organizations, including 10 former presidents, 11 Nobel Prize winners, five emeritus professors, 10 senior officials at the world`s leading international organizations, and 55 prominent public and political figures.

The Forum will feature round table meetings on the following directions:

• Humanitarian aspects of economic growth models;
• Converging technologies and outlines of the future;
• Modern mass media and new challenges;
• Traditional system of values in a post-modernist culture;
• New methodological approaches to the processes of globalization in the 21st century;
• Technologies, changing a view on modern medicine, and molecular biology;
• Multiculturalism and cultural self-consciousness;
• Multiculturalism in the life of a society.

Tours to the capital city and regions of Azerbaijan will be organized for the participants of the two-day Forum. They will also be familiarized with the Azerbaijani people`s rich cultural legacy and art.