Hi! My name is Cavid Ağa (also known as Javid Agha or Javid Aga in English). I live at the crossroads of journalism, scholarship, and civic inquiry. I regularly write for bne IntelliNews and have appeared on the BBC, France 24, Times Radio, Talk Radio, Eurasianet, OC Media, Asia Times and many more places, discussing media dynamics and society in the South Caucasus.
In August 2024, I attempted to leave Azerbaijan for graduate studies, but I was detained at the airport—an incident that underscores the pressures independent journalists and researchers endure. Passing through Turkey and Bosnia for months, I am currently based in Warsaw, Poland, as a journalist in exile.
Besides journalism, I am also a writer, translator, web developer, aspiring linguist and amateur musician. Below, you can find out about my work in vast professional areas.
Education & training
The International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP)
I am an IVLP alumnus (year 2024). The International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) is a professional exchange program funded by the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.
Resident fellow @ Malý Berlín - Trnava, Slovakia
I was recipient of a three‑month residency grant via TEH EastHub in 2023. Focused on translating Caucasian Albania – An International Handbook into Azerbaijani, collaborating with scholars from Austria and Germany. Co‑organised a public event on contemporary Azerbaijani culture. Delivered a public lecture on the Caucasian Albanian language back in Baku. Immersed in Trnava’s historical context and community‑driven art scene, a transformative period of cultural research and creative output. Check out my interview there.
Journalism
2021–Currently: BNE Intellinews | Azerbaijan reporter
2024–2025 – Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty | Journalist
2023–Currently: Rasional.org | Editor-in-chief
2018–2019 – VarYox | Magazine editor
2015–2017 – BBC Azerbaijani | Columnist
Social media
2024–2025 – Goethe Institute Baku | Social Media (see)
2024–2025 – Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty | Social Media Editor
2023–2024 – Baku Research Institute | Digital Media Designer
2019–2024 – VarYox | Content Manager & Social Media Editor
Job related skills
Content management systems (CMS): Expert in WordPress, Joomla and Drupal; experienced with Wix — able
to develop, structure and maintain news or content-driven websites.
Creative suite proficiency: Advanced command of Adobe Creative Cloud tools — especially Photoshop,
Premiere Pro and After Effects — for professional-level visual design, video editing and motion graphics
production.
Social media & communications: Social media savvy with demonstrated experience in publishing analysis and
commentary; comfortable working across platforms for outreach, engagement and storytelling.
Journalism & translation: Published journalist and independent researcher with contributions to Baku
Research Institute, OC Media, bne IntelliNews; translator of philosophical texts to
Azerbaijani, demonstrating strong multilingual and editorial capability
International commentary: Experience writing about Caucasus politics, regional conflict and international
affairs for global audiences (e.g. BBC, France 24, NewsRadio, JX-Fund etc.), showing ability to craft narratives for
diverse and high-profile outlets
Trainer & public speaker: Invited to lead training sessions by organizations like Prague Civil Society on social media and fact‑checking in Baku and Tbilisi
—recognised for clarity, pedagogical skills and practical guidance for diverse professional audiences.
Social and political activities
Observer at Parliamentary elections: I observed the Parliamentary elections in Azerbaijan in 2020. Read my after-action report here.
Trainer for young journalists from Azerbaijan Trained and gave lectures to young journalists from Azerbaijan on the topic of fake news, disinformation,
misinformation and how to identify propaganda in an event organized by Prague Society for International Cooperation in 2019.
Peacebuilding: Established in 2023, ArAz is a network of Armenian, Azerbaijani and international scholars who seek to challenge the
polarising, politicised rhetoric around Armenian-Azerbaijani relations. I delivered a lecture on status of the Udi minority
in Azerbaijan in its first ever meeting in 2013, Brussels in Université libre de Bruxelles.
Freelance system administrator & hosting provider: 2015 – Present
• Provision, configure, and maintain Linux-based VPS environments (Debian/Ubuntu/CentOS) for multiple clients across Europe and the Caucasus.
• Manage server security, backups, SSL/TLS configuration, and performance tuning.
• Deploy and maintain web applications (WordPress, Joomla, custom PHP) with MySQL and occasional MongoDB backends.
• Provide 2nd-line support for incidents and troubleshooting, ensuring high service availability and compliance with client requirements.
• Monitor server health, analyse logs, and perform capacity planning.
Founder & Developer — LNK.az: 2024 – Present
• Founded and built LNK.az, Azerbaijan’s first AI-powered media bias and reliability evaluator.
• Developed a custom full-stack platform (Node.js, Vercel serverless functions, Puppeteer, Chromium) with integration of Gemini API for natural language processing and large-scale article analysis.
• Designed and implemented an automated pipeline for scraping, preprocessing, and analysing media articles, outputting structured JSON reports with scoring, diagnostics, and Azerbaijani-language rationales.
• Built a minimal, SEO-friendly static site with bilingual content, responsive design, and dark/light mode support.
• Created a transparent methodology for evaluating media reliability, political bias, and socio-cultural framing — pioneering an AI-driven approach to media accountability in the South Caucasus.
• Managed all aspects of the project: research design, coding, UX, serverless deployment, cybersecurity, and public communication.
Language skills
| Mother tongue(s): AZERBAIJANI | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Other language(s): | UNDERSTANDING | SPEAKING | WRITING | ||
| Listening | Reading | Spoken production | Spoken interaction | ||
| ENGLISH | C2 | C2 | C2 | C2 | C2 |
| RUSSIAN | B1 | B1 | A2 | A2 | A1 |
| TURKISH | C2 | C2 | C2 | C2 | C2 |
| UDI | A1 | A1 | A1 | A1 | A1 |
| Levels: A1 and A2: Basic user; B1 and B2: Independent user; C1 and C2: Proficient user | |||||
