FIRST APK’S INSTITUTE OPENED IN ATYRAU 4 YEARS AGO
4 years ago, the first Institute of the Assembly of people of Kazakhstan, established at Dosmukhamedov Atyrau State University, started its work in Atyrau.
The main task of the Institute is to familiarize students with the culture and traditions of representatives of all 140 nations and nationalities living in the country, to promote the ideas of tolerance, unity, interethnic and interfaith consent. APK Institute was opened on the basis of successfully functioning centers of Russian and Azerbaijani science and culture and the laboratory of sociological research.
Then, in 2015, the opening ceremony was attended by Head of APK’s Secretariat in Atyrau region Erkin Kadyrgaliyev, representatives of ethno-cultural associations of the region, the media, scientists, faculty of the university, graduate students, students of Kh. Dosmukhamedov ASU and others.
The idea to create APK Institute did not come from scratch. We can say that the preparation for its creation began three years before the opening ceremony, when in May 2012 in Eliste, Republic of Kalmykia on the basis of Kalmyk State University was opened the Center of Kazakh Science and Culture.
Then Russian Centre of Science and Culture, Centre of Azerbaijani Culture and History and the Laboratory of Sociological Research were opened. And during the teleconference on December 1, 2014 between Dosmukhamedov State University and Astrakhan State Technical University, President of Astrakhan State Technical University, Professor Yuri Pimenov suggested to open the Center of History and Culture of Kazakhstan on the basis of ASTU in 2015 in connection with the 550th anniversary of the Kazakh statehood.
This was announced in his welcoming speech by the rector of Dosmukhamedov State University, Professor Beybut Mamrayev, emphasizing that these structures have allowed the university to create not just a department, but an institute of the Assembly of people of Kazakhstan.
"Aims and objectives of this institute are obvious. First of all, it is the development of all civil institutions. Life, after all, does not consist only of holidays, it is composed of daily routine work. And interethnic relations are such a delicate matter that it is impossible to regulate them by any directives or charters," said the head of the university.
In turn, guests thanked the university management for this step - opening of APK Institute. "You do not open the department on ethno-cultural work, you have decided to do more. I am grateful to you for it. I perfectly understand the potential of our university, I know that those people who receive the diploma of Atyrau State University are really bright representatives of the Kazakh intelligentsia. Today's event is not an ordinary one, it is quite unique not only for the public life of our region, but also for the republic. I want to wish good luck and good undertakings in our Institute of the Assembly of people of Kazakhstan!” chairman of German ethnocultural association "Wiedergeburt" Alexander Dumler congratulated the guests.
Deputy Chairman of the Korean Ethnocultural Centre "Thonyil" Ludmila Lee also said congratulations and greetings to the staff of the young Institute.
"Dear guests, colleagues, I am very happy to participate in such a solemn event. It is deeply symbolic for me that the opening of such an Institute took place within the walls of Atyrau State University, because I am a graduate of it myself. In spite of the fact that many years have passed, I will always follow the life of the university with great concern and indifference," she said. And thanks to the fact that the Assembly of people of Kazakhstan is headed by such a wise politician as our Leader, we are really moving forward as a single family. And no matter what goals and tasks are set before us, I think they are all achievable, because we have the main thing - it is unity and accord in our large and friendly family. I would like to congratulate once again the university management for such a unique idea and wish you good luck, prosperity, creation and more creative projects".
The purpose of the Institute is to familiarize students with the culture and traditions of representatives of all nationalities living in the country, as well as to combine efforts in the development of common methodological and practical approaches to the study and promotion of the Kazakhstani model of multi-ethnic society in the process of formation of tolerant behavior among students.
The celebration ended in one of Institute departments of the Assembly of people of Kazakhstan, the Centre for Azerbaijani Culture and History. There, over a cup of tea, in unofficial and warm atmosphere the gathered discussed the further prospects of work of the Institute of Assembly of people of Kazakhstan, exchanged ideas and plans on development and activity of the Institute.
More information on the Institute's activities HERE