Our Story

What began in 2008 as an unprecedented meeting between cultures evolved into one of the world’s most recognized platforms for intercultural and intercivilizational dialogue: the Baku Process. Over time, it became more than a forum. It became a growing international movement built on trust, cooperation, and the belief that dialogue must lead to lasting action.

GUIDE was created to carry that mission forward.

In December 2008, Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev brought together Culture Ministers from OIC member states and European institutions during a Council of Europe Ministerial Conference in Baku. For the first time, these groups participated side by side as equal partners in a shared dialogue process.

That moment marked the beginning of the Baku Process: a new international framework promoting cultural diversity, mutual respect, and cooperation between civilizations.

It was built on a simple but powerful idea: dialogue is not optional for peace — it is essential.

Between 2011 and 2024, six World Forums on Intercultural Dialogue were convened in Baku under the Baku Process framework.

What started with several hundred participants grew into a global platform involving governments, international organizations, academics, civil society leaders, youth representatives, and cultural institutions from more than 100 countries.

Over the years, the platform received recognition and support from major international institutions, including the United Nations, UNESCO, the UN Alliance of Civilizations, the Council of Europe, and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation.

But as the dialogue expanded, so did the responsibility behind it.

The world no longer needed occasional conversations alone. It needed continuity, coordination, implementation, and institutional memory.

GUIDE was established in 2024 as the operational secretariat of the Baku Process.

Its role is not only to organize dialogue, but to ensure that dialogue produces meaningful and measurable impact: through partnerships, research, education, cultural cooperation, and international engagement.

GUIDE works to transform high-level commitments into practical collaboration between people, institutions, and societies.

Because dialogue should not end when a forum closes.

GUIDE’s foundation is deeply connected to Azerbaijan’s historical experience as a crossroads of cultures, religions, and civilizations.

For centuries, Muslim, Christian, and Jewish communities coexisted across the region, shaping traditions of multiculturalism and coexistence that continue today.

This lived experience became one of the foundations of the Baku Process, and remains central to GUIDE’s identity and mission.

Today, GUIDE represents the next stage in the evolution of intercultural dialogue: from periodic gatherings to a permanent international institution dedicated to cooperation across cultures and societies.

As global divisions deepen, the need for dialogue becomes more urgent, not less.

GUIDE exists to help ensure that dialogue remains active, inclusive, and capable of shaping a more peaceful and connected future.