PRESS RELEASE
On January 31, “Legal Analysis and Research” Public Union held the Round Table in Baku within the “Why Think Tanks Matter?” series of events for civil society organizations to were held in parallel in about 200 countries within the Think Tanks and Civil Society Program implemented by the US Lauder Institute of Management and International Studies of the Pennsylvania University.
Aydin Sefikhanli, Head of the Administration of the Human Rights Commissioner (Ombudsman) office informed the participants about the history, objectives and functions of think tanks, as well as the research and analytical activities of the Ombudsman institution in Azerbaijan.
The aim of the event was to provide information for about 20 selected representatives of the research-oriented civil society organizations acting in Azerbaijan regarding importance of the institutions called think tanks in the contemporary period and their main functions and to exchange views on the current situation and future perspectives of the research-oriented organizations in Azerbaijan.
Ramil Iskandarli, Chairman, “Legal Analysis and Research” Public Union stated in his presentation that as a result of reforms conducted in Azerbaijan in the field of economic, social, legal, public administration and other spheres, now there is a need for the analysis and recommendations of the think tanks existing in the country on the development of the country in various fields, for supporting implementation of the reforms in this area and for information exchange between such organizations.
Information about the Global Think Tank Index 2018 (Global Go To Think Tank Index Report) prepared by the Think Tanks and Civil Society Program was presented at the event as well ( Global Index Launch Video is available at https://youtu.be/5OQGudbo0uo).
Representatives of the Presidential Administration of the Azerbaijan Republic, representatives of the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the German GIZ and the Council on State Support to NGOs, as well as NGO representatives who pay particular attention to the their research activity, experts in scientific researches and practical researches, Ramil Mammadli, Zaur Ibrahimov, Subhan Talibov, Elmari Mamishov, Ismail Kerimov and Kamala Ashumova actively participated in the discussions.
As a result, it was decided that establishment of the non-formal network for the purpose of coordinating the think tanks, creating an online database of experts and periodically organizing meetings of the think tanks and information exchange should be considered appropriate as the follow-up of the “Legal Analysis and Research” Public Union’s initiative.