5th Anniversary of the Abai Center in Słupsk
At the Abai Kazakh Culture and Science Center, located at the Department of Neophilology at Pomeranian University in Słupsk, the 6th International Scientific Seminar titled "Reading Abai: The History and Perspectives of Kazakh Culture in the Eurasian Space" was held. The event was organised to celebrate the 5th anniversary of the Abai Center in Słupsk.
The seminar was held in a hybrid format in cooperation with a long-time partner of our University – the Abai Kazakh National Pedagogical University (Abai University). The conference saw representatives from the academic communities of Kazakhstan and Poland, the Embassy of Kazakhstan in Poland, the Consulate of the Republic of Kazakhstan in Gdańsk, the Polish people from the Polish Association in Astana, as well as Kazakh and Polish students, as well as master’s and doctoral students from other universities, such as Baishev University, Zhubanov University in Aktobe, and primary school teachers from Zhanaozen and Taraz. The event was held under the Honorary Patronage of the Embassy of Kazakhstan in Poland.
The seminar began with the national anthems, followed by speeches from the Honorary Guests invited by the Rector. These included Ms. Agnieszka Bereza, a Senior Specialist in the Department of Non-European Higher Education and Science, representing the Department of International Cooperation of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education; Ms. Tolkyn Orynbayeva, an attache of the Embassy of the Republic of Kazakhstan in Poland; Ms. Teresa Kąkol, representing the Dimash Kudaibergen Fan Club Poland and Dimash Radio; and representatives of Abai University—Zakira Kokienova, Majra Tyleubayeva, and Dina Sabirova.
Ms. Tolkyn Orynbayeva read a letter from the Ambassador of Kazakhstan to Poland, Mr. Alim Kirabayev, addressed to the participants and guests of the seminar. Numerous anniversary gifts, including those brought from Kazakhstan, were presented to the Coordinator of the Center.
During the seminar, participants presented 19 academic papers, covering not only Abai's legacy but also various aspects of contemporary Kazakh literature and art. One of the presentations focused on Janusz Korczak, a prominent Polish pedagogue who was killed with the children of the Warsaw ghetto orphanage in the Treblinka death camp in 1942.The presentation described Korczak’s educational system of values and pointed to the commonalities of his values with the values adopted in Abai's educational approach.
Guests and participants had the opportunity to sit at a traditional Kazakh table (dastarkhan) and enjoy Kazakh cuisine specialties such as horse meat and kazy, as well as chocolates, candies, and traditional kurt and zient brought from Kazakhstan. There was also a birthday cake.