Baku holding first meeting of ‘Goodwill Meridians’ volunteer event (PHOTO)

BAKU, Azerbaijan, Feb. 18

Trend:

First meeting of the Caspian volunteering school titled “Goodwill Meridians” is being held in the building of the Azerbaijani Ministry of Ecology in Baku, Trend reports.

The project is being implemented by the Russian North-South Political Science Center with the support of the Presidential Grants Fund, as well as the Ministry of Ecology of Azerbaijan.

The project is aimed at establishing relations among representatives of youth volunteer organizations and movements of the Caspian countries for the implementation and scaling up of joint projects in the field of volunteering.

The first meeting of the school is being held in Azerbaijan, where 2020 has been declared the Year of Volunteers.

The project partners are Trend News Agency, Baku Network and the Unity Press Club of Russia.

Among the project participants are representatives of Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Russia – young people involved in volunteering, heads and activists of volunteer organizations and movements, students having practical experience in volunteer campaigns and projects, as well as creative idea initiators who successfully passed the selection during open competition of the best socially significant projects in the field of volunteering.

The meeting was opened by Executive Director of the North-South Political Science Center Angelica Trapeznikova. Then the guests were greeted by Head of the Department of Environmental Education and Public Relations of the Ecological Education and Training Center of the Azerbaijani Ministry of Education Saira Mammadova. Then Head of the Ecological Education and Training Center of the Azerbaijani Ministry of Education Firuza Sultanzade delivered speech.

Head of the Expert Council of the Baku Network Elkhan Alasgarov and Head of the Financial and Legal Department of Formula 1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix Elchin Safarov also made the welcoming speeches.

In his speech, Alasgarov stressed that volunteering is one of the most successful formats of the joint activity of a citizen, society and the state, uniting people around common intentions. Volunteering is also a school of patriotism, an example of affection and service to people, the state, national and spiritual values.

The work program of the meeting envisages holding of training, master classes and discussion panels. The best practices of volunteer work in various fields in the Caspian countries will be considered and discussed there.

Those who will attend the classes will also have the opportunity of obtaining skills, practices and competency that in the future will contribute to more active self-organization of volunteers in various fields of activity and serve the successful solution of regional problems in the field of public diplomacy, the development of humanitarian relations and intercultural dialogue.

Taking into account that 2020 is the year of the 75th anniversary of the Great Victory, much attention in the program of events will be paid to volunteer work in preserving the historical memory of the World War II and affirming the significance of the Great Victory gained as a result of the unity of peoples of the former Soviet Union.

There will be a presentation and an award ceremony for the winners of the regional contest of the best socially significant projects in the field of volunteering “Good Will Meridians” within the forum.

The first meeting of the Caspian Volunteering School will end on February 19.