On August 10, the Al-Farabi Library of Al-Farabi Kazakh National University hosted the regular international scientific and practical meeting “Abai of Humanity”, dedicated to the birthday of the great Kazakh poet, thinker, and educator Abai Kunanbaiuly.
The meeting was opened by M.K. Ibraimov, Member of the Management Board and Vice-Rector for Scientific and Innovative Activities of Al-Farabi KazNU. The event was jointly organized by the Abai Research Institute and the Al-Farabi Library.
The meeting brought together faculty members from higher and specialized secondary educational institutions across Kazakhstan, scholars from the Abai Research Institute, philologists and Abai studies researchers, as well as staff members of the Al-Farabi Library. Foreign scholars also joined the meeting online and presented reports on current issues in the study of Abai’s legacy.
The meeting featured extensive discussions on Abai’s creative heritage and philosophical worldview, the significance of his “Words of Edification”, the translation of his works, and contemporary areas of Abai studies.
Participants noted that Abai’s spiritual legacy continues to grow in relevance over time and emphasized the importance of studying his works from new scholarly perspectives. Particular attention was paid to the relevance of Abai’s ideas on morality, education and science, justice, and the concept of the “whole person” for contemporary society.
In her presentation, Zh.A. Arekenova, Director of the Al-Farabi Library, noted that the library’s collection contains a substantial body of scholarly and literary resources dedicated to Abai’s creative legacy. In particular, the collection includes 74 editions of Abai’s works in Kazakh, 33 in Russian, and 5 in foreign languages. In addition, 306 scholarly works in Kazakh and 36 in Russian devoted to the study of Abai’s legacy have been fully digitized and are available to readers via QR codes in the “Resources” section of the library’s official website.
The 50-volume “Abai Anthology”, prepared by the Abai Research Institute, was also presented to the audience. The electronic version of the anthology is available on the official website of the Al-Farabi Library, as well as via a QR code in the library’s Circulation Department. The project provides researchers and readers with an opportunity to systematically explore Abai’s legacy and access the anthology’s materials in a modern digital format.
These resources demonstrate the important role of the Al-Farabi Library as an information and scholarly center for the study of Abai’s works and the development of Abai studies, ensuring the preservation, systematization, and modern accessibility of materials related to the great poet’s legacy.
To mark Abai Day, the Al-Farabi Library also organized a book exhibition comprising four sections: “Abai’s Creative Legacy”, “Abai Recognized by the World”, “Mukhtar, Who Introduced Abai to the World”, and “Abai’s Teachings”. The exhibition featured various editions of Abai’s works from the library’s collection, scholarly studies dedicated to the poet’s legacy, Mukhtar Auezov’s epic novel “The Path of Abai”, as well as other works on Abai studies.
The event became an important platform for the scholarly study, preservation, and promotion of Abai’s legacy, while also highlighting the importance of making his creative heritage accessible to readers in a modern digital format.
