International Scientific and Practical Conference dedicated to the 15th anniversary of the National Archive

On September 22, 2021, the Library of the First President of the Republic of Kazakhstan – Elbasy hosted an International scientific and practical conference on “Independence and Elbasy: a new history of creation”, organized by the Library of the First President of the Republic of Kazakhstan – Elbasy and the National Archive of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

The event was dedicated to the 30th anniversary of independence and the 15th anniversary of the National Archive of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

The conference was attended by representatives of the country’s top political leadership, information and research centers, state and national archives of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Turkey, Uzbekistan, experts and specialists in the field of modern history of Kazakhstan and global political transformations.

The participants got acquainted with the specifics of the strategy for the formation of independent Kazakhstan and discussed the historical role of the First President N. A. Nazarbayev in the development and modernization of the country through the prism of the development of the archival industry.

A congratulatory letter from the Prime Minister of Kazakhstan – Askar Mamin was read out at the opening of the conference. The document stated: “Today, the National Archive, which is a documentary monument of the country’s history, a treasure trove of values, has turned into a repository of national resources that store historical, scientific, economic and political documents that are an integral part of the historical and cultural heritage of Kazakhstan.”

Collecting a chronicle of significant events that enrich the content of the new history of the young state, passing on every moment of our sovereignty to future generations, preserving it as the apple of your eye – this is certainly a noble task you are doing!

In addition to improving the national archival business, preserving the documentary heritage, you establish close relations with foreign partners and make a significant contribution to the development of international cooperation!”, the message reads.

 

In a congratulatory letter, the Secretary of State Krymbek Kusherbayev highly appreciated the work of the National Archive: “The archives are a precious treasure trove of history. Archive – a storehouse of genealogy, history. I congratulate you on the 15th anniversary of the National Archive, which coincided with the 30th anniversary of the country’s Independence.

The archive is a shrine that preserves not only the history of our ancestors, but also their aspirations and dreams, wisdom and individuality, their reason and precepts. Each document in the archive is unique information that reflects the rich historical record of the country. Historical consciousness, supported by evidence and arguments – is a valuable tool for forming national identity.”

The archives of Kazakhstan play a huge role in recognizing the depth of our history and the independence of our state all over the world,” he said.

 

 

The head of the Office of the First President of the Republic of Kazakhstan-Elbasy also sent a congratulatory address. Makhmut Kassymbekov wished all the best: “Each archive keeps the history of the past and future of the state imprinted on paper and passes it on to future generations. Archive-keeper of national history, a valuable treasury. Created on the initiative of Elbasy Nursultan Nazarbayev, the National Archive of the Republic of Kazakhstan steadily fulfills its mission to transfer valuable documents of a sovereign country to future generations. Today, due to the effective use of information technologies, it has become a methodological center that increases the availability of archival documents for general use, conducts international events on archival and documentation issues for the public and organizations. We are grateful to the archivists who are directly involved in creating a new history of Kazakhstan and work tirelessly to create a database of documents about the most important events of the independence  period.”

 

 

Director of the Library of the First President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Bakytzhan Temirbolat delivered a welcoming speech in the plenary part of the conference.

– With the adoption of the Law “On the National Archival Fund and Archives” on December 22, 1998, a decisive stage in the development of archival affairs in Kazakhstan began. In the archival sphere, the main regulatory legal documents were developed and adopted for its development. The programs “Cultural Heritage”, “Rukhani Zhangyru”, “Archive-2025” have become conceptual documents that determine the priorities of the development of the archival industry. The program articles of the Head of State N. A. Nazarbayev “Seven facets of the Great Steppe” and President K. Tokayev “Independence above all” were of great importance. In this context, we should consider the order of the Head of State to establish a commission for the rehabilitation of victims of political repression,” he said and congratulated the staff of the National Archive of the Republic of Kazakhstan on its 15th anniversary.

 

– Over the years of independence, many issues in the field of archival affairs have been studied and revised. In particular, the Government decree of December 20, 2019 adopted a comprehensive action plan for the implementation of the project “Archive-2025″, aimed at replenishing the National Archival Fund and introducing into scientific circulation documents on the history of Kazakhstan stored in domestic and foreign archives, museums, libraries and research Within the framework of the state program” Digital Kazakhstan”, the Ministry of Culture and Sports has developed the information system” Unified Archive of Electronic Documents”, which fully automates the work of state archives and ensures their safety for future generations. Today, there are more than 200 state archival institutions and their branches in the republic, five of which are at the national level. The volume of documents of the National Archive Fund and personnel documents is more than 25 million items of storage. Every year, the volume of the archive fund increases by an average of 400 thousand units of storage, ” said Gabidulla Abdrakhimov, Vice Minister of Culture and Sports of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

Deputy Chairman of the Scientific Council of the National Archive of the Republic of Kazakhstan Mirbolat Zhakypov noted that thanks to the policy of the First President of the Republic of Kazakhstan N. A. Nazarbayev, Kazakhstan has become a leader in digitalization in the CIS.

 

 

 

 

– I would like to take this opportunity to sincerely congratulate the fraternal and friendly Republic of Kazakhstan on the 30th anniversary of independence and the 15th anniversary of the National Archive. I hope that the close relations and trusting partnership between our countries and institutions will be even We are ready to strengthen cooperation with Kazakhstan in the archival sphere – ” said the Director of the State Archive under the President of the Republic of Turkey Ugur Unal.

 

Genera director of the National Archives of the United Arab Emirates Abdullah Al-Raisi in his video message congratulated the Republic of  Kazakhstan on the 30th anniversary of independence.

– I remember our first meeting with the delegation of the National Archives, which took place in Abu Dhabi in 2019, and where we discussed ways to develop the archival industry. We are pleased to have signed a Memorandum of Cooperation and close cooperation aimed at developing the activities of the National Archives of the Republic of Kazakhstan and the United Arab Emirates. We hope that we will meet more often, exchange ideas, experience, and delegations – ” he said.

 

Director of the Central State Archive of the Kyrgyz Republic Zhumabai Bechekov spoke about trends and prospects for the development of archives in Kyrgyzstan. Leading Researcher at the Institute of Russian History of the Russian Academy of Sciences Dina Amanzholova made a report  “Creative vector of the new history of Kazakhstan: state and leader”. Director of the Central State Archive Sabit Shildebay delivered a report on “The First President of the Republic of Kazakhstan – Elbasy N. Nazarbayev and the idea of unity of the Turkic people”. Professor of the Department of History of Kazakhstan and World History of Atyrau State University named after Kh. Dosmukhamedov Akkali Ahmet touched upon the role of the archive in the information age. Head of the Information Service of the Uzarkhiv Agency of the Republic of Uzbekistan Anvarjon Aliyev shared his opinion on studying the world experience of creating and implementing information systems  for archive management.

At the end of the conference, Director of the National Archive of the Republic of Kazakhstan Sagila Nurlanova made a report on the accomplished work  and the path taken by the National Archive from its establishment in 2006 to the present day.

 

“It should be noted that employees of the  National  Archive  of  the Republic of Kazakhstan for many years within the  framework  of  the Madeni Mura program made business trips to the archives  of  Turkey, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Japan, and Russia and brought valuable documents and exhibits related to the history of our  country .

A lot of work is also being done on the implementation of  the  state program “Archive-2025”, which is reflected in the article of the Head of State N. A. Nazarbayev “Seven facets of the Great Steppe”. In particular, the main goals and objectives  were  outlined,  issues  related  to  the history of Kazakhstan stored in foreign archives, obtaining  copies, publishing, digitizing, improving the  material  base,  providing  the necessary modern means and much more were identified,” she said in her speech.

Following the conference, a resolution was signed.