INTERNATIONAL ARCHIVISTS EXCHANGED EXPERIENCE AT KAZNU

The debate session of the I International Congress of Archivists "Archives, Museums and Libraries: Changing Trajectory in the Preserving National Memory" was held at the Al-Farabi Kazakh National University.

The event, initiated by the Archive of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan under the auspices of the International Council of Archives was supported by the Ministries of Culture and Sports of the Republic of Kazakhstan and Foreign Affairs, as well as the Akimat of Almaty.

The congress was attended by the following specialists and foreign experts, as the Director of the State Archives Department under the President of the Republic of Turkey Ugur Unal, Head of the Communication and Information Department of the UNESCO Cluster Office in Almaty Sergey Karpov, Deputy Chairman of the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage Committee Rustam Muzafarov, faculty and students of the university. Moderator of the event – Chairman of the Board - Rector of Al-Farabi Kazakh National University Zhanseit Tuimebayev noted the success of the university, which occupies a leading position in the training of archivists and document scientists.

Since 1991 the educational program "Archival Science and Source Criticism" at the university has been taught. Within the framework of the memorandum on dual education between KazNU and the Archive of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Educational and Production Department of World History and Historiography and Source Studies is successfully functioning. The training of specialists in "IT Documentation and Archival Science" is conducted for the second time this year.

In addition, KazNU annually collaborates with the Archive of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Russian State University for the Humanities to hold an International Summer School for Young Archivists.

"Today the Department of World History, Historiography and Source Studies pays special attention to research activity. In the near future, it is planned to train specialists in this field in the Istanbul and Bishkek branches of the University and open a scientific center "Documentation and Archival Science in Central Asia" on the basis of KazNU," Zhanseit Tuimebayev stated.

The representative of the UN Department of Global Communications Vlastimil Samek spoke at the congress, he drew attention to the role of the archive in preserving memory and emphasized the modern possibilities of digitalization. "I am grateful that such an important event is being held in Kazakhstan at the Al-Farabi Kazakh National University, which is a Global hub of the UN," he said.

Director of the Library of the First President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Bakytzhan Temirbolat mentioned that archives, libraries and museums lay the foundation of historical memory. "Today digitalization has entered our life and unites these three spheres. The actual requirement is the training of IT specialists -archivists, IT librarians, IT museum employees. KazNU named after Al-Farabi carries out this training," he claimed.

During the discussion, the participants raised issues of archival development, preservation of historical and documentary heritage and new directions of source criticism.

Press Service of Al-Farabi Kazakh National University