Abai’s Life and Creative Legacy Discussed in Berlin
BERLIN, 2 July 2020 – Today the Embassy of Kazakhstan in Germany in cooperation with the Kazakh-German Society organized an international video conference dedicated to the 175th jubilee of the great thinker, poet and founder of Kazakh literature Abai Kunanbayev.
Participants in the online event included the Ambassador of Kazakhstan to Germany, Dauren Karipov, the former Mayor of Berlin's Pankow District Alex Lubawinski, the Vice President of “Otandastar Fund” Magauya Sarbasov, politicians, turkologists, orientalists, notable cultural figures from Kazakhstan, Germany, Austria, and the Netherlands, as well as experts and media representatives.
In opening the discussions, Ambassador Karipov underscored the universality and inexhaustible wisdom of Abai – assets that have rightfully made his works a part of the global cultural heritage. “Today these masterpieces of Kazakh literature serve as an impetus for the continued expansion of Kazakh-German cooperation and strengthening of bilateral cultural ties, in addition to political and economic relations,” he said.
Thematic lectures on the life of Abai and his contribution to the cultural enrichment of different countries were delivered by the Vice-Rector for Research and International Cooperation of the Abai Kazakh National Pedagogical University, Dr. Aktolkyn Kulsariyeva, Dutch literary critic Dr. Zifa-Alua Auezova, and a number of other invited academics and experts.
Event participants familiarized themselves with the text of the article written by the President of Kazakhstan, Kassym-Zhomart Tokayev, “Abai and Kazakhstan in the 21st Century” and took part in the “Abai Readings” campaign, in which the poet’s works were read and sung in Kazakh and German for the audience.
Abai Kunanbaev was born on 10 August 1845. This year, as part of the celebration of his 175th jubilee, Kazakhstan and many other countries plan to hold more than 500 different events, including under UNESCO auspices, to popularize the philosophy of the Kazakh poet and thinker based on the ideas of justice, honesty, compassion and patriotism.