On November 6, a scientific and practical event dedicated to "November 9, National Flag Day" was held jointly organized by Sumgayit State University and Sumgayit Flag Museum.
First, a minute of silence was observed in memory of the martyrs who sacrificed their lives for the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan. Head of the Department of History of Azerbaijan and Eastern European Peoples of the Faculty of History and Geography, Professor Shirkhan Salimov opened the event and spoke about the history of our tricolor flag and its importance as the main symbol of our national statehood. The professor noted that the celebration of the National Flag Day is directly related to the history of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic. Looking back at history, the professor said that the tricolor National Flag of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic was first raised in Baku on November 9, 1918, and had state status until April 1920. This flag was approved as the state flag of the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic on November 17, 1990, at the initiative and leadership of the Chairman of the Supreme Assembly of the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic, the National Leader of our people, Heydar Aliyev, and was restored as the State Flag of the Republic of Azerbaijan by the Constitutional Act adopted on October 18, 1991. The professor added that Heydar Aliyev's decree dated March 13, 1998, is of great importance in the promotion and raising of state attributes, especially our tricolor flag. Shirkhan Salimov also noted that President Ilham Aliyev has taken important steps to keep our flag flying high. The decrees he signed on November 17, 2007, establishing the National Flag Square, and on November 17, 2009, establishing the National Flag Day, are important historical events in this field. On May 29, 2010, the Guinness World Records Organization confirmed the Azerbaijani National Flagpole as the tallest flagpole in the world, and the National Flag Museum was established on the Square. Today, thanks to the leadership of President Ilham Aliyev and the heroism of the brave Azerbaijani Army, the sovereignty of our country has been fully ensured. As a result of the bravery of our victorious army, our tricolor flag flies proudly and majestically in every city and village liberated from occupation. At the same time, the Azerbaijani flag today rises on the most prestigious pedestals in the world, demonstrating to the whole world the power of our state, the unity of our people, and national pride. Then, the head teacher of the department, Parviz Jafarov, delivered a speech on the topic “The Tricolor Flag – the ideological foundation of Azerbaijani statehood and a symbol of national unity”, and Namaz Mammadov, a student of group 865 of the Faculty of History and Geography, delivered a speech on the topic “Our Tricolor Flag – a symbol of pride of independent Azerbaijan”. They pointed out that the Azerbaijani flag is one of the highest national symbols that today expresses the power of our independent state, the unity of our people and the determined spirit. At the end of the event, discussions were held, and the importance of our tricolor flag in our history and as a symbol of our statehood today was emphasized once again. Finally, the event participants took an excursion to the Sumgayit Flag Museum and closely studied the history of the Azerbaijani flag and the stages of development of state symbols.