Presenting the Study Guide and Attending Conferences as Key Research Project Activities

In October 2024, as part of the grant project AR14870429, “Kazakh Children’s Literature in the Global Literary Context as a Foundation for National Identity,” led by Doctor of Philology, Professor Kadisha Nurgali, and funded by the Science Committee of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Kazakhstan for 2022–2024, major events were held to promote Kazakh children’s literature on the international stage.

From October 14 to 16, 2024, the international academic conference “Przestrzenie Przekładu” (“Spaces of Translation”) took place at the University of Silesia in Katowice, Poland. Leading scholars from Poland and Europe, including representatives from the Polish Academy of Sciences, the University of Warsaw, and Maria Curie-Skłodowska University, discussed pressing issues in literary translation, with a particular focus on the cultural and social dimensions of translation—a topic highly relevant to the objectives of the project.

During the “Literary Translation” session, led by Kadisha Nurgali, Head of the Department of Russian Philology at L.N. Gumilyov Eurasian National University, the discussion focused on the challenges of translating children’s literature into Kazakh and Russian. In her presentation, “On Translations of Children’s Literature in Kazakhstan,” Kadisha Nurgali outlined the key challenges translators face in this field and emphasized the role of translation in preserving Kazakhstan’s cultural identity

Additionally, Zhanna Nurmanova, Candidate of Pedagogical Sciences and Acting Associate Professor of the Department of Russian Philology, presented her study, “The History of Translating Berdibek Sokpakbaev’s Children’s Prose,” dedicated to the Kazakh classic whose 100th anniversary has been included in the UNESCO calendar. She compared the translations of Sokpakbaev’s works by K. Semenova and S. Sokpakbaeva, the author’s daughter, underscoring their importance for readers both in Kazakhstan and abroad. It is also worth noting that the conference marked the release of the collective monograph Children's and Young Adult Literature of Kazakhstan: Stages, Trends, and Characteristics, edited by K. Nurgali and I. Mineralova, further highlighting the project's high scholarly value for the international community.

A few days later, on October 23, 2024, another landmark event took place within the framework of the project – the presentation of the new study guide “Children's and Young Adult Literature of the Republic of Kazakhstan” in the Context of World Children's and Young Adult Literature at the Faculty of Philology of Moscow Pedagogical State University (MPGU). This study guide, published in 2023 by Master PO, is intended for undergraduate students and was developed with consideration of the current issues and objectives outlined by the grant project.

The meeting began with a lecture by Professor Kadisha Nurgali titled Modern Textbooks on Children’s Literature in Kazakhstan, in which she discussed approaches to writing educational materials and emphasized the role of children’s literature in shaping national identity. Professor Nurgali paid special attention to the content and structure of the new guide, highlighting its value in training specialists in literary studies.

Doctor of Philology, Professor Irina Mineralova, a co-author of the educational complex, highlighted the unique aspects of individual chapters in the textbook, while Zhanna Nurmanova presented the “Reader” accompanying the guide, focusing on works by Kazakh authors. This contributed to integrating Kazakh children’s literature into the international educational process.

Both events within the project represented significant steps toward promoting Kazakh children’s literature, fostering its recognition on an international level.