On July 1, the opening ceremony of the project titled "Support for Enhancing the Representation of Azerbaijani NGOs at the United Nations", implemented by the International Eurasia Press Fund (IEPF) with the support of the Agency for State Support to Non-Governmental Organizations of the Republic of Azerbaijan, was held.

The event took place at the office of the National NGO Forum of Azerbaijan. As the host and main implementing partner, President of the Forum Ramil Iskandarli welcomed the participants and noted the high level of interest from NGOs in the project:

“As a Forum, we always support the implementation of such important and beneficial initiatives. It is encouraging to see that our NGOs are keen on being represented at the international level and actively participate in these trainings. I would especially like to highlight the increased activity of NGOs in recent times. Today, Azerbaijani civil society organizations are striving to raise their voices globally and be represented on various platforms.”
Following this, IEPF President Umud Mirzayev expressed his gratitude to the National NGO Forum for hosting the event and spoke about the importance of the project and the need for greater international presence of NGOs:

“In today's rapidly changing world, the networking of NGOs and their active involvement across different sectors play a crucial role in promoting global goals such as peace, justice, and sustainable development. By conveying their voices at the international level, NGOs contribute not only to local communities but also to humanity as a whole. Representation in influential bodies such as the United Nations can have a stronger impact and deliver concrete results. The main goal of this project is to support local NGOs in expanding their outreach, achieving international presence, and particularly attaining consultative status within the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). There are real opportunities and a strong foundation today for Azerbaijani NGOs to be represented globally.”
According to the agenda, the first training session was conducted by human rights expert and trainer Sahib Mammadov. The first session, dedicated to UN treaty and charter-based mechanisms, was attended by 20 NGO representatives selected through a survey.

At the end of the session, Mehti Mehtiyev, the representative of the Agency for State Support to NGOs responsible for projects, expressed his appreciation to the organizers and participants and shared insights on the agency’s strategic vision:

“As an agency, we have placed particular focus on international initiatives in recent years. During last year’s COP29 and this year’s Global South Platform, we made every effort to support NGOs. These mutual collaborations have produced very promising outcomes. We believe this project will also make its mark as one of those successful initiatives.”
It should be noted that the main objective of the project is to strengthen the international representation of Azerbaijani NGOs, assist them in obtaining consultative status with ECOSOC, help them understand the operational principles of the UN's treaty and charter-based mechanisms, and support the preparation of international reports. A total of 12 training sessions are planned, which will continue until the end of August. Participants who successfully complete the program will be awarded certificates.