RESTART
INITIATIVE
Building Connections for Development in
Azerbaijan and the South Caucasus
Restart Initiative
Restart Initiative is a non-profit organization with the mission of building connections for economic and social development in the South Caucasus and Central Asia. We use our deep expertise in international development and media to identify opportunities for constructive engagement in the region.
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Restart Initiative identifies economic and social development opportunities in Azerbaijan and the South Caucasus - and then builds targeted, agile projects to respond to them.
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About Us
Emin Milli is the Founder and Chairman of Restart Initiative and the Co-Founder of Daha Yaxşı, Restart Initiative's media project. He is also the Founder and former Managing Director (2013-2019) of Meydan TV, an independent Azerbaijani media organization based in Berlin.
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Milli was a public advocate for dialogue between Armenia and Azerbaijan during and after the Second Karabakh War. He continues to call for peaceful engagement and economic connectivity between the two countries. His co-authored pieces on the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh have been published in Newsweek, Al-Jazeera and the International Business Times.
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From 2002-2004, Milli directed the Friedrich Ebert Foundation in Azerbaijan. In 1999-2000, he was the coordinator of the International Republican Institute in Azerbaijan.
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Milli has worked as an advisor and consultant to the Council of Europe, the European Union, and the German Technical Cooperation Agency (GTZ) on legal and administrative reform in Azerbaijan.
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Milli holds a BA in International Law, cum laude, from Baku State University and an MA from the University of London School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), where he studied State, Society and Development.
Dr. Nargiza Abdullaeva is a social scientist and project developer with expertise in strategic planning, research, and organizational growth. She has experience in both corporate and academic settings, specializing in market analysis, service optimization, and business development.
Her academic work covers migration policies, education systems in Central Asia, and transnational social issues. Her dissertation, "Tertiary Student Migration from Central Asia to Germany", published by Springer VS, examines educational migration trends and their socio-economic impacts.
Dr. Abdullaeva holds a Ph.D. from Humboldt University, an M.A. in Peace and Conflict Studies, and a B.A. in International Relations from the Tashkent State Institute of Oriental Studies. With her international experience and multilingual skills, she combines strategic thinking with a results-oriented approach, focusing on economic development and cross-border collaboration.