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Spring 2004 (12.1)
Page
133
Exxon Azerbaijan
Involvement
with Education and Refugees in Azerbaijan
ExxonMobil, the world's
leading petroleum and petrochemical company, has a presence in
nearly 200 countries, including Azerbaijan. Its philanthropic
program is one of the world's largest and its involvement and
commitment in Azerbaijan is extensive.
To date, Exxon Azerbaijan Operating Company LLC, an ExxonMobil
subsidiary (Exxon Azerbaijan), has contributed more than three
million dollars to charitable programs. Their primary focus has
been projects related to education and to improving the living
conditions of internally displaced persons and refugees.
Below: Exxon Azerbaijan has been involved
with the construction of schools for Azerbaijan's refugees.
  ExxonMobil
has been working with major relief agencies such as the International
Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, CARE, Relief
International, as well as with local agencies, to provide aid
to thousands of displaced persons living in the Bilasuvar, Saatli,
Sabirabad settlements, and in other regions of Azerbaijan. These
projects include community development and income generation
initiatives, construction of schools, and community centers.
NGOs, which were supported by Exxon Azerbaijan, have been involved
in constructing medical clinics, which improve provision of primary
care, distribution of basic medicines and dissemination of health
information in the camps, including malaria prevention and first
aid training. Exxon Azerbaijan has also funded projects to create
clean water supplies for refugees.
The community centers built with Exxon Azerbaijan's help, enable
people to organize public ceremonies and other community events.
For example, in the Bilasuvar refugee camp, the first event was
a double wedding ceremony attended by then President, Heydar
Aliyev and Deputy Prime Minister Ali Hasanov.
Worldwide education has been one of ExxonMobil's primary focus
areas for contribution activities. The company continues this
tradition in Azerbaijan as well. One of the most significant
contributions was in helping to strengthen the Azeri language
by publishing the first ever Azerbaijani-English dictionary printed
in the Latin script (1998). The companion volume, English-Azerbaijani
also compiled by Oruj Musayev, was published in 2003.
 Left: Exxon Azerbaijan General Manager Drew Goodbread
distributing some of the publications in the new Azeri Latin
alphabet.
The company also has published two volumes of Oghuz Poetry (more
than 1900 pages), which is a compilation of some of the most
important samples of Azeri literature, starting from early works
of the 6th century through contemporary authors.
One of the most significant projects funded by Exxon Azerbaijan
has been the development and publication of the Children's Encyclopedia
in Azeri Latin. This is a series of volumes dealing with topics
from Nature, History, Arts, and Sports to Ecology and Information
Technologies. A group of professional Azerbaijani writers, artists,
and scientists have developed texts and illustrations for this
multi-volume series. Since 1999, Exxon Azerbaijan has distributed
tens of thousands of these colorful and educational books in
refugee camps, schools and libraries throughout the country.
Exxon Azerbaijan also supported training for teachers, scientific
conferences, and Azeri students' memberships in professional
and scientific organizations and worked with leading universities
to provide students from Azerbaijan with opportunities to study
in the United States. Through ExxonMobil leadership, the U.S.-Azerbaijan
Chamber of Commerce established a Caspian Area Studies Center
at Harvard University. They have also assisted in the establishment
of Junior Achievement in Azerbaijan, which helps to acquaint
young people with Western business practices, economics, and
free enterprise.
 Every
year, Exxon Azerbaijan helps implement numerous environmental
projects that focus on educating young people about the value
of protecting the environment.
Left: The new English-Azerbaijani Dictionary
compiled by Oruj Musayev sponsored by Exxon Azerbaijan.
As Drew Goodbread, Exxon
Azerbaijan General Manager said, "We recognize that being
a successful corporation means more than superior operational
and financial performance. It also means being a good corporate
citizen in every place we operate. We want to help develop prosperous,
stable communitiesnot only because they are good places
to do business, but also because we care about our neighbors."
Back to Index AI 12.1 (Spring
2004)
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