The II Congress of Archivists “Heritage Institutions on the Way to Sustainable Development of Society”

Within the framework of Sustainable Development Goals №17. Partnership for Sustainable Development

The grand opening ceremony of the 2nd Archivists Congress began with an address by the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, to the forum participants. The address emphasized that the Congress has successfully established itself as a promising platform for a broad exchange of ideas and experience, and for finding new research approaches in the field of archival work. The President also noted the rich agenda of the Congress with topical issues about the place of heritage institutions in modern society and their role in achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

The opening took place in the historical Independence Hall of the Kazakh-British Technical University, where the Declaration of State Sovereignty of the Kazakh SSR was adopted on October 25, 1990.

The Congress was greeted by honored guests: Head of the General Department of the Presidential Administration N.T. Toleev, Representative of the UN Department of Global Communications in Kazakhstan Vlastimil Samek, and Director of the State Archives Department under the President of the Republic of Turkey Mehmet Ahmet Tokdemir.

Video addresses to the Congress participants were delivered by UNESCO Deputy Director-General Tawfik Jelassi and Executive Director of the Research Services of the US National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) Chris Naylor.

Director of the Archives of the Republic of Kazakhstan A.Kh. Mustafina opened the panel session with a report outlining the main directions of archival work development in general, noting the importance of developing archival practices and professional competencies of archivists, and acquainting the Congress participants with the concept of development of the Archives of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan until 2035.

Another key report at the plenary session of the Congress was delivered by Rita Tjien Fooh, President of the Forum of National Archivists of the International Council on Archives (ICA) and Director of the National Archives of Suriname. As the official representative of ICA at the Congress, Rita Tjien Fooh spoke about the organization's role in supporting its members affected by climate change in recent years. She elaborated on the strategy developed by ICA for the Caribbean region, which suffers from climate hazards almost every year.

The Congress was organized by the Archives of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan, and the Al-Farabi Kazakh National University, in particular, the faculty and students of the Department of World History, Historiography and Source Studies.

Responsible persons are Professor of the Department of World History, historiography and source studies R. S. Myrzabekova, N. K. Alpysbaeva, G. S. Zhugenbaeva, B. E. Nurpeisova, G. E. Sabdenova