An international scientific conference dedicated to the 150th anniversary of Mehmet Akif Ersoy was held at the Nizami Ganjavi Institute of Literature of the Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences on the topic of "The great harbinger of the national independence march and independent statehood".
Before the event, the Mehmet Akif Ersoy Center was opened at the Institute of Literature. At the opening ceremony, the president of ANAS, the director of the Institute of Literature, academician Isa Habibbayli, the head of the Mehmet Akif Ersoy foundation of the Republic of Turkey, Ruyan Soydan, the rector of Turkey's Burdur Mehmet Akif Ersoy University, prof. Dr. Hüseyin Dalgar, director of the Baku Yunus Emre Institute Selcuk Karakılıç and the staff of the Institute of Literature participated.
After the opening, an exhibition of Mehmet Akif Ersoy's life and activities, as well as his own works, was viewed.
Academician Isa Habibbeyli, the President of ANAS, Director of the Institute of Literature, opened the scientific conference with his opening speech, saying that Azerbaijan-Turkey, who share the same language, religion, culture, and ancestry, have thousands of years of friendship and brotherhood. He emphasized that the basis of close relations between our states in modern times is the Great Leader's "One nation, two states" strategy. The head of ANAS noted that these relations are at their peak in recent years thanks to the close friendship and fraternal relations of President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and cooperation between our countries in all fields.
Academician Isa Habibbeyli said that studies devoted to the history, literature, and culture of Turkey are conducted in the institutions of the Humanities and Social Sciences departments of ANAS, and that these studies will be enriched with the opening of the Mehmet Akif Ersoy Center at the Institute of Literature. He said that important researches were carried out on the life and literary activity of Mehmet Akif Ersoy, especially at the Institute of Literature, and there was close cooperation with Burdur Mehmet Akif Ersoy University.
Academician Isa Habibbeyli expressed his gratitude to the Baku Yunus Emre Institute for the support he showed at the opening of the center and for preparing the bust of Mehmet Akif Ersoy. He noted that the new center is another scientific contribution to the brotherhood of Azerbaijan and Turkey and will play the role of a scientific bridge between our countries.
Then Muhittin Macit, Cultural and Publicity Adviser of Turkish Embassy in Azerbaijan, Rector of Burdur Mehmet Akif Ersoy University, prof. Dr. Hüseyin Dalgar, director of the Baku Yunus Emre Institute Selcuk Karakılıç and head of the Mehmet Akif Ersoy Foundation of the Republic of Turkey Ruyan Soydan spoke highly of the opening of the center and expressed their gratitude to those who worked hard.
The teacher of Nakhchivan State University and sculptor Elkhan Zeynalov, who made the bust of Mehmet Akif Ersoy in front of the newly opened Mehmet Akif Ersoy Center at the Institute of Literature, said in his speech that the outstanding independence poet is the pride of the entire Turkic world.
At the conference, Ruyan Soydan, head of the Mehmet Akif Ersoy Foundation of the Republic of Turkey, "Mehmet Akif Ersoy's world of lore", Zafar Gölen, professor of Burdur Mehmet Akif Ersoy University, "Burdur Mehmet Akif Ersoy University Mehmet Akif Ersoy Center's archive", department of literature of Turkish peoples of Nizami Ganjavi Institute of Literature of ANAS. Director, Doctor of Philological Sciences, Professor Mammad Aliyev, "Creative ideals of Mehmet Akif Ersoy and Ahmet Javad" and senior researcher of the Department of Literature of Turkic Peoples, Doctor of Philological Sciences, Associate Professor Eshgane Babayeva gave a report on "Mehmet Akif's creativity in the context of comparisons with Azerbaijani literature".
