Olzhas Suleimenov to be nominated for Nobel Peace Prize
The International Center for the Rapprochement of Cultures under the auspices of UNESCO is holding its ninth international conference in Almaty on September 29. Dedicated to the 90th anniversary of Olzhas Suleimenov, the event is titled Intellectual History of Central Asia in the Second Half of the 20th Century and focuses on promoting a culture of knowledge, Qazinform News Agency reports.
The event brings together scholars, researchers, and members of the intellectual community from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, Türkiye, Russia, and Tajikistan.
The conference opened with an address by Suleimenov, a prominent writer and thinker who heads the International Center for the Rapprochement of Cultures under the auspices of UNESCO. He emphasized the importance of preserving the legacy of the Nevada-Semipalatinsk movement for future generations, while noting that the most appropriate way to commemorate it still needs to be determined.
The conference also focuses on promoting shared history and preserving historical memory, expanding access to knowledge, strengthening mutual understanding, and fostering intercultural dialogue. Participants believe these efforts can contribute to more humane international relations.
In a resolution adopted at the conference, participants called for a systematic study of the intellectual, literary, scientific, and philosophical legacy of Central Asia’s intelligentsia, along with practical measures to integrate it into modern cultural and educational programs.
The resolution also called for Suleimenov’s historical and linguistic research to be more widely introduced into academic study. It proposed targeted funding, with support from interested countries and organizations, for an international research project aimed at developing Olzhas studies as a recognized academic discipline.
Participants also proposed seeking the inclusion of key principles of Suleimenov’s philosophy of conscious interdependence on UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage list, presenting it as a philosophical concept aimed at fostering more humane international relations and closer ties between cultures in the 21st century.
The resolution also proposed adding October 19, 1989 — the date marking the halt of nuclear testing at the Semipalatinsk Test Site — to the calendar of significant commemorative dates.
In addition, scientific and cultural organizations were invited to join the work of an international organizing committee established in 2026 to nominate Olzhas Suleimenov for the Nobel Peace Prize, with the initiative seeking to make him the first Nobel laureate from Central Asia.
The conference is being held with the support of Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Culture and Information as part of the Reading Nation project and UNESCO’s Medium-Term Strategy for 2022-2029.
Earlier, Qazinform News Agency reported that Kazakhstan expands scientific infrastructure for peaceful atom.
