Al-Farabi House-Museum opened in Turkey

The project is implemented by theKazNU together with the Istanbul Mayor with the support of the Turkic Council,TURKSOY and the Embassy of the Republic of Kazakhstan in Turkey, the pressservice of KazNU reports.

The solemnceremony was attended by Deputy Mayor of Istanbul Shengul Arslan, GeneralSecretary of TURKSOY Dyusen Kaseinov, Rector of the Al-Farabi KazNU GalymMutanov and Rector of University ofIstanbul Mahmoud Ak, representatives of the Embassy of the Republic ofKazakhstan in Turkey and the Consulate General of the Republic of Kazakhstan inIstanbul, the Kazakh diaspora in Europe, the media and the public.

The openingof the ethnographic House Museum is timed to the celebration of the 1150thanniversary of Al-Farabi, which will be celebrated under the auspices of theUNESCO in 2020 on a broad international scale. The Al-Farabi House Museum islocated in the very center of Istanbul - one of the world leaders of tourismand the ethnographic museum complex of the Turkic world. It consists of severalsections with unique information about the life and work of great Turkicthinker Abu Nasr al-Farabi, who was called the Second Teacher of humanity afterAristotle. It presents sculptural composition, historical artifacts, the worksof the scientist and books about the Thinker, who made a fundamentalcontribution to many areas of human knowledge. The intellectual heritage ofAl-Farabi covers mathematics, philology, chemistry, biology, astronomy,philosophy, medicine, logic, sociology, political science, law, ethics andother fields of knowledge. His systematization and classification of scienceshad influenced the subsequent development of world scientific thought. Thecreative activity of Al-Farabi fell on the era of the Renaissance of themedieval Arco-Muslim culture and became a connecting spiritual bridge betweenthe West and the East. In addition, at present, the ideas of Al-Farabi arehighly sought for rapprochement and mutual understanding of the cultures ofWestern and Eastern civilizations.

In thecontext of globalization and rapid development of technologies, and theemergence of new threats and challenges, the loss of cultural and spiritualvalues, Al-Farabi’s worldview, his views on the development of humancivilization, as well as his socio-ethical, political, philosophical thoughtsare becoming particularly relevant in our time.

«Establishmentof a separate house-museum of Al-Farabi in Turkey opens another importantmilestone in popularizing the treasury of Turkic and Kazakh culture through thecreative legacy of the Great Son of the Great Steppe - Al-Farabi, who played aninvaluable role in the history of human civilization», - highlighted in hisspeech KazNU’s rector Galym Mutanov.

Aninteresting excursion program has been developed for museum visitors, and forTurkish schoolchildren, a special educational course has been prepared on thebasis of the museum. Kazakh National University, which honorably bears the nameof the great Turkic thinker Al-Farabi, is actively working to research andpopularize his creative heritage, as well as to promote the culture ofKazakhstan and the achievements of the Great Steppe in the world. Based onAl-Farabi’s idea of a virtuous society, KazNU has developed a new generationuniversity model - University 4.0 - where, along with an innovativetechnological platform, the spiritual and moral component is activelydeveloped. This model was presented by KazNU’s Rector Galym Mutanov at the UNheadquarters in New York, where it was recommended for implementation at theinternational level. Jointly with the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations,within the framework of the «Rukhani Janghyru» program, KazNU has beenimplementing an international project «Forming Citizens of a Virtuous Society.The Mission of Modern Universities». Al-Farabi Research and Educational Centershave been opened and successfully operate at the leading Universities ofTurkey, Jordan, Italy, China, Egypt, Bulgaria and other countries, where theculture and traditions of Kazakh people are promoted and the Kazakh language isstudied.