l-Farabi’s Legacy and the Ideas of Sustainable Development

On October 29, the Department of Meteorology and Hydrology of the Faculty of Geography and Environmental Sciences at Al-Farabi Kazakh National University held an open lecture titled “Al-Farabi and the Ideas of Sustainable Development: Continuity of Science and Society.” The lecture was attended by second-year students of the department.

The event was organized by R. Akhmetova, senior curator of the department, and Associate Professor U. Dzholdybayeva, with support from second-year curator Zh. Beksultanova.

R. Akhmetova opened the lecture by showing how the thinker’s views on education and a virtuous society relate to today’s ideas of sustainable development. Associate Professor U. Dzholdybayeva then gave a talk on “The Scientific Legacy of Al-Farabi,” introducing the content of his works and their relevance today.

Al-Farabi’s ideas on knowledge, justice and mutual support were discussed in relation to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs):

• the value of knowledge – SDG 4 “Quality Education”;

• questions of justice – SDG 10 “Reduced Inequalities”;

• reflections on communal life – SDG 11 “Sustainable Cities and Communities”;

• the ideas of a virtuous society and just governance from his treatise The Opinions of the People of the Virtuous City – SDG 16 “Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions”;

• mutual support and cooperation – SDG 17 “Partnerships for the Goals.”

To close the event, PhD student A. Abenova ran a quiz on the life and legacy of al-Farabi. The students actively answered the questions and reinforced what they had learned during the lecture.