The conference on "Public participation: initiatives and new challenges" was held under the organization of the State Committee for Family, Women and Children Affairs on July 6, 2023.

Civil society institutions, members of the Public Council under the Committee, representatives of non-governmental organizations, journalists and social network bloggers took part in the conference.

Mrs. Bahar Muradova, the chairperson of the State Committee on Family, Women and Children Affairs, greeted the guests and said that the two-year term of the Public Council, which operates under the State Committee, has ended and new elections have been held recently.

Despite the measures implemented according to the established state policy, the chairperson stressed that negative situations that violate human rights such as domestic violence, early marriage, evasion of education, involvement in forced labor, which worry us in society, are still happening, and noted that these directions are a priority for the Committee.

Mrs. Bahar Muradova said that today the social problems of citizens are shared through modern technologies rather than traditional methods, and said that the mutual cooperation of state institutions and civil society institutions, especially the use of social media, plays a big role in solving these issues. She spoke about the importance of expanding activities in the direction of the implementation of the obligations set by the laws and adopted documents, as well as the Sustainable Development Goals, as well as the powers of the relevant state bodies, and talked about future projects in this field.

Mrs. B. Muradova positively assessed the activity of the Public Council, which has been operating under the State Committee for the past two years, and congratulated the newly elected members, stressing that mutual cooperation will continue.

Mr. Sahib Mammadov, the former chairperson of the Public Council, the chairperson  of the "Citizens' Labor Rights Protection League" gave a report on the activities of the Public Council during the 2021-2023 term of office.

He said that the term of office of the Public Council coincided with the ongoing quarantine period related to the COVID-19 pandemic, and due to existing restrictions, the actions, meetings, and meetings of the Public Council were mostly held online.

Mrs. Aygun Aliyeva, executive director of the Agency for State Support to Non-Governmental Organizations, spoke about the activities of the Agency and the measures implemented.

Emphasizing the importance of the conference, Mrs. A. Aliyeva pointed out that the cooperation of state institutions with civil society can play an important role in solving the existing problems in the society. She noted the importance of education in this direction and added that public councils have the duty to come up with various public initiatives.

Mrs. Fariz Akbarov, the Chairperson of the Legal-SocialAssistance and Awareness Public Union, Chairman of the Public Council under the State Committee on Family, Women and Children Affairs, informed about the Council's Action Plan.

He said that 3 working groups were formed as a result of the discussion of various important issues at the meeting of the council. At the same time, a page of the council on social networks was created for the purpose of promotion and awareness on social networks. Through this page, the council actively broadcasts its activities and promptly responds to citizens' applications and proposals.

After the speeches, letters of thanks were presented to the members of the Public Council for their successful activities for the next 2 years.

In addition, the members of the Election Commission, which was created under the Committee for the purpose of organizing the election to the Public Council, were awarded with letters of thanks for the transparent organization of the elections.

At the same time, the credentials of the newly elected members of the Public Council were presented to the Committee.

The conference continued with discussions. During the exchange of ideas, representatives of non-governmental organizations voiced their suggestions and recommendations for the development of mutual cooperation.

Mr. Ali Panahov, representative of the Department of Work and Communication with Non-Governmental Organizations of the Administration of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, who expressed his opinion on the opinions expressed in the discussions, noted that the institution of civil society has developed further in recent years, and the attention of state institutions to this cooperation has seriously increased.

He said that the duty of public councils is to ensure communication between the state institution and citizens, to direct citizens to relevant services.

In the end, thanking the participants, the Chairperson of the Committee, Mrs. Bahar Muradova, said that we started such a discussion and found answers to a number of questions.

Drawing attention to the participation of the veterans of the Patriotic War in the conference, Mrs.Muradova highly appreciated their close participation in the activities of the Committee and the work of the centers and expressed her belief that the joint cooperation of the representatives of all civil society institutions with state institutions will continue on a wider level.

The conference on "Public participation: initiatives and new challenges" was held under the organization of the State Committee for Family, Women and Children Affairs on July 6, 2023.

Civil society institutions, members of the Public Council under the Committee, representatives of non-governmental organizations, journalists and social network bloggers took part in the conference.

Mrs. Bahar Muradova, the chairperson of the State Committee on Family, Women and Children Affairs, greeted the guests and said that the two-year term of the Public Council, which operates under the State Committee, has ended and new elections have been held recently.

Despite the measures implemented according to the established state policy, the chairperson stressed that negative situations that violate human rights such as domestic violence, early marriage, evasion of education, involvement in forced labor, which worry us in society, are still happening, and noted that these directions are a priority for the Committee.

Mrs. Bahar Muradova said that today the social problems of citizens are shared through modern technologies rather than traditional methods, and said that the mutual cooperation of state institutions and civil society institutions, especially the use of social media, plays a big role in solving these issues. She spoke about the importance of expanding activities in the direction of the implementation of the obligations set by the laws and adopted documents, as well as the Sustainable Development Goals, as well as the powers of the relevant state bodies, and talked about future projects in this field.

Mrs. B. Muradova positively assessed the activity of the Public Council, which has been operating under the State Committee for the past two years, and congratulated the newly elected members, stressing that mutual cooperation will continue.

Mr. Sahib Mammadov, the former chairperson of the Public Council, the chairperson  of the "Citizens' Labor Rights Protection League" gave a report on the activities of the Public Council during the 2021-2023 term of office.

He said that the term of office of the Public Council coincided with the ongoing quarantine period related to the COVID-19 pandemic, and due to existing restrictions, the actions, meetings, and meetings of the Public Council were mostly held online.

Mrs. Aygun Aliyeva, executive director of the Agency for State Support to Non-Governmental Organizations, spoke about the activities of the Agency and the measures implemented.

Emphasizing the importance of the conference, Mrs. A. Aliyeva pointed out that the cooperation of state institutions with civil society can play an important role in solving the existing problems in the society. She noted the importance of education in this direction and added that public councils have the duty to come up with various public initiatives.

Mrs. Fariz Akbarov, the Chairperson of the Legal-SocialAssistance and Awareness Public Union, Chairman of the Public Council under the State Committee on Family, Women and Children Affairs, informed about the Council's Action Plan.

He said that 3 working groups were formed as a result of the discussion of various important issues at the meeting of the council. At the same time, a page of the council on social networks was created for the purpose of promotion and awareness on social networks. Through this page, the council actively broadcasts its activities and promptly responds to citizens' applications and proposals.

After the speeches, letters of thanks were presented to the members of the Public Council for their successful activities for the next 2 years.

In addition, the members of the Election Commission, which was created under the Committee for the purpose of organizing the election to the Public Council, were awarded with letters of thanks for the transparent organization of the elections.

At the same time, the credentials of the newly elected members of the Public Council were presented to the Committee.

The conference continued with discussions. During the exchange of ideas, representatives of non-governmental organizations voiced their suggestions and recommendations for the development of mutual cooperation.

Mr. Ali Panahov, representative of the Department of Work and Communication with Non-Governmental Organizations of the Administration of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, who expressed his opinion on the opinions expressed in the discussions, noted that the institution of civil society has developed further in recent years, and the attention of state institutions to this cooperation has seriously increased.

He said that the duty of public councils is to ensure communication between the state institution and citizens, to direct citizens to relevant services.

In the end, thanking the participants, the Chairperson of the Committee, Mrs. Bahar Muradova, said that we started such a discussion and found answers to a number of questions.

Drawing attention to the participation of the veterans of the Patriotic War in the conference, Mrs.Muradova highly appreciated their close participation in the activities of the Committee and the work of the centers and expressed her belief that the joint cooperation of the representatives of all civil society institutions with state institutions will continue on a wider level.