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October 27, 2017

1st Conference of the Regional Development Public Association of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation takes place

1st Conference of the Regional Development Public Association of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation took place in Sabirabad district, October 27.

 

The Conference was attended by Assistant to the First Vice-president of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Executive Director of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation Anar Alakbarov, member of the Parliament, Chairperson of the Youth and Sports Committee of the National Assembly Fuad Muradov, RDPA volunteers, as well as representatives of various regions and international organizations.

 

First, the congratulation letter by First Vice-president of the Republic of Azerbaijan, President of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation Mehriban Aliyeva was read to the participants of the conference. It was stated in the letter: “Azerbaijan is a state pursuing its independent policy, with its strong position in the international arena. Construction and improvement works are underway in all cities and districts of the country, new education and medical establishments are built, and infrastructure projects implemented. The Heydar Aliyev Foundation too, from the very day of its establishment, has been seeking to solve various problems of the population, participating almost in all the spheres of the public life. Each project we have implemented aimed, first of all, at protecting citizens’ interests, providing support to those in need of help. When founding the Regional Development Public Association, our objective was to solve problems people were concerned of, by creating a constructive model of cooperation between state entities, non-government organizations, entrepreneurs and local population. I think we managed to do what we had set for ourselves. Successful results have been achieved towards strengthening the public control in regions, building the civil society, and implementing significant projects covering our country’s public-political and social-cultural life. I would like to underscore the role of the volunteers who have been active in the implementation of the projects, having joined the initiative of the Regional Development Public Association. Being the Azerbaijani youth, you have become active participants in building the civil society in our country, having worthily reacted to the high attention and care shown by the state towards you. New goals, new duties are expecting you in the future. I wish all of you successes in this honourable and benevolent, at the same time, responsible job. I am confident extensive and fruitful discussions to be held at this Conference will contribute to implementing purposeful events in your future activities.”

 

Speaking at the Conference, Assistant to the First Vice-president of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Executive Director of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation Anar Alakbarov noted that the Heydar Aliyev Foundation has set, as its primary goal, serving our people, relying on the ideas of humanism, since the very first day of its operation. According to him, the Heydar Aliyev Foundation has always given priority to the implementation of programmes and projects aiming at the strata of the society who are more in need of care, i.e. children deprived of parental care, martyrs’ families, refugees and IDPs, the old, and children suffering from various diseases. The primary objective of founding the Regional Development Public Association was to help remove problems facing the citizens residing in the regions, and issues they are concerned about.

 

Anar Alakbarov emphasized that the successful implementation of the regional development strategy under the leadership of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev have not only had a positive impact on the development of the regions, but also the whole Azerbaijan, and successful execution of the measures provided in the State Programme for social and economic development of the regions has launched the new phase in the country’s social and economic development. Moreover, noting that people have appealed to different entities seeking solution of their problems, Anar Alakbarov said the Regional Development Public Association started its operation as an intermediate organization delivering such problems to the organizations concerned.

 

Thanking the entities that approached the appeals received from citizens with sensitiveness and showed readiness for cooperation, Anar Alakbarov noted with regret that there were still organizations that did not show necessary attention to the appeals of citizens.

 

Emphasizing the role played by RDPA volunteers in the organization’s activities, Anar Alakbarov said that they have taken active part in all events of the Public Association, and that there is currently a corps comprised of 350 volunteers. Close participation of the volunteers in sports events, marathons, charity actions, ecological projects, particularly, in tree-planting campaigns, is worth of esteem.

 

Thereafter, a documentary about the activities of the Regional Development Public Association was shown. Establishment of RDPA, meetings with citizens in the regions, acceptance of appeals, implementation of projects covering various areas and works carried out at RDPA in connection with voluntary activities have been reflected in the film.  

 

Speaking at the event, founder of the Great Britain’s United Aid for Azerbaijan (UAFA Azerbaijan) organization Gwendoline Burchell gave information about the projects jointly implemented by the Regional Development Public Association and UAFA Azerbaijan. It was mentioned that in the framework of the memorandum signed between RDPA and UAFA Azerbaijan, representatives of UAFA Azerbaijan have had meetings with over 300 low-income families and those in need of social support in Bilasuvar and Jalilabad districts, and have provided them with organizational and legal support towards extending the use of services of various state entities, developing household entrepreneurship and sustainable agricultural possibilities, as well as strengthening the healthcare, education and social services network aiming at children, by using contemporary methodologies. Gwendoline Burchell said they were interested in continuing implementation of joint projects further.

 

Head of the Regional Development Public Association’s department for work with volunteers, projects and public affairs Tural Gambarov gave information about the future social projects of RDPA. İt’s been told that RDPA’s project related to the development of tourism will mostly embrace a number of innovative offers in the touristic sphere, examining the historical and geographical potential of the regions. They include an electronic map, electronic database, and various electronic services in the sphere of tourism. This multi-phase project will, by providing additional support to the growing tourism potential, become a useful database for tourists travelling to regions. In order for regional population to benefit from the possibilities of this project, implementation of additional actions has been provided. Moreover, implementation of projects on developing household enterprises with a view to extending the possibilities of low-income families’ making profit and ensuring employment, inclusive education project, as well as  projects on expanding physically and mentally restricted children’s education possibilities are provided for in the projects.

 

Speaking at the conference on behalf of the RDPA volunteers, Gulpari Karimli brought to attention that the public association has been attaching great importance to attracting the youth to voluntary activity and their networking across the country, and that various projects and programmes are being implemented, and mass participation of volunteers in a number of events has been secured. She said all the initiatives implemented have focused on instilling in the youth the spirit of patriotism and traditions of statehood, increasing the sense of social responsibility among the volunteers, and their individual development.

 

“The Azerbaijani youth, having always felt the care and attention of the state, has been taking active part in the country’s development, holding the statehood traditions high. You can be sure that we, the youth of independent Azerbaijan, as volunteers of the Regional Development Public Association, will never deny our efforts for the development of our country in our further activities.” – said Gulpari Karimli.

 

Speaking at the event, chairperson of the National Assembly’s Youth and Sports Committee Fuad Muradov talked about the achievements reached in the sphere of youth and sports, social and economic development of the regions under the leadership of President Ilham Aliyev. Fuad Muradov said the establishment of the Regional Development Public Association has been an important event in the regions’ life. Drawing attention to the initiatives shown by RDPA towards conducting public control in the regions, developing the dialogue between the regional citizens and state and municipal bodies, the MP valued the activities of the organization towards examining and solving citizens’ social problems as the continuation of the benevolent works carried out by the Heydar Aliyev Foundation under the leadership of the Foundation’s President Mehriban Aliyeva.

 

Messages of thanks were given, at the meeting, by Anar Alakbarov and Fuad Muradov to the volunteers who have participated in the activities of RDPA, as well as in the Ganja Marathon-2017. At the end of the first part of the conference, an appeal was read on behalf of the participants to President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev. The appeal states that the objective of the Regional Development Public Association, founded in 2016 following the initiative of First Vice-president of the Republic of Azerbaijan, President of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation Mehriban Aliyeva, is to implement project essential for the building of a civil society, and provide multilateral support to reforms being carried out by the state, including measures taken for the development of the regions. “As a support to state programmes, the Regional Development Public Association has been implementing projects in the spheres of science, education, healthcare, culture, sports, social issues, environment, ICT, and infrastructure.” Over the course of the short period of our operation, various events have taken place towards formation of a human capital, protection of the population’s health, improving social and cultural insurance, large-scale works have been carried out with people in need of special care and physically restricted persons, and, numerous problems of the citizens were solved through cooperation with relevant state entities.”

 

Concluding the appeal, the Regional Development Public Association has declared that they will work with greater enthusiasm in the name of Azerbaijan’s progress, social and economic development of the regions, remaining loyal, in their activities, to such values as humanism, serving the people, and the state.

 

The conference continued its work at panel sessions.

 

In the framework of the event, Anar Alakbarov and Fuad Muradov met representatives of the Regional Development Public Association. Discussions took place at the meeting on increasing public activity of the youth in the social life of the country, attracting them to voluntary activity, participation in public events, works with citizens, showing initiatives for putting forward new projects etc.  

 

In the framework of the visit to Sabirabad district, RDPA representatives met residents of a new settlement built on the territory of Ulajly village of Sabirabad district by the Ministry of Emergency Situations based on the relevant Resolutions of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan with a view to removing the aftermath of the natural disaster due to the Kur and Araz rivers’ overflow.

 

At the meeting, Anar Alakbarov gave information about the works done, projects implemented by the Foundation, inviting everyone to closely participate in the activities of RDPA.

 

Thanking First Vice-president of the Republic of Azerbaijan, President of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation Mehriban Aliyeva for the care and attention shown towards the citizens, the villagers, expressing contentment with the activity of the Regional Development Public Association, said they would support the future activities of the organization at their personal initiative.

 

Based on a collective appeal received by the Regional Development Public Association from district residents with regard to issuing them excerpts from the state register for their houses, excerpts from the state register were prepared, at the state’s cost, by the State Committee for Property Issues, in the preliminary phase, for 105 out of 436 houses in the newly built settlement on the territory of Ulajaly village and in the surrounding residential areas, with a view to removing the aftermath of the natural disaster, and presented to the owners of the houses. At the same time, the Committee has provided on-site legal service to citizens who had applied but had shortages in their documents, giving them comprehensive explanation as to where and how to get such missing documents. At RDPA’s initiative, 36 houses lacking gas supply have been provided with natural gas by “Azerigas” Production Company, while 9 houses without electric supply were provided with electricity by “Azerishyg” Open Joint-stock Company, and meters were installed respectively. 


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