A seminar titled "The First Democratic Republic of the East and the Values of Tolerance" was held on May 22, 2026, at the Tolerance House, dedicated to May 28 – Independence Day. Organized jointly by the Tolerance House and Azerbaijan University of Languages, the seminar brought together researchers from the ANAS Institute of History and Ethnology, the ANAS Institute of Archaeology and Anthropology, and the ANAS Institute of Oriental Studies, as well as faculty and students from Azerbaijan University of Languages, ADA University, and Khazar University, along with representatives of the Caucasus Muslims Board and the Apostolic Prefecture of the Catholic Church in Azerbaijan.

The seminar featured presentations on the statehood traditions, tolerance policy, and national-spiritual values of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic, as well as the continuation of this legacy in contemporary Azerbaijani society.

Dr. Rukhsara Guliyeva, a lecturer at the Department of History and Archaeology at Khazar University, noted in her remarks that one of the issues of particular significance for the ADR was the preservation of national and spiritual identity, the safeguarding of freedom of religious belief, and the recognition of the rights of national minorities living in Azerbaijan. Dr. Guliyeva emphasized that the founders of the Republic, guided by the principle of "Freedom for individuals — independence for nations," had enshrined these democratic ideas in the foundational legal documents from the very first days of the state's establishment. The Azerbaijan Declaration of Independence, adopted on May 28, 1918, proclaimed that the rights and freedoms of all citizens would be guaranteed regardless of their national or religious affiliation. In doing so, the values of tolerance and multiculturalism that had historically taken shape across the Azerbaijani lands found their first formal reflection in an official legal document.

Dr. Yagub Mammadov, Leading Research Fellow at the ANAS Institute of Archaeology and Anthropology and lecturer at the Department of History and Archaeology at Khazar, delivered a report titled "On the Measures of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic in the Fields of Science, Education, and Culture." His presentation covered the steps taken by the ADR in the field of public enlightenment, its contributions to education, the establishment of the Gazakh Teachers' Seminary, the founding of Baku State University as the country's first institution of higher education, as well as the Republic's alphabet reform project and the cultural services — including libraries, museums, and theatres — established for the first time during that period.

All presentations underscored the exceptional role of the ADR in the history of our national statehood, noting that its democratic and tolerant values continue to live on to this day.