Today, on May 21, the international symposium titled “The Legacy of the First Baku Turkology Congress and the Turkic World in the 21st Century” commenced in Almaty. The event is dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the historic congress, which became a major milestone in the scientific and intellectual development of the Turkic peoples.
The international symposium is organized at the initiative of the Turkic Academy in cooperation with TÜRKSOY, the Turkic Culture and Heritage Foundation, the Turkish Language Association, Al-Farabi Kazakh National University, and Baku State University.
Participants of the symposium include President of the Turkic Academy, Prof. Dr. Shahin Mustafayev, Secretary General of the Organization of Turkic States Kubanychbek Omuraliev, President of the Turkic Investment Fund Baghdad Amreyev, Secretary General of TÜRKSOY Sultan Raev, President of the Turkic Culture and Heritage Foundation Aktoty Raimkulova, Rector of Al-Farabi Kazakh National University Zhanseit Tuimebayev, member of the Council of Elders of the Organization of Turkic States Ikram Adyrbekov, Advisor to the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Malik Otarbayev, President of the National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Kazakhstan Akylbek Kurishbayev, as well as prominent scholars and representatives of the intellectual community of the Turkic world.
Opening the forum, President of the Turkic Academy Shahin Mustafayev noted that the First Baku Turkological Congress of 1926 became not only a scientific event, but also an important historical platform that united intellectuals of the Turkic world around the ideas of shared cultural heritage, a common future, and the strengthening of Turkic identity.
“Today, cooperation among Turkic states is reaching a new level. In this process, Turkology plays a special role by contributing to the strengthening of the common scientific, cultural, and humanitarian space of the Turkic world. The main task of the entire Turkic world, its intellectuals, and the academic community today is to revive the legacy of the Congress participants and serve the development, unity, and integrity of the Turkic states,” the head of the Academy emphasized.
As part of the symposium, a special exhibition of scientific publications by the Turkic Academy has been organized, alongside archival photographs and materials prepared by the Academy reflecting the history and legacy of the First Turkological Congress.
Among the featured works is the “Album of the 1926 Baku Turkological Congress,” published in six Turkic languages and containing information about 131 delegates of the historic congress.
Also presented is the book “Archival Documents of the 1926 Baku Turkological Congress,” published in Russian and Turkish and based on unique archival materials revealing the historical context and significance of the Congress. Over the course of two days, scholars from Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Türkiye, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan will discuss the historical significance of the First Turkological Congress, the development of Turkology in the 21st century, issues of common terminology and alphabet, cultural heritage, and prospects for the scientific integration of the Turkic world.
