Almaty hosts international conference on Turkic peoples' spiritual heritage PHOTO

18 October 2024 14:55

On October 17-18, the House of Friendship in Almaty hosted an international scientific-theoretical conference titled “The Spiritual Heritage of Turkic Peoples in the Context of World Civilisation: The Epic of ‘Alpamys-Batyr’.”

The event was organised by the National Commission of the Republic of Kazakhstan for UNESCO and ISESCO, the Turkic Culture and Heritage Foundation, the National Committee of Kazakhstan for Intangible Cultural Heritage, and the Mukhtar Auezov Institute of Arts and Literature, Caliber.Az reports per local media.

During the opening ceremony, the President of the Turkic Culture and Heritage Foundation, Aqtoty Raimkulova, spoke about the extensive activities of her organisation in promoting Turkic culture and heritage on the international stage. She emphasised that the projects implemented by the Foundation play a vital role in the restoration and museumification, as well as in scientific, educational, and creative directions.

Raimkulova highlighted several current projects of the Foundation, including the Convention on the Protection of Cultural Heritage of the Turkic World, a multilingual catalogue of joint Turkic cultural heritage objects called TurkHeritage, and the digital platform TurkDiscovery, which broadcasts a series of documentaries showcasing shared Turkic values. She also noted that the Foundation has published a series of books such as “Outstanding Personalities of the Turkic World,” “Literary Jewels of the Turkic World,” and “Scientific Jewels of the Turkic World.”

Additionally, efforts are underway to implement experience exchange programmes that unite specialists from the Turkic world across various fields, establish centres for Turkic heritage and creativity in different cities, and conduct events to promote Turkic cultural heritage.

The conference also featured a presentation of the epic "Alpamys Batyr," published in Kazakh, Russian, and English as part of a collaboration between the Turkic Culture and Heritage Foundation and the Mukhtar Auezov Institute of Arts and Literature. The aim of publishing the epic in multiple languages is to preserve the shared spiritual heritage of Turkic peoples and to introduce it to a wider international audience.

The conference continued with panels and sessions featuring talks and presentations by renowned scholars from Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Türkiye, Uzbekistan, Mongolia, and the Russian Federation (Ufa, Kazan, Novosibirsk) on topics related to the "Alpamys Batyr" epic, as well as the common Turkic epic traditions, folklore heritage, and aspects of in-depth study in this field.

Additionally, the conference included discussions led by international experts regarding the nomination of the epic for inclusion in UNESCO's Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

The significance of goals such as international recognition and the preservation of Turkic literature and culture, in the context of the unity of folklore heritage and modernity, was one of the key aspects of this event.

Scholars from Turkic states, as well as linguists, historians, philosophers, ethnographers, folklorists, literary critics, art historians, cultural scientists, and professors from various universities participated in the conference.