Today, April 20, the Turkic Academy, in cooperation with Ankara Social Sciences University (ASBÜ), held the first event in a series of scientific and cultural activities dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the First Turkology Congress, which took place in Baku in 1926, and its significance for the development of modern Turkology.
As part of the program, the Turkic Academy presented an exhibition of archival photographs reflecting the historical context of the 1926 Congress, along with scholarly publications prepared as a result of international research projects and academic studies.
The event brought together President of the Turkic Academy, Prof. Dr. Shahin Mustafayev, Rector of Ankara Social Sciences University Musa Kazım Arıcan, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Khoja Akhmet Yassawi International Kazakh-Turkish University Muhittin Şimşek, as well as leading scholars, researchers, and representatives of Türkiye’s academic community.
In his opening remarks, President of the Turkic Academy Shahin Mustafayev emphasized that the First Turkology Congress of 1926 marked a turning point in the formation of a shared scientific and cultural space across the Turkic world, bringing together prominent intellectuals of the time around issues of language, history, and Turkological research.
“For the Turkic Academy, a key priority is to preserve and further develop this legacy, strengthen academic solidarity, and contribute to the formation of a common scholarly space for future generations of researchers,” he stated. The panel session addressed the historical significance of the First Turkology Congress, its contribution to the development of Turkological studies, and contemporary directions of scientific cooperation across the Turkic world.
In this context, participants highlighted the coordinating role of the Turkic Academy in advancing a common Turkic scientific space. In 2023, an expert commission on the Common Turkic Alphabet was established under the Academy’s coordination, and in September 2024, the Common Turkic Alphabet was officially adopted during the commission’s third meeting.
As a first practical application of the Common Turkic Alphabet, the Turkic Academy prepared pilot editions of “Words of Edification” by Abay Kunanbayev and “The White Ship” by Chingiz Aitmatov, which became the first texts published using the new system.
Special attention at the 1926 Congress was also given to the development of a unified scientific terminology, including the need for specialized terminological dictionaries. A century later, this agenda is being actively pursued in the work of the Turkic Academy.
Within the framework of its terminological dictionary project, dictionaries in fields such as economics, military studies, ecology, linguistics, and medicine have already been published. Work is currently underway on new editions covering information technology, artificial intelligence, as well as international relations and diplomacy.
These initiatives are viewed as a continuation of the foundational ideas of the First Turkology Congress and reflect the continuity of scholarly dialogue among the countries of the region.
At the conclusion of the event, a cooperation protocol was signed between the Turkic Academy and Ankara Social Sciences University, formalizing the parties’ intention to expand academic collaboration, implement joint research projects, and strengthen institutional ties in the field of Turkology.
The series of events in Ankara will continue over the next three days across various university venues, featuring academic discussions and panel sessions with the participation of international experts.
