As part of the optional course on the Azerbaijani model of multiculturalism run at Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv with the support of Baku International Multiculturalism Center, students were informed about the history of Azerbaijan’s integral part Nagorno‑Karabakh and the high-level intercultural and interfaith dialogue implemented in Azerbaijan.   

The event was hosted by the library named after Samad Vurgun in Kyiv. Addressing the event, Marina Goncharuk, the teacher of the optional course and a representative of Baku International Multiculturalism Center in Ukraine, said: “Azerbaijan has always been a tolerant and multicultural country, where the rights of representatives of different ethnicities and religions are provided and respected at a high level. I’d like to note that Azerbaijan is a country which has suffered from Armenian occupation and today, when Azerbaijan is restoring its territorial integrity, Ukraine stands with Azerbaijan and supports its efforts to reinstate its internationally‑recognized right.”  

Galina Chebotaryova, the head of the Samad Vurgun library and a former participant of Baku International Humanitarian Forum, also delivered a speech in front of the students. She said that she was a first-hand witness of the high-level care for the preservation of the cultural and historical heritage of different ethnic and religious groups in Azerbaijan.

The students were given publications about the intercultural and interfaith dialogue in Azerbaijan published by Baku International Multiculturalism Center.

Note that the Department of Turkology of Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv offers courses on the Azerbaijani language, literature, culture and history.