This year marks the 200th anniversary of the birth of Ashug Alasgar, a prominent representative of Azerbaijani ashug art, a great musician and master of words. President Ilham Aliyev has signed an order to widely celebrate the artist's anniversary across the country. Important work is already being done to fulfill the obligations arising from this Order. In this regard, on November 30, Sumgayit State University hosted a scientific seminar entitled "Ashig olub terki-Veten olanin."

Opening the seminar, the Dean of the Faculty of Philology, Associate Professor Sevinj Hamzayeva spoke about the place and role of Ashig Alasgar in the art of Azerbaijani ashug, emphasizing the importance of such events in the field of rhetoric. Noting that Ashig Alasgar's work is always in the focus of our state, the dean noted that the 150th anniversary of the great master of words was solemnly celebrated in our republic and abroad on the initiative of national leader Heydar Aliyev during his presidency in Soviet Azerbaijan. “A tombstone of Ashig Alasgar was erected in Goycha district, a historical land of Azerbaijan, and his works were published in two volumes by the Azerbaijan Academy of Sciences. During the years of independence, Ashig Alasgar and this great art as a whole received attention and care in our country. In 2009, with the initiative and support of First Vice President Mehriban Aliyeva, the art of ashug was included in the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage List”.

Associate Professor Sevinj Hamzayeva also noted that the celebration of the 200th anniversary of Ashig Alasgar is important in terms of studying our national traditions and promoting the rich culture of our people. The signing of the Order by the President opens new opportunities for researchers and scholars engaged in the work of Ashig Alasgar.

The dean also noted that the employees of the faculty: Sheyda Guliyeva and Aynura Babayeva took part in the international scientific conference "Language, society, personality and Nizami Ganjavi's creativity" dedicated to the 880th anniversary of the great Azerbaijani poet and thinker Nizami Ganjavi at Sumgayit State University by the articles dedicated to the works of Ashig Alasgar.

Speaking at the event, Avtandil Mammadov, Doctor of Philology, folklorist, said that a new life began in the Azerbaijani ashug literature with the miracle of Ashug Alasgar's music, poetry and epos during the 19th and early 20th centuries. In his poems, Ashig Alasgar, who promoted human ideas, philosophical worldview, humanism, sublime feelings, patriotism, love of nature and humanity, living a just and proud life, had an exceptional impact on the development of music and the art of speech.

Afterwards Professor Astan Bayramov, Head of the Folklore ETL, spoke on "Onomastic Units in Ashug Alasgar's Poetry", and Balakishi Isgandarov, lecturer of the Department of Azerbaijani and Foreign Literature, on "Moral and Didactic Semantics of Ashig Alasgar's Masterpieces". They said that Ashig Alasgar gave a new content to the centuries-old tradition of ashug art with the highest artistic and aesthetic criteria, created works in harmony with the spirit of the people and made unprecedented contributions to the treasury of cultural heritage of Azerbaijan. One of the bright pages of Azerbaijani literature is the artist's deep-colored creativity, which instills a sense of love and patriotism for the native nature, combines the purity, semantic potential and unlimited possibilities of expression of our native language.

The life and work of the powerful master of words were discussed at the event, excerpts from his works were performed.