As co-chair of the board of the Nizami Ganjavi International Center (NGIC) Serageldin opened the first South Caucasus International Forum on ‘Shared societies’. In his opening address Serageldin said “… the forum will discuss the clash of civilizations, shared values, norms, regulating our societies”. The Forum, which was attended by Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev, was co-organized by NGIC and Club de Madrid. It brought together 400 international experts and scholars from 40 countries, and more than 50 heads of states and governments. In his written address to the Forum participants, Serageldin said: I am proud to greet every participant of the forum in Azerbaijan, which is the homeland to legendary world culture, creator of literary pearls Nizami Ganjavi.
Established last year on the 870th Anniversary of the ancient Azeri poet Nizami Ganjavi, the NGIC is a cultural center promoting the heritage of Nizami and Azerbaijan culture as a whole. Its projects include publishing, re-editing and translating the works of the famous poet. Co-chairs of the center are Vaira Vike–Freiberga (former President of Latvia), Roza Otunbayeva (former President of Kirgizstan), Suleyman Demirel (former President of Turkey), , Tarja Halonen (former President of Finland), and Ismail Serageldin.
The Club of Madrid is an independent organization dedicated to the promotion of democracy and changes in the international community. It consists of 80 former presidents and prime ministers from 56 countries.