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Director of IICAS Mr. Evren Rutbil took part in the international webinar on “The Ancient Turkic Calendar and its Reflection in the World Outlook of the Peoples of Central Asia” (Almaty/Kazakhstan, 14^th March 2024). The webinar was organized by the National Committee of the Republic of Kazakhstan for the Protection of Intangible Cultural Heritage and the Institute of Literature and Art named after Mukhtar Auezov. The objective of the webinar was to assess the Turkic calendar based on astronomical, ethnographic and cultural approaches. The conference was attended by scientists from Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Turkey, Uzbekistan and Japan with the presentation of papers on the role played by the twelve-year cycle of the Turkic calendar in the daily life of the peoples of Central Asia. Examples were given from oral heritage, including statements and judgments of epic heroes, descriptions of everyday activities and social practices associated with calendar periods. In his speech, the Director of IICAS emphasized that currently about 26 elements related to traditional calendars are included in the lists under the UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage. Taking into account the existing traditional knowledge, IICAS proposed to initiate the preparation of a multinational nomination “Traditional Social Practice based on the Ancient Turkic Calendar” for the UNESCO Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage.

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