# ZƏKA — National AI Award of Azerbaijan

> ZƏKA (meaning "Intelligence" in Azerbaijani) is Azerbaijan's first and most prestigious National Artificial Intelligence Award. It recognizes outstanding AI projects, startups, creators, and leaders across five nominations. The award ceremony takes place on October 15, 2026, at JW Marriott Absheron Baku, Şərq Hall, Baku, Azerbaijan.

## About

ZƏKA is organized by Safaroff Agency, InnMedia Services, and AmCham Azerbaijan with official support from IDDA (Innovation and Digital Development Agency of Azerbaijan), KOBİA (Small and Medium Business Development Agency of Azerbaijan), and 4SİM (Fourth Industrial Revolution Analysis and Coordination Center). It unites AI engineers, robotics specialists, data scientists, and technology companies operating in Azerbaijan.

## Award Nominations

- **İlin Dövlət AI Həlli** — Best Government AI Solution of the Year: public sector AI improving citizen services
- **İlin Özəl AI Həlli** — Best Private Sector AI Solution of the Year: commercial AI with market impact
- **İlin AI Startapı** — AI Startup of the Year: innovative early-stage AI ventures
- **İlin AI Yaradıcısı** — AI Creator of the Year: creative use of AI tools and content
- **Tech Xəbər Seçimi** — Tech Xəbər Editor's Choice: editorial pick for outstanding AI contribution

## Key Dates (2026)

- **August 1 – September 15, 2026**: Applications open
- **September 16 – September 30, 2026**: Public voting
- **October 1 – October 9, 2026**: Jury evaluation
- **October 10 – October 14, 2026**: Experts Council evaluation
- **October 15, 2026**: Award Ceremony, JW Marriott Absheron Baku, Şərq Hall

## Judging Process

Winners are determined by final score under V6 rules: public voting average (0–5) + Jury average (0–10) + Expert Council average (0–15), maximum 30. Public voting does not create the shortlist and does not determine who advances; it is an independent scoring component considered alongside Jury and Expert Council evaluation. The jury includes 23+ senior leaders from Microsoft, Amazon, P&G, NEQSOL Holding, Pasha Holding, Visa, Lenovo, AmCham Azerbaijan, Plug and Play Tech Center, IE University, and others.

## Application

Free to apply. No entry fee. Applications status: opens August 1, 2026. The /nominations page is informational and static (no application form flow on that page).

## Contact

- Partners: partners@aiawards.az
- Applicants: apply@aiawards.az
- Website: https://aiawards.az
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/zeka_awards
- TikTok: https://tiktok.com/@zeka_awards
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/zeka.awards
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/zeka-awards/

## Partners & Supporters

**Organizers:** Safaroff Agency (safaroff.com), InnMedia Services (innmediaservices.com), AmCham Azerbaijan (amcham.az)
**Official Support:** IDDA (idda.az), KOBİA / SME Development Agency (smb.gov.az), 4SİM / Fourth Industrial Revolution Analysis and Coordination Center (4sim.gov.az)
**Media Support:** Tech Xəbər (techxeber.az), ALR Media Group / Autolife.az (autolife.az), Info City (infocity.tech), Marja.az (marja.az), Radio Enerji / Enerji FM (enerjifm.az)


## Official Terms Page
- URL: https://aiawards.az/terms
- Role: Official rules page for AI Awards / ZƏKA 2026 in Azerbaijani, English, and Russian.
- Canonical schedule:
  - Applications: August 1 – September 15, 2026
  - Public voting: September 16 – September 30, 2026
  - Jury evaluation: October 1 – October 9, 2026
  - Expert Council evaluation: October 10 – October 14, 2026
  - Award ceremony: October 15, 2026
- Five nominations:
  - Government AI Solution of the Year
  - Private AI Solution of the Year
  - AI Startup of the Year
  - AI Creator of the Year
  - Tech Xəbər Choice
- Canonical stage scoring and decision logic (V6):
  - Public voting does not create the shortlist and does not determine who advances.
  - Public voting criteria (0–5 each): Aktuallıq, İctimai fayda, Aydınlıq.
  - Public voting stage score = arithmetic average of 3 criteria (max 5).
  - Jury criteria (0–10 each): İnnovasiya, AI dərinliyi, Tətbiq potensialı, Real təsir, Komanda və icra.
  - Jury stage score = arithmetic average of 5 criteria (max 10).
  - Expert Council criteria (0–15 each): Aktuallıq, İctimai fayda, Aydınlıq, İnnovasiya, AI dərinliyi, Tətbiq potensialı, Real təsir, Komanda və icra, Texniki realizasiya, Etik uyğunluq və təhlükəsizlik.
  - Expert Council stage score = arithmetic average of 10 criteria (max 15).
  - Final score = public average + Jury average + Expert Council average (maximum 30).
  - If final scores are equal, Expert Council makes the final decision.
  - Editor’s Choice / Tech Xəbər Seçimi does not go through public voting and is evaluated by Jury + Expert Council.
- Public voting boundaries:
  - Public voting is an independent final-score component, not an advancement gate.
  - Suspicious, bot, fake, and mass-manipulated votes may be removed and can lead to disqualification.
  - Future flow requires email verification, phone verification, and sharing action support for Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, and TikTok.
- Governance:
  - Conflict-of-interest disclosure and recusal apply for Jury/Expert Council members.
  - Participant responsibility for submissions; organizers may request proof/clarifications.
- Official contact route:
  - partners@aiawards.az (partnership and organizational communication)
  - apply@aiawards.az (application and process communication)


## Official Nominations Page
- URL: https://aiawards.az/nominations
- Role: Static, backend-independent Phase 1 nominations page for official nomination guidance.
- Scope note: Application flow, voting, auth, admin, backend, API, and forms are intentionally not implemented on this page.
- Homepage footer navigation: /nominations, /apply, /partners, /terms (no legacy #nominantlar anchor).

## Homepage CTA routes
- Partner/Sponsor CTAs route to `/partners` as standard links.
- Rules CTA routes to `/terms` as a standard link.
- Homepage Apply CTA (`Müraciət Et`) routes to `/apply`.
- `/apply` is a static Phase 1 application preview page.
- The homepage Apply CTA does **not** open email (no homepage `mailto:apply@aiawards.az` CTA behavior).
- `/apply` includes a disabled placeholder form.
- The `/apply` route is active in shared header/footer navigation.
- The form does not submit data.
- No backend application submission flow exists yet. The real application mechanism will be implemented later.

## Shared Multilingual Footer Component (Phase 1)
- Public pages `/`, `/terms`, `/nominations`, and `/404` now render one shared AZ/EN/RU footer component from a single source.
- Active footer links: Home (`/`), Nominations (`/nominations`), Rules (`/terms`), Partners (`/partners`), Apply (`/apply`), Nominants (`/nominants`), and Public vote (`/public-vote`).
- Contact actions: `mailto:partners@aiawards.az` and `mailto:apply@aiawards.az`.
- Existing public static routes: `/`, `/terms`, `/nominations`, `/partners`, `/apply`, `/nominants`, `/public-vote`, `/404`.
- Phase 1 static frontend-only routes include Nominants (`/nominants`) and Public vote (`/public-vote`). `/public-vote` is now an actual Phase 1 static frontend-only demo route.
- `Participant` remains an internal lifecycle/backend model concept. `/participants` is not a current public static route and is only a possible future API/admin/public-data concept in later phases.
- Official social links in footer: Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube.


## Official Partners Page
- URL: https://aiawards.az/partners
- Role: Static multilingual (AZ/EN/RU) page for partnership and sponsorship collaboration information and contact via partners@aiawards.az.
- Scope note: No forms, no payments, no confirmed sponsor/partner listings, and no backend flow on this page.
- Homepage CTA routes confirmed: partner/sponsor CTAs use /partners and rules CTA uses /terms.

## /apply status (Phase 1 static integration)
- `/apply` now contains the full static application form frontend.
- Public platform nominations remain 5 overall, but `/apply` submissions are limited to 4 application nominations (Government AI Solution, Private AI Solution, AI Startup, AI Creator).
- Backend submission is not active yet on `/apply`.
- Future backend scope for `/apply`: OTP email verification, CAPTCHA verification, secure multipart application submit, and private file storage.


- /nominants is now implemented as a static Phase 1 frontend-only route using shared header/footer; no backend/API writes.
- /public-vote is now an actual Phase 1 static frontend-only demo route; backend/API vote processing remains future integration work.