Ankara panel in the footsteps of Ismail Gaspirali: speakers from five Turkic countries on shared language and memory

On October 31, the second day of the Turkic World Dialogue Forum in Ankara, a panel titled "In the Footsteps of Gaspirali: Language, Culture and Memory in the Turkic World" took place. The forum was organised by the Presidency's Communications Directorate alongside the 13th OTS Summit (October 30-31). The report comes from QHA.

TURKSOY Secretary General Sultan Raev said in his opening speech that repeating Gaspirali's words is not enough, and that shared digital resources and education programmes are needed. He argued that technology cannot replace culture and that heritage must be kept alive through education, art and cultural production. Prof. Esma Ozdasli, head of the Ismail Gaspirali Foreign Policy Institute, moderated.

Akif Asirli, editor-in-chief of Sark Gazetesi, spoke about Gaspirali's ties with Azerbaijani intellectuals and the role of the Tercuman newspaper. Kazakh poet and journalist Ulugbek Orazbayuly Esdaulet asked for Gaspirali's legacy to be turned into concrete goals and proposed widening the notion of "Turkestan literature". Prof. Juliboy Eltazarov, dean of philology at Samarkand State University, described the breaks in shared memory caused by Soviet alphabet changes and ideological control of history; he proposed joint textbooks, student exchanges, Turkology centres and a digital archive.

Prof. Elmira Huribayeva of Kyrgyzstan recalled shared epics such as Manas, Dede Korkut and Koroghlu, along with music and crafts, and suggested joint summer programmes and festivals for young people. Oktay Oksuzoglu, the OTS Elder (Aksakal) for Northern Cyprus, described how Turkish Cypriots preserved their language and identity under pressure.