A conference dedicated to the public opinion poll "The place and role of children in family-society relations in Azerbaijan"

On October 19, 2022, a conference was held dedicated to the public opinion survey applied in the analytical report "The place and role of children in family-society relations in Azerbaijan" prepared by the Social Research Center on the order of the State Committee for Family, Women and Children Affairs.

---

The current situation regarding the provision of children's rights in Azerbaijan, as well as the results of the survey conducted in the analytical report on the level of awareness of national and international aspects in this direction, was discussed during the event.

Mr. Zahid Oruj, MP and Chairman of the Board of the Social Research Center (SRC), who moderated the event, welcomed the participants. He reminded about our glorious victory calendar and said that our victory in the Patriotic War erased the word "forced displaced" from the names of thousands of children. The MP said that the future of every state is built on a reliable generation, healthy children and pointed out that the next research project of SRC is dedicated to the children who are the future of the winning state.

Mr. Zahid Oruj noted that the research work commissioned by the State Committee and based on international experience in the field tries to study the phenomenon of family and children in the conditions of new social relations and communication revolution, to analyze the factors affecting the guarantee of children's rights and the development of the growing young generation. He informed about the previous studies conducted by the Center together with the Committee and shared his views on the results. At the end of his speech, Z. Oruj said that children, who make up 23.9% of the total population of Azerbaijan, are always surrounded by special care by the state and emphasized that important measures are being taken within the framework of the "Great Return" program for the return of children to their homeland and ensuring their rights.

Mrs.Bahar Muradova, the Chair of the State Committee greeted the participants of the event and wished success to the work of the conference. Speaking about the joint participation of the state and society in the direction of protecting children's rights and future plans, she said that activity in this field is responsible and honorable.

Mrs. Muradova emphasized that the impact of the world's processes on children and families, including regional problems, especially the conflict that Azerbaijan has faced in the past decades and the consequences caused by it, have not left an impact on the protection of children's rights. Noting that the purpose of preparing the study is to study the problems in this field, analyze the current situation, look for solutions, and determine measures for future plans in the strategies, the Chair pointed out the importance of assessing a number of issues in this field, along with the Committee, by other institutions, as well.

Pointing out that the report for the next period for the UN Committee on Children's Rights (CRC) will take place in January of next year, the Chair said that it is important in terms of the implementation of CRC recommendations, and the possibilities of the mentioned analysis will be used.

Mrs.Bahar Muradova drew attention to the analyzes and research conducted by the State Committee in a number of directions during the past year and said that 7 more analyzes will be conducted in various fields in the coming year, as well as analyzes in the near future in the field of developing the level of psycho-social services provided to families and children affected by the war. She said: "After the planned analyzes are completed, we will be able to implement our plans by seeing more clearly the perspectives for the next 5 years regarding the results of the work done in 2020-2025. The results and recommendations part of the analysis is quite important not only for state institutions but also for civil society and the media and joint activity is important, as well."

Later, a film was shown that reflected the state policy in the direction of educating children and the young generation and ensuring their rights.

Mrs. Tahira Allahyarova, a Member of the SRC Board of Directors and Professor stated that the main goal of the establishment of the Center is to bring scientific research-based policy and management tradition to Azerbaijan, and presented the results of the public opinion poll "The place and role of children in family-society relations in Azerbaijan". Giving detailed information about the conducted research, she said that the survey was conducted in 9 geographical and economic regions and 2400 respondents participated, in addition, quality-based research opinions were received from 24 experts.

T. Allahyarova, voicing the main messages of the research, drew attention to the need to develop content related to children on the Internet, bring children's programs to the Internet, and create quality Azerbaijani-language content related to children on social networks.

Mr. Hidayat Abdullayev, Deputy Minister of Labor and Social Protection of the Republic of Azerbaijan emphasized that the Ministry is implementing various measures in the field of social-economic development strategy and child care system in the direction of family policy implementation. He brought to attention the information about the work done in the field of ensuring children's access to social and psychological services and organizing their social protection.

Mrs. Indira Hajiyeva, Deputy Minister of Youth and Sports of the Republic of Azerbaijan, noted the importance of the survey as it touched on the current topic and drew attention to the directions related to the activity of the Ministry in the analysis. Emphasizing the importance of raising young people in a knowledgeable, capable and patriotic spirit from an early age, she drew attention to information about non-formal education.

Mrs. Aygun Aliyeva, executive director of the Agency for State Support to Non-Governmental Organizations, said that topics related to family, women's and children's problems are always discussed in the grant competitions held by the Agency every year. She added that a number of interesting facts included in the analysis will be taken into account when choosing grant topics in the future.

Mrs.Elnur Aliyev, head of the department of organization of extracurricular activities of the Ministry of Science and Education of the Republic of Azerbaijan, noted that the formation of a healthy environment in educational institutions affects the development, training and education of children. He added that a number of points reflected in the analysis will be taken into account in the activity of the Ministry.

The event continued with a discussion. The participants expressed their opinion on the analysis and gave recommendations on the issues that concern them. Mr.Tahir Karimli, Mrs.Sadagat Valiyeva, and Mr.Elshad Mirbashiroglu, the MPs of the Republic of Azerbaijan put forward proposals regarding the improvement of measures taken in the field of children's rights during their speeches.