The first day of UNEC Economy Forum ends successfully
UNEC Economy Forum 2021, dedicated to the 30th anniversary of the restoration of state independence, started its work on December 1 with the support of the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Economy of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the organization of UNEC.
The participants of the Forum, whose motto is “Way Victory”, first visited the Alley of Honor, paid tribute to the memory of national leader Heydar Aliyev and prominent ophthalmologist Zarifa Aliyeva; laid wreaths and flowers at their graves. After that, they visited the Alley of Martyrs. The memory of the martyrs who died for the independence and territorial integrity of Azerbaijan was honored and flowers were laid at their graves.
An exhibition organized by Karabakh Revival Foundation and UNEC Design School was viewed as part of the UNEC Economy Forum held at Gulustan Palace. At the opening of the forum, the memory of the martyrs of the Great Patriotic War was commemorated with a minute of silence, followed by the national anthem.
Welcoming the participants, the rector of UNEC, chairman of the Forum Professor Adalat Muradov said that the first meeting of the forum has been dedicated to the meeting of world-famous scientist, Nobel Laureate Aziz Sanjar with young researchers. Saying that Aziz Sanjar will share his recommendations with young researchers, winners of international Olympiads, children of martyrs studying in higher education institutions, distinguished by their knowledge and skills, the rector spoke about the life of the scientist and described him as a role model.
Noting that the motto of the forum is “Way of Victory”, Professor Adalat Muradov said that each Azerbaijani’s heart beats with pride today; thanks to the heroism of our victorious army, the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, Mr. Ilham Aliyev, our people are happy for liberation of our lands, which have been under occupation for more than 30 years. The rector stressed that the victory of our country on the military field would be achieved in the field of science, too. The forum would make important contributions in this direction.
Making a speech at the forum, Nobel Laureate, Professor Aziz Sanjar expressed his satisfaction with being in Azerbaijan again and spoke about the victory of Azerbaijan in the Patriotic War: “Karabakh is in the hearts of all of us. With the victory of Karabakh, Azerbaijan achieved a lot. The victory in Karabakh was not easy, we gave many martyrs. The whole Turkic world is grateful to the martyrs. Freedom is not given, freedom is gained. No one can occupy the land of another state and make it acceptable to the world for many years. Our Azerbaijani brothers taught the whole world by liberating Karabakh. ”
Sharing his recommendations with young scientists, Professor Aziz Sanjar spoke about his scientific activity and his work to win the Nobel Prize. The scientist spoke about the importance of teaching science to girls and boys around the world, teaching them the skills to experiment from an early age: “To compete with the world, we must create a boomerang. Basic knowledge is important. In addition, we must give girls the same educational opportunities as boys, and allow them to realise their practice at an early age. Politics and science must be distinguished. Opportunities must be created for scientists. When they start doing science, these people should be given freedom and independence, they should not be told to “do this, do that.”
After the speech, which was met with great interest, Aziz Sanjar answered the questions of the participants.
The forum continued with the reports of the 1st panel on “Azerbaijan’s future development strategy: global trends and local factors”.
Speaking at the panel, UNEC Rector Professor Adalat Muradov said that the forum which is intended to be held annually aims to become a platform for discussion of issues important for the future development of our country. He said the forum coincided with a period of great historical events and processes. The biggest national problem, which has been waiting for many years, has been resolved and Karabakh has been liberated from occupation. The rector said that the great victory achieved under the leadership of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief Ilham Aliyev opened new prospects for the development of Azerbaijan and the South Caucasus as a whole. The unprecedented start of the process of reconstruction of Karabakh once again drew the world’s attention to Azerbaijan, its economic opportunities and economic power.
In his speech, Professor Adalat Muradov touched upon the new socio-economic problems created by the pandemic: “… The Fourth Industrial Revolution and the digitalization that is taking place in this context pose new and rather urgent challenges to global economic growth; Global vaccine policy, governance challenges, deepening income and wealth inequality, and growing inequality in access to social and economic opportunities require more adequate policies for more equitable economies. The rapid growth of digitalization, inequalities in the process of digital transformation of economies, the difficulties in the formation of a high-tech production ecosystem based on high technologies are leading to radical changes in the paradigms of global economic development. The growing digital divide between countries lays the foundations for a kind of future and deeper economic inequality. ”
The rector noted that all these and other issues would be discussed in detail by various world′ s influential scientists and experts at various panels of the Forum for three days.
At the panel moderated by UNEC Vice-Rector Neman Muradli, Grzegorz Witold Kołodko, Professor of Kozminiski University, Poland, Massimiliano Castelli, Head of Strategy Department, UBS Bank, Switzerland, Gianvito Lanzolla, Professor of Strategy and digital transformation at Bayes Business School; Yermolai Solzhenitsyn Managing Director of the Moscow Office of McKinsey & Company in Russia have made a speech on the topic. The foreign guests spoke about the problems in this direction and ways to solve them, and announced trends.
Then the meeting of the professor of Kozminiski University, Poland, Grzegorz Witold Kołodko was held with scientists. The Polish professor G.W. Kołodko spoke about globalization and its impact on the socio-economic sphere, and answered questions from participants on the topic.
Within the UNEC Economy Forum, a protocol on institutional cooperation was signed between UNEC and Labour and Social Security Education Research Center of the Republic of Turkey (CASGEM).
The document signed between the rector of UNEC Professor Adalat Muradov and deputy minister of Labour and Social Security Prof. Dr. Lutfihak Alpkan envisages the implementation of joint research, training programs and projects, exchange of experience and knowledge of employees, joint research and consulting activities, cooperation in digital education technologies.
The forum will last until December 3.