On June 13, 2025, an international scientific conference on "Ottoman Prisoners in Azerbaijan during World War I (Nargin and Azerbaijani Society's Aid to Prisoners)" was held at Khazar University. The conference, conducted within the framework of a project encompassing research related to the topic in Georgian, Turkish, Azerbaijani and Russian archives, featured an exhibition of rare archival documents and photographs.
The event was jointly organized by Khazar University's Department of History and Archaeology, the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency - TIKA, and the Platform of Turkish Graduate Businessmen and Intellectuals. Many renowned specialists and researchers presented their reports at the conference.
The event, held in the Marble Hall, began with a minute of silence in memory of martyrs, followed by the performance of the national anthems of Azerbaijan and Türkiye, and then the plenary session of the conference was conducted.
At the opening ceremony, Prof. Akad. Hamlet Isakhanli, founder of Khazar University and Chairman of the Board of Directors and Trustees, Prof. Dr. Birol Akgun, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Türkiye to Azerbaijan, Dr. Umit Naci Yorulmaz, Deputy Chairman of TIKA, and Assoc. Prof. Telman Nusretoglu, project coordinator, Director of Khazar University's Department of History and Archaeology, and Head of the Platform of Turkish Graduate Businessmen and Intellectuals, delivered speeches emphasizing the importance of the project and highlighting the historical foundations of brotherhood between Azerbaijan and Türkiye.
Under the direction of Zulfiyya Sadiqova, Director of Khazar University's Department of Music and Fine Arts, university lecturer and singer Mahsati Jabbarova performed Canakkale and Yemen folk songs accompanied by the university's Chamber Orchestra.
At the end of the plenary session, a video featuring historical footage from archives was presented. Throughout the conference, a photo exhibition consisting of numerous archival documents and period photographs obtained from Azerbaijani, Turkish and Georgian archives was also presented to participants.
The scientific sessions of the conference, consisting of five panels in total, featured presentations by leading researchers on the topic, including Prof. Dr. Betul Arslan from Ataturk University, Dr. Umit Naci Yorulmaz, Deputy Chairman of TIKA, Dr. Akif Asirli, Chairman of the Azerbaijan Turkish Hearth, renowned heart surgeon Prof. Dr. Bingur Sonmez, Chairman of the Sarikamis Society, Prof. Dr. Suleyman Kiziltoprak, Rector of Dumlupinar University, Prof. Dr. Okan Yesilot, Director of the Turkology Research Institute at Marmara University, Assoc. Prof. Firdovsiyya Ahmadova, Head of the History Department at the State Academy of Public Administration under the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Prof. Dr. Xaqani Mammadov from Azerbaijan State Pedagogical University, Assoc. Prof. Mehdi Ganjali from Marmara University, Prof. Dr. Ali Asker from Karabuk University, Assoc. Prof. Boran Aziz from BSU, Dr. Shahnaz Kamal from Saint Petersburg State University, Assoc. Prof. Telman Nusretoglu, Department Director at Khazar University, Assoc. Prof. Sadik Cetin from Gaziantep University, Assoc. Prof. Resul Kose from Health Sciences University, Dr. Sohrab Mustafayev, Dr. Ramin Fatullayev, Jeyran Mammadova and other historians from Khazar University. Various aspects of Azerbaijani society's aid to prisoners, prisoners' life in Nargin, and the aid activities of national committees, societies and newspapers regarding prisoners and the needy were extensively covered in different panels. Specialists from Azerbaijan, Türkiye and Russia comprehensively explained the historical, national, legal and humanitarian aspects of the issue. At the end of each panel, certificates were presented to speakers and students who voluntarily participated in the event.
The following proposals were put forward to preserve the memory of this important historical period and its people, to immortalize their memories, and to keep the deep historical foundations of Azerbaijan-Turkey brotherhood alive in memory:
The proposals were unanimously supported by conference participants. With this, the conference concluded its work.