Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences

One of the issues discussed at the meeting of the Presidium of ANAS on December 20 was related to the results of the visit of the President of ANAS, Academician Isa Habibbeyli to the French Republic to participate in the international conference titled “Mapping the World in Lexicography: the 950th anniversary of “Diwan Lughat al-Turk”, held at UNESCO headquarters.   

Academician Isa Habibbeyli stated that the main goal of the international scientific conference held at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris was to highlight the contributions of “Diwan Lughat al-Turk” to world culture, as well as its role in the development of language and cultural heritage of Turkic peoples, and to emphasize the scientific significance of the work. As part of the event, presentations were held for the publication of Mahmud Kashgari’s “Diwan Lughat al-Turk” by ANAS and the Russian-language edition reprinted by the International Turkic Culture and Heritage Foundation.

Academician Isa Habibbeyli noted that at the meeting of the Presidium of ANAS, held on January 29, 2024, a decision was made regarding the preparation and publication of Mahmud Kashgari’s work “Diwan Lughat al-Turk”, translated into Azerbaijani by Khalid Said Khojayev. The decision emphasized that the discovery of Mahmud Kashgari’s work “Diwan Lughat al-Turk” translated into Azerbaijani by Khalid Said Khojayev, an Azerbaijani scholar of Uzbek origin and a victim of repression, is a significant scientific event. At the meeting of the Presidium of ANAS held on March 5, 2024, relevant instructions were issued based on the resolution titled “the ANAS publication of Mahmud Kashgari’s “Diwan Lughat al-Turk” in the translation by Khalid Said Khojaev”. They included organizing the presentation of the publication in the academies of sciences, as well as in other scientific, educational, and cultural institutions of Turkic republics, and sending the book to the libraries of these organizations.

Academician Isa Habibbeyli mentioned that the presentation of the publication prepared by ANAS at the UNESCO level is one of the most remarkable events in the 80-year history of the Academy of Sciences. He highly appreciated the contributions of the International Turkic Culture and Heritage Foundation and its president Aktoty Raimkulova, as well as the Secretary-General of the National Commission of the Republic of Azerbaijan for UNESCO, Seymur Fataliyev in organizing the event and expressed his gratitude to them.

Academician Isa Habibbeyli said that the international conference dedicated to the 950th anniversary of “Diwan Lughat al-Turk” was organized in the format of four sections. The event was attended by the permanent delegations of Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Türkiye, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, and Hungary to UNESCO, as well as European Turkologists.

Speaking about the fourth section of the conference, which he moderated, Academician Isa Habibbeyli noted that during this section, the edition of rare manuscript of Mahmud Kashgari's “Diwan Lughat al-Turk”, translated into Azerbaijani by Khalid Said Khodjaev in Latin alphabet, and discovered at ANAS, was presented. It was noted that the presentation featured speeches by Elman Abdullayev, Permanent Representative of the Republic of Azerbaijan to UNESCO, Aktoty Raimkulova, President of the International Turkic Culture and Heritage Foundation, Seymur Fataliyev, Secretary-General of the National Commission of the Republic of Azerbaijan for UNESCO, Professor Hasan Hasanov, Professor Nadir Mammadli, Director of the Institute of Linguistics of ANAS named after Nasimi, and PhD in Philology, Vafa Abdullayeva-Nabiyeva. Additionally, speeches were delivered by scholars from Türkiye, France, the Netherlands, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and other countries.

Academician Isa Habibbeyli emphasized that the presentation of “Diwan Lughat al-Turk” in Paris also signifies bringing an issue related to the Turkic world to the level of UNESCO and is a continuation of the works carried out at ANAS based on President Ilham Aliyev’s statement: “Our family is the Turkic world!”. He noted that this event also demonstrated the level of development of Azerbaijani science to the world from the center of Europe – UNESCO Headquarters. The head of ANAS added that this success is a result of the successful foreign policy of the Azerbaijani state under the leadership of President Ilham Aliyev.

Following this, Aktoty Raimkulova, President of the International Turkic Culture and Heritage Foundation, greeted the participants on behalf of the organization she leads. Providing information about the history and activities of the Foundation, A.Raimkulova highlighted that the institution has implemented numerous important projects aimed at preserving and promoting cultural heritage. She noted that 2024 had been a productive year for the Foundation, emphasizing that Uzbekistan had become a full-fledged member and Turkmenistan had joined as an observer member. She also provided details about projects serving the strategic unity of the Turkic world, events held, publications released, monuments restored, and those planned for future restoration. She mentioned that the Foundation organizes training programs for young people in the field of preserving Turkic cultural heritage and has established cultural heritage centers in higher education institutions.

Aktoty Raimkulova stated that holding the international conference titled “Mapping the World in Lexicography: the 950th anniversary of “Diwan Lughat al-Turk” and the presentation of related publications held at UNESCO Headquarters were historic events. She added that the discovery and publication by the scholars of the ANAS Institute of Linguistics of the manuscript of Mahmud Kashgari’s “Diwan Lughat al-Turk”, belonging to Khalid Said Khodjaev, is another contribution by the Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences to the unity of the Turkic world.

After her detailed speech, Aktoty Raimkulova presented a Russian translation of Mahmud Kashgari’s “Diwan Lughat al-Turk”, prepared by the International Turkic Culture and Heritage Foundation, to Academician Isa Habibbeyli.

Professor Hasan Hasanov, a member of the Council of Elders of the Organization of Turkic States, stated in his speech that the event at UNESCO with the participation of Azerbaijani scholars was held at a high-level. He noted that the publication of Mahmud Kashgari’s “Diwan Lughat al-Turk” in Khalid Said Khodjaev’s translation by ANAS is one of the highest contributions of the Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences to the science of the Turkic world. He pointed out that Mahmud Kashgari laid the foundation of Turkology with his work “Diwan Lughat al-Turk” and worked towards the brotherhood of the Turkic peoples. He emphasized that today the Organization of Turkic States is striving to turn the ethnic unity of the Turkic peoples into a political unity, and the aforementioned publication by ANAS serves this goal. 

Subsequently, the decision of the Presidium of ANAS regarding this matter was announced.

Reyhan Majidli, Public Relations, Press and Information Department of the Presidium Administration of ANAS

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