― 9 марта 2023 г.

International Conference on Jadidists and their contribution to the development of Turkestan

At the opening of the Conference, organised by the Uzbek Government in cooperation with the Organisation of Turkic States, TURKSOY, Turkic Academy, Turkic Culture and Heritage Foundation, the congratulatory message of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Mr. Shavkat Mirziyoyev was delivered to the participants by the Advisor to the President Mr. Hayriddin Sultanov.

The President expressed his gratitude to the leaders and representatives of the Organisations of Turkic Cooperation for their assistance in the organisation of this event.

The Deputy Secretary General of TURKSOY Mr. Bilal Çakıcı, the Deputy Secretary General of the Organisation of Turkic States Mirvokhid Azimov, the President of the Turkic Academy Shahin Mustafayev and the Project Director of the Turkic Culture and Heritage Foundation Mirbek Karabayev addressed the participants at the opening ceremony of the conference.

In his speech, TURKSOY Deputy Secretary General Bilal Çakıcı drew attention to the importance of the Conference by stating that Jadidism is a very important turning point and opening of ideas in the formation of the Turkic World. Çakıcı: ''We know that the usul-i jadid movement, as the reflections of the enlightenment philosophy of the Turkic World on the Turkic-Islamic World, has led to the emergence of important new perspectives in many fields, especially education. I would like to state that you, as the Organisation, attach great importance to the organisation of this conference where this enlightenment movement will be discussed from various angles by experts in the field. Taking advantage of this opportunity, I would like to commemorate with mercy, gratitude and respect Ismail Bey Gaspıralı, who lit the flare of this movement, and the Jadid travellers who, inspired by him, left works in his way in education, culture, art, politics and other fields and sacrificed their lives for this cause. The idea of Usul-i Jadid brought a breath of fresh air to Turkestan, which had been under the influence of Usul-i Kadim thought for many years. Jadidists strongly opposed the use of stereotypes as a control mechanism to isolate the Turkic peoples from the outside world and innovations. In their works, these intellectuals underlined that an education system shaped in the light of reason and science would be critical for the development of societies. In this way, they argued that developing societies would protect their independence by strengthening their sovereignty against imperialist countries. Today, if Turkic states emphasise issues such as modernisation in education, equality of gender and opportunity, and the use of the native language, it is possible to say that the modern schools opened by usul-i jadid intellectuals all over Turkestan sowed the seeds for this. The usul-i jedid, which became the political ideology of the Turkic peoples' struggle for independence against the imperialist expansionist powers of the period, requires further research and analysis as an idea for which thousands of intellectuals died.''

During the conference, the participants expressed their views on the impact of such

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