Margarita Al, President of the World Organization of WOW Writers,
held a working meeting with Azerbaijani writers in Baku.
On February 21, the Natavan Club of the Writers' Union of Azerbaijan hosted a round table organized by the World Organization of Writers (WOW - World Organization of Writers) together with the Literary Foundation of Azerbaijan on the topic "World Organization of Writers WOW. Integration of Azerbaijani literature into the world's leading literary platforms." The event was attended by representatives of the World Organization of Writers, members of the Union of Writers of Azerbaijan, young authors, members of the Literary Council of the ANE, representatives of the ANE, public organizations of the Republic of Azerbaijan, as well as representatives of the media.
The event was moderated by the director of the Azerbaijan Literary Foundation, Varis Yolchuyev. The speaker of the round table is Margarita Al, President of the World Organization of Writers. The event was attended by Deputy Chairman of the SPR, Chairman of the Press Council of Azerbaijan Rashad Majid, Secretary of the Union for International Relations Selim Babullaoglu, Secretary of the SPR Elchin Huseynbeyli.
The speakers welcomed the World Organization of WOW Writers represented by the President of the Union, Margarita Al. It was noted in the speeches that the Writers' Union of Azerbaijan is interested in a decent representation of Azerbaijani literature in the world. The place of Azerbaijani literature at the international level, the work done and the work done were also noted. Special attention was paid to the young writers of Azerbaijan. And it was decided to delegate 2 young writers Mammadov Ulujay and Javanshir Intigam to the First Congress of the World Organization of Writers "WOW", which will be held in Nigeria, Abuja, April 4-6, 2024
Margarita Al, welcomed the participants of the conference in Azerbaijani, Kazakh and Russian, congratulated them on Mother Tongue Day and, as the author and head of the Eurasian Literary Project and Chairman of the Literary Council of the ANE, thanked the Heydar Aliyev Foundation, First Lady of Azerbaijan Mehriban Aliyeva, the Union of Writers of Azerbaijan, Varis Elchiev, the Assembly of the Peoples of Eurasia, the Secretary General of the ANE A. Yu. Belyaninova for supporting writers of the world and participating in the 2019 Eurasian Literary Festival, which was held at the highest level with the participation of writers from 52 countries of the world, a festival that became the best festival in Eurasia.
In her report, Margarita Al spoke about the main goals of the World Organization of Writers - to unite the creative efforts of writers of the world in the interests of the future of the humanitarian sphere, ensuring the decisive role of culture, literature and moral values in maintaining stability in the world. A working document, the WOW declaration, was also announced, which will be finalized and adopted at the First Congress of the World Organization of Writers "WOW". The WOW President listened to the wishes and additions of Azerbaijani writers and entered them into the minutes of the meeting.
The Coordinator of the WOW Award, writer Eldar Akhadov, spoke at the conference. He spoke about the competition, which is being held for the first time in the history of literary competitions, in 4 language categories (Russian, English, Arabic, English). On the part of Azerbaijani writers, a proposal was made to add a Turkic language group in the future and to provide maximum participation in the work of this language group.
Azerbaijan is of particular importance to the World Organization of Writers, as it was here that the idea of its creation was born. This initiative was proposed during the IV Eurasian Literary Festival LIFFT in 2019, when poet Margarita Al and writer Olzhas Suleimenov shared with the largest writers of Eurasia the idea of the urgent need to create a large-scale literary organization. In February 2023, at a meeting in Cairo, representatives of 18 countries signed a Memorandum of Intent on the creation of a World Organization of Writers and decided by a majority vote on the location of the WOW headquarters in the Russian Federation. In December 2023, the organization was officially registered. Now the organization unites writers from 69 countries.
On April 4-6, 2024, the first Congress of the World Organization of Writers will be held in Abuja, the capital of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, under the slogan: "We are people of the same planet." During the three working days of the Congress, the first working meeting of the Congress participants in offline and online format, the celebration of the XXV UNESCO World Poetry Day and the innovative business Forum "Eurasia + Africa", the VII World Literary Festival "WOW-LiFFt", as well as the World Cultural and Educational Forum "Modern Problems of the Humanitarian modernization", the idea of which belongs to UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador, Co-Chairman of the General Council of the Assembly of Peoples of Eurasia, poet Alexandra Ochirova.
The Pan-African Writers Association "PAWA", headed by Dr. Wale Okediran, Gold Laureate of the VI Open Eurasian Literary Festival of LIftF Festivals, is the host party.
Information support for the Congress events is provided by the Global Cooperation of Media Global Media platform, which has signed a cooperation agreement with WOW, RIA Novosti, as well as a number of leading media outlets in Egypt, India, Arab countries and CIS member countries, among which the main literary information portal of Azerbaijan "Literature and Culture" has joined", winner of the award of the Committee of Culture of Turkic-speaking Countries "The best media of the Turkic world in 2023".
The World Organization of Writers was supported by outstanding writers of the world: the legendary poet from Korea - Ko Eun, the writer of the world from Kazakhstan - Olzhas Suleimenov, the poet of the world and Russia Konstantin Kedrov, the Nigerian Nobel laureate, Professor Wole Shoinki and other famous poets and writers.
The Nigerian partners of the Congress are working to ensure that the Congress is held at a global level and are ready to ensure the participation of high-ranking government officials, including the President of the country, as well as representatives of ministries of Nigeria, distinguished guests from around the world. Among the announced collective participants of WOW events are the Assembly of the Peoples of Eurasia, the Pan-African Writers Association and other organizations advocating the preservation of traditional values, the formation of a multipolar world order based on mutual respect, trust and beneficial economic cooperation.
The purpose of the visit of the leadership of the World Organization of Writers to Baku was to establish cooperation with Azerbaijani writers, strengthen the role of Azerbaijan in the development of world cultural relations and ensure decent representation of Azerbaijani literature on the world's largest literary platforms.
