Baku hosts second subregional UNESCO conference

On October 3, the second annual subregional conference and practical field seminar on the Volga-Caspian Silk Road Corridor, jointly organized by the Ministry of Culture of Azerbaijan and UNESCO's World Heritage Centre, commenced at the National Museum of History of Azerbaijan, Azernews reports.

Representatives from Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, the Russian Federation, Turkmenistan, and Iran are participating in the event.

The aim of the conference is to identify the cultural heritage sites to be nominated for the "Volga-Caspian Silk Road Corridor Transboundary Nomination," and to engage in discussions on the relevant documents with government representatives, national coordinators, and local and international experts from the five countries involved in the corridor.

Additionally, the program of the conference and seminar, taking place from October 3 to 6, 2024, in Baku, includes continued efforts to prepare documents and recommendations for activities related to the Volga-Caspian Silk Road Heritage Corridor; inventory and scientific documentation of heritage sites; establishing criteria for prioritizing components in the selection process for the transnational nomination of the Volga-Caspian Corridor to the World Heritage List; agreeing on the coordination mechanism and the role of the Secretariat in the nomination process; conducting underwater heritage research and linking these with archaeological studies of land routes; and continuing thematic research on the Silk Roads by ICOMOS (International Council on Monuments and Sites), including the study of the Volga-Caspian Corridor.