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Azerbaijan

Higher education institutions as drivers of innovation and growth in Azerbaijan

Igor Kheyfets's picture
Also available in: Русский
Azerbaijan Education

It’s a cold spring day in Baku, and several students from Azerbaijan State Oil and Industry University (ASOIU) are huddled around a laptop trying to project an image onto their classroom wall.
 
Once the image is projected, one of the students “writes” on the surface of the classroom wall – as he would on the computer screen – using customized software called CamTouch, which allows the user to turn any surface into an interactive “smartboard”. The student also selects an icon and virtually opens a document with the help of a special stylus.

Judging it smart, Azerbaijan’s courts go digital

Tako Kobakhidze's picture
Baku


















I was back in Baku recently, after a 9 year gap, and guess what I recognized first? Yes, those famous pounding winds – immortalized in the city’s ancient Persian name of Bādkube – or “city of winds”. But as I went about rediscovering this thriving city along the Caspian Sea, I soon realized that I would also be witness to “winds of change”.

Indeed, so much had changed here since my last visit. Most visibly, the urban skyline is now speckled with construction cranes, reflecting a city busy growing upward – its physical outline seeming to transform before my eyes. But infrastructure is just one aspect of Baku’s modern story. Beyond the hectic expansion of concrete and metal, I was also able to observe exciting changes in technology and innovation that are helping to transform an integral part of this city’s life – its judicial services!

Beyond celebrating – Removing barriers for women in the South Caucasus

Mercy Tembon's picture
Georgia kindergarten
























After seventeen months in the South Caucasus, I have learnt a lot from colleagues in the countries of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia about this day, March 8th. It is considered one of the most grandiose days of the calendar – when women and girls of all ages are acknowledged and showered with flowers and gifts of various kinds. Gifts range from a handmade card or a trinket to a bunch of violets or mimosa flowers. Older women might receive a bottle of French perfume, cosmetics, cutlery, crockery or other household items.

On March 8th, it is a common occurrence to see street vendors selling flowers in abundance, and shops are mainly full of male customers. The most important gift is that, on this day, men are also supposed to do all the house chores, so that on this day at least, women can forget about dishes, cooking and childcare, and enjoy some well-deserved time off! In a nutshell, it is a day of paying tribute to women everywhere – in homes, classrooms, and workplaces.

Who's heard of "Garbology"?

Meriem Gray's picture
Also available in: Русский

It's as tall as some of Baku’s fanciest buildings, but the only residents here are crows and seagulls. Welcome to the Central Balakhani Sanitary Landfill, the largest rubbish dump in the Greater Baku area. But this is a dump with a difference: it is meticulously organized, as far as garbage disposal sites go.

Recently, the site was nothing but a big, open pile of burning garbage that has been rising from the ground since it was a designated dumping site in 1963. Now, six days a week, an army of trucks delivers 350 tons of municipal solid waste from the homes and offices of Baku’s millions of inhabitants.

Improving fairness, opportunity and empowerment: A view from the South Caucasus

Genevieve Boyreau's picture
Also available in: Русский
I was quite intrigued by the findings of the latest Europe and Central Asia Economic Update, with its special focus on "Polarization and Populism". As Program Leader for the South Caucasus region, covering Azerbaijan, Armenia and Georgia, I was particularly interested in the fact that these three countries report the highest levels of life and job dissatisfaction, despite declining disparities and overall income improvement in the region (in Georgia, for instance). Indeed, using the World Bank’s "twin goal” metrics, the South Caucasus region has been performing reasonably well.