BAKU, Azerbaijan, Feb. 2
Trend:
Nizami Ganjavi International Center is honored to announce it’s Nizami Ganjavi International Award 2021 recipients:
Rt. Hon. Helen Clark, Prime Minister of New Zealand 1999-2008, Administrator of UNDP 2009-2017
Hon. Wendy Fisher, President of the Board of Trustees of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation
Prof. Muhammad Yunus, Nobel Peace Prize Recipient 2006.
Nizami Ganjavi, the greatest representative of the Eastern Renaissance, who was born in the 12th century in the town of Ganja, Azerbaijan and represented the quintessence of world literature and philosophy in his immortal work “Khamsa” (Five) via the aesthetic power of his art. Humanity and love is the motif at the very heart of Nizami Ganjavi’s poetry and the poet regarded it as his sacred mission to apply every ounce of creativity to the service of his people. In this lies the immortality and eternal youth of Nizami Ganjavi’s art through the centuries.
His works have been translated into Western as well as into Eastern languages from time to time and played their role in humanity’s moral development. Nizami epitomized the global citizen of his day. Living in Ganja, where the crossing of major trade routes brought together travelers from many regions and faiths, his work celebrates diversity and tolerance. Cultures mingled freely in the teahouses where traders and caravans stopped to rest – Persian and Arabic, pre-and post-Islamic, Greek, Indian and even African. Growing up in such a culturally opulent and inclusive city, Nizami understood the value of understanding others in order to create a harmonious shared society.
The themes of his work include cross-cultural understanding, peaceful coexistence and respect among classes, peoples and nations; gender equality; and the ideal leadership to best benefit the community and nation.
To celebrate the great Azerbaijan poet Nizami Ganjavi, for the many gifts he has given us, for the inspiration he has bequeathed to the artists of the world, for the wisdom that is buried in his multi-layered works and for the profound humanity that calls to the better angels of our nature through the centuries and into the future. In 2012, The Nizami Ganjavi International Center established the “Nizami Ganjavi International Award” to be presented to very distinguished personalities and institutions embodying the very values that Nizami promoted through his poetry.
Tolerance, Dialogue, Understanding, Learning and Shared Societies. Among previous recipients the Center is honored to have:
Margaret Thatcher, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom 1979-1990
William Jefferson Clinton, President of the United States 1993-2001
Suleyman Demirel, President of Turkey 1993-2000
Henry A. Kissinger, United States Secretary of State 1973-1977
Boutros Boutros-Ghali, Secretary General of the United Nations 1992-1996
Rosen Plevneliev, President of Bulgaria 2012-2017
His Majesty King Abdullah Bin Al-Hussain of Jordan
Mehriban Aliyeva, First Vice-President of the Republic of Azerbaijan
Marianna V. Vardinoyannis, Goodwill Ambassador of UNESCO
Ashraf Ghani, President of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan
on behalf of Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Kerry Kennedy, President
on behalf of late Senator John McCain Cindy McCain
Jeffrey Sachs, Special Adviser to the Secretary General on SDG
Kailash Satyarthi, Nobel Peace Laureate 2014