Young Azeri wins US-sponsored photo contest
A young Azerbaijani has won an international photography contest
sponsored by the US government.
Nijat Ahmadov, who studied at a US high school in Laurel, Maryland
in 2007-2008 via the FLEX Program, took first place in the Faces of
FLEX contest sponsored by the US State Department to highlight the
contributions of FLEX alumni to their communities.
The winning photograph, "Together Towards a Bright Future,"
features Nijat’s fellow FLEX alumnus Sarkar Almasov working with a
young boy during a social service project at the SOS Children’s
Village Orphanage in the Ahmadli district of Baku. The photograph
was taken during the FLEX "Teach the Orphans" project, during which
FLEX alumni created and taught a series of courses on English
language and American culture for the children at the
orphanage.
FLEX, which has more than 750 alumni spread across Azerbaijan, is a
one-year exchange program during which young people study at an
American high school and live with an American family. The program
stresses the American experience with community service and
responsibility. Follow-up projects and contests to encourage young
people to give back to their community are organized by American
Councils and the FLEX alumni themselves.
Nijat’s photograph bested entries from across Eurasia and Central
Asia, where FLEX programs operate.
"Nijat’s success is really a recognition of the great work that
FLEX alumni do in Azerbaijan," said Terry Davidson, Public Affairs
Officer at the US Embassy. "There is no exchange program that has a
greater impact on building mutual understanding and respect between
the American and Azerbaijani people than FLEX."*