If We Want to Perpetuate Culture

An extended board meeting dedicated to the spheres of culture, archives, and publishing under the Ministry of Culture and Sports was held in Astana. Minister Askhat Oralov, who opened the meeting, delivered a substantive report, touching upon the current tasks set by the ministry, the "creative industry" and intangible cultural heritage, the implementation of which was instructed by the President. Speakers from the podium talked about the state of the industry.

One of the main tasks of the Ministry of Culture of the renewed Kazakhstan should be to nourish the living traditions that form the root of the treasures constituting the foundation of national spirituality, which have developed orally over centuries, been preserved in folk memory and acquired a creative character, but have begun to fade in our times. These traditions, belonging to the intangible cultural heritage of humanity, must be renewed and revived from generation to generation. Because the modern public need and the demand of the times is exactly this — it is necessary to open eyes to the urgent problems connected with the national mentality on the verge of eternal sleep, awaken buried values, put forgotten treasures back into service, recreate them for the benefit of the nation, and show the world the unity of past, present, and future in a new form and unexpected format based on living processes.

Since Kazakhstan's independence and to this day, much good work has been done in the field of culture, large-scale projects have been implemented, and many pressing issues have been resolved. There is no need to list them all. One can only express gratitude to those who stood at the origins of glorious initiatives and managed the Ministry of Culture to the best of their abilities. Many of the good deeds begun then continue to find worthy continuation today.

Kazakhstani performing arts, having conquered great heights, are in the process of continuous improvement. In this regard, there are few reasons for concern. But there are a number of significant unresolved issues that have accumulated over many years. Therefore, the minister's main task is to form an original concept within the framework of the "Concept for the Development of the Cultural Sphere" concerning national folklore genres, their revival and renewal, collection and systematization, creation of a unified national fund based on folklore heritage, and to define mechanisms for perpetuating national art.

Berik ZHUSIPOV,

folklorist

Astana city.

01/20/2023