"One Day Caliph" – This idiomatic expression is associated with many stories circulating among the people. The most interesting of them is the story of a young man named Abdulhasan and Caliph Harun al-Rashid. One day, a guest visits Abdulhasan's house. During their conversation, the young man reveals that his greatest desire is to one day be a caliph. It turns out that the guest, disguised as a merchant, is actually Caliph Harun al-Rashid. The caliph secretly puts a sleeping potion into Abdulhasan’s drink and orders him to be taken to the palace. The young man falls into a deep sleep and wakes up in the palace, where he is treated with the respect of a caliph, and his orders are obeyed. Abdulhasan believes he has become the caliph. During dinner, they again drug his drink, and the young man wakes up in his own home. According to the story, after this event, Abdulhasan could no longer distinguish whether his caliphate had been a dream or reality.

Kamal Abdulla, a full member of the National Academy of Sciences and an honored scholar, has been organizing the "One Day Caliph" Student Self-Government Day project for many years. This project plays a significant role in developing students' self-management and professionalism, helping them understand their responsibilities. On this day, students are elected by open voting to hold 32 leadership positions, including rector, vice-rectors, and deans. These student "caliphs" can make decisions related to the university’s educational process, administrative matters, and implement innovations. The individuals holding these positions receive the salary for the position they are temporarily filling for the day. The decisions made by these "caliphs" have legal force. It is also worth noting that after December 13, the "shadow cabinet" continues to hold their elected positions for a year.

Since 2003, this project has been held every year, and after a short break, it will take place again on December 13 at the Azerbaijan University of Languages (ADU) for the first time in its history. This traditional day is enthusiastically anticipated at ADU.

Let’s go back a few months, to October. Everyone is excited. Announcements related to the "One Day Caliph" project are being prepared by the "Auditorium+" department. Students gather in stages at the Akt Hall, the Heydar Aliyev Lecture Hall, and the museum. Seminars are held at both university buildings, where students are given detailed information about the election process, the stages of the project, and how to write platforms and vote. Students who have nominated themselves submit a short bio, contact details, and their platform for the position they are running for to the relevant department at ADU.

It is observed that the students are very nervous. They seem to be hesitating, wondering, "Will we win in the elections?" Their competitors are very strong. By October 30, the deadline for applications, about 250 students have nominated themselves. Based on these applications, the candidates are invited to the selection rounds.

In November, the elections begin. Equal numbers of student voters are invited from each faculty, and students are informed again about the "Caliph Day" and the voting process. The candidates prepare their platforms. After the speeches, the election takes place by open voting. It is seen that even close friends are competing against each other. Some students rejoice in their victory while lamenting their friend’s loss, while others accept their defeat and celebrate their friend’s success. The election process continues in stages.

One of the candidates for the position of press secretary is me. Among my competitors are some very strong individuals. When it is my turn, I approach the podium. I can feel my heart pounding in my feet. It is the first time I have ever nominated myself for a position and am speaking in front of the voters. From the outside, it seems easy to say, “Oh, they just go up and speak a few words.” But now, I know better.

After the speeches, the votes are counted, and the results are announced. We are shaking with excitement, but we try not to show it, holding ourselves tightly together. It felt like a dream! As we leave the stage, other candidates are preparing for their turn. Then my fellow students congratulate me: "We congratulate you, the one-day Ağa teacher!" This phrase awakens me from this sweet dream.

The "Caliph Day" election taught us both how to celebrate victory and how to come to terms with defeat. Those who have been "caliphs" know that feeling. We know it, you know it. Who knows what else we’ll learn from that day…

Let’s move on to the students who are competing for the position of rector. They are full of confidence. There is a lot of excitement during the elections. The voters are even more nervous than the candidates. In the blink of an eye, the elections are over. Nicat Aşurov, a third-year student at the Faculty of Education, is elected rector for one day by a majority of votes. A few days later, Sərraf Hüseynov, the pro-rector for educational affairs at ADU, meets with the caliph students. He explains the general plan and distributes badges to the students. Everyone is happy, and thanks to this special day, students make many new friends. The caliphs set the schedule for December 13. Sərraf Hüseynov also talks about the candidates who participated in the elections but lost by a small margin. He mentions that nearly 230 students participated in the elections: “About 250 students applied. Seventy-four students were running for the rector position. We did everything we could to ensure that the elections were democratic and transparent. We invited an equal number of students from each faculty to participate in the election process. The elections were conducted by open voting. Now, the caliphs are selected. We have prepared enough information about the 32 students who will hold leadership positions. These students will go down in the history of the university as the first caliphs. This project, created by Kamal Abdulla, showed students that they could play a much bigger role in university life than just coming to classes and getting good grades. This project allowed them to showcase their abilities. We have plans for other candidates as well, and we aim to involve them in various future projects, social actions, and programs.”

The next day, academic rector Kamal Abdulla and other university leaders meet with the 32 caliphs who will hold leadership positions. The rector congratulates the students and explains that the Caliph Day will be a serious event. Kamal Abdulla shares his fond memories of organizing the project for many years and discusses the significance of the Caliph Day. The rector meets with Nicat Aşurov, the caliph rector, and later presents his team to the auditorium. The academic then signs the order, officially giving the students the authority to manage the university on December 13.

A few days later, I meet with the caliph rector again. As he talks about his victory, he emphasizes that this achievement belongs not only to him but to all the students: "Winning 79 votes out of 250 voters made my excitement five times greater. It only took three minutes to count the votes, but those three minutes felt like three years. The excitement I felt when I heard my name being called out was indescribable. My joy only increased my excitement. After the meeting, I met with rector Kamal Abdulla, who introduced me to the responsibilities and daily schedule for my position. Now, I am even more excited. The responsibility and weight of this position are immense..."

In an interview with the well-known journalist Əzizə İsmayılova, one of the first caliphs in the "One Day Caliph" project held in 2003, she recalled her memories. Although she had always dreamt of holding a high position, she explained that after participating in the project, she gave up on that dream: "The idea for the 'One Day Caliph' student team game came from Kamal Abdulla, our rector at BSU, during my time there from 2000-2009. The first Caliph Day took place on December 13, 2003, a Friday, which is considered a mystical date, and we were the first caliphs. At first, no one took it seriously when we were told about the project, but the experience was unforgettable. I was elected the dean of the faculty of Regional Studies and Translation. Later, when I was given a position of power during the Caliph Day, I realized I didn’t want to be a leader anymore. I realized the heavy burden of responsibility that comes with such positions, and I didn’t want to carry it for the rest of my life."

The most important lesson here is that sometimes we need to experience something to truly understand it. As we continue our lives, we learn valuable lessons from moments like these. Perhaps this experience will be equally valuable for the new caliphs. After all, “we teach by learning” is not without reason. In life, we often grapple with whether our reality is a dream or the truth. In good days and bad, we may never fully separate them.

Let’s see if the students of ADU, who will participate in the project for the first time, will be able to distinguish between dream and reality. The answer will come in our next report...

Shahin Sərdarlı   (Second-year student at ADU, Caliph Press Secretary)