A round table dedicated to the 150th anniversary of Akhmet Baitursynuly was held in Hungary
Budapest, September 5, 2022 - as part of the Day of the Languages of the People of Kazakhstan celebrated in accordance with the Decree of the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Embassy of the Republic of Kazakhstan in Hungary hosted a round table dedicated to the 150th anniversary of Akhmet Baitursynuly, which was attended by representatives of the Association of Hungarian PhD and DLA Students (DOSZ), Hungarian academic circles, as well as Kazakhstan’s candidates in PhDs studying in higher educational institutions in Hungary majoring in history, philology and political sciences.
During the event, the participants discussed the invaluable contribution of the outstanding Kazakh public figure and statesman Akhmet Baitursynuly to the spiritual revival of the Kazakh people.
Doctoral students from Kazakhstan in their speeches dwelled in detail on his biography and contributions to reforms of national writing, which resulted in the formation of the Kazakh alphabet, as well as phonetics, syntax and etymology of the Kazakh language.
It was outlined that the painstaking work of Akhmet Baitursynuly raised the Kazakh literature and literacy of the people, creating a solid foundation for the national school and Kazakh literature.
The round table participants also discussed the work of Akhmet Baitursynuly as the editor-in-chief of the Kazakh newspaper, which was published in the Kazakh language and was the most famous and influential among the Kazakh people at the beginning of the 20th century. In particular, on the pages of this newspaper, representatives of the national intellectuals published a draft program of the “Alash” party.
The poetic collection “Masa”, written by Akhmet Baiturysynuly to familiarize the people with knowledge and diligence, and designed to promote the development of art, the improvement of the culture of the Kazakhs has also been a topic of discussion.
In order to feel the spirit of Akhmet Baitursynuly's activity, Kazakh doctoral students listened to the readings of his works and watched fragments from the TV series “Akhmet - the National Mentor".
Summarizing the work of the round table, the guests of the event drew parallels between the figures of the struggle for freedom and the strengthening of self-awareness between the national intellectuals of Hungary and Kazakhstan.