Doctor of historical sciences, Professor, Chief Research Scientist of the Institute of History of State of the CS of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Kazakhstan, A.M. Auanasova shared her thoughts and ideas.
Theme, raised in N.A. Nazarbayev's article "Looking into the Future: Modernization of Public Consciousness" is in tune with the processes Kazakhstan is currently experiencing. It fully becomes an integral part of economic and political modernization, which our country began with the proclamation of Independence. According to the professor, the article sets the vector of the movement of the Kazakh nation for years to come, since the mentioned modernization touches upon, first of all, the issues connected with the formation of a new model of consciousness and thinking that form the basis of our Kazakhstani nation. Based on the proposed priority, Kazakhstan has the opportunity to connect the horizons of the past, present and future for a decade ahead.
- Alima Musirovna, what do you think is the foundation of the main elements of modernization proposed by the President?
- The basic elements of the modernization of the consciousness of both the society and every Kazakhstani - the competitiveness and pragmatism allocated by the President of Kazakhstan are based on the national identity, culture, education, which will rightfully become the factors of the nation's success, and bring Kazakhstan closer to 30 competitive countries of the world.
- What tasks are set for scientists?
- The tasks facing the creative intelligentsia – scientists, historians in the conditions of global competitiveness in the field of education science stem from the specific historical conditions of modern reality: first, deep historical logic makes us constantly return to studying the history of the twentieth century. We, scientists, take lessons, draw conclusions, predict, allowing society to move in a given direction. In other words, scholars of the humanities set a kind of algorithm for the movement of the nation, trying to preserve the features of Kazakhstan's historical development and use scientific achievements to shape the self-awareness of Kazakhstan society. Secondly, understanding that the evolutionary development of Kazakhstan's society is the nation's chance to prosper, we constantly set ourselves the task of preparing works of a philosophical nature that allow us to form a young generation ready to face the challenges of the time. At the same time, our work carries the task of preserving the cultural code of the nation. Our future, the future of Independence will depend on how productive our work will be in this direction.
- What will be the focus of modern youth in this case?
- I think that our work should be aimed at revealing the youth's consciousness in their readiness for change, the ability to perceive other people's experience, the best world achievements, for the good of the country. Such multidimensional perception of reality shapes young people's knowledge of world trends and events, on the one hand, and on the other, contributes to the preservation of national history, culture, art, music in our time.
- What do you think about the transition of the Kazakh language to the Latin alphabet?
- The proposed agenda for the coming years - a gradual transition to the Latin alphabet is a natural, objective step, to which Kazakhstan is approaching with all caution. First, the transition will restore the broken spiritual ties with a single Turkic world, which was violated in the conditions of totalitarianism, with which we have been historically, spiritually connected for many centuries. Secondly, the transition will bring us closer to active cooperation and influence on the Islamic, Turkic world with its peace-loving policy of openness and tolerance. Third, through the modern technological environment, the communication of the scientific and educational process, we can promote the achievements of the nation; preserve national identity and cultural code. This is very important in a globalizing world. At the same time, we must preserve the intellectual and spiritual heritage, gained through the Cyrillic alphabet, which has been accumulated over the years. And this is a huge layer of literature, art, history, and music.
- This is exactly what the President mentioned in the program article.
- Yes, the projects proposed by the Head of State "New humanitarian knowledge. 100 new textbooks in the Kazakh language", "Tugan zher", "Sacred Geography of Kazakhstan", "Cultural and Geographic Belts", "Modern Kazakhstan Culture in the Global World", will allow to recreate a set of measures to block the impact of alien ideological influences, to preserve and create certain cultural values, to form national symbolism, which will become the frame of national identity. In this issue, it is not the least role that should be given to the heraldry of Kazakhstan, which as a science, having its deep historical, cultural roots, can become a unifying factor in the renewal of the nation.
- Which of the projects proposed by the Head of State would you single out specifically?
- I would like to say separately about the proposed project "100 new faces of Kazakhstan" - this is the story of 100 specific people from different regions, different ages and nationalities who have succeeded during the rapid years of Independence. The project is very significant for scientists involved in the period of Independence, because it gives a chance to fill the picture of modern reality of Kazakhstan, to humanize history. Consonant with the series "Uly Dala Tulgalary" (project of the Institute of History of State), which is regularly replenished with new, forgotten names of Kazakhstanis, the proposed project will enable researchers on specific stories of people, outstanding contemporaries, to reveal the activities of the person first and foremost at critical moments in the history of Independence. Their stories, about life, fixed in new books, will remain as an example for imitation of future generations of youth and make up the golden fund of the nation. Recreating such true stories should become one of the directions of professional work of the Institute of History of State. Another question, what are the selection criteria for 100 new faces? To this end, it is likely in the future, a working group will be created that will be able to develop adequate criteria for selecting candidates for the list of 100 new individuals in Kazakhstan. Historians who have lost their historic chance should fully use it, as it allows the formation of a younger generation and serves as a conceptual basis for spiritual renewal of the nation and one of the vectors of modernization.
- Thank you! Let's wish success to the historians of Kazakhstan.
Translated by Raushan MAKHMETZHANOVA
