Tashkent, Uzbekistan – 11 August 2024. From 28 July to 8 August this year, Mushtariy Usmonova, Research Fellow at the IAIS Centre for European Studies, was in Istanbul to participate in the International Summer School “A New Era for the Turkic World” organised by the Heydar Aliyev Centre for Eurasian Studies at Ibn Haldun University (IHU, Turkiye) in cooperation with the Organization of Turkic States (OTS), University of World Economy and Diplomacy (Uzbekistan), Institute for Development and Diplomacy at ADA University (Azerbaijan) and Khodja Ahmed Yasavi International Kazakh-Turkish University (Kazakhstan).

The students of this course consisted of representatives of research and academic circles (more than 60 participants) from the USA, Germany, England, China, Iran, Russia, India, Poland, Pakistan, Bulgaria and 20 member states of the OTS.

The opening ceremony of the Summer School was attended by Professor Irfan Gündüz, Chairman of the IHU Board of Trustees, Najmeddin Bilal Erdoğan, Vice Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Sadi Jafarov, Deputy Secretary General of the OTS, and Akram Umarov, First Vice Rector for Academic Affairs of UWED. In the subsequent discussion panels and lectures, UWED Vice Rector for Science and Innovation Gulnoza Ismailova and faculty members delivered speeches. In addition, a number of highly qualified experts from leading educational and research institutions of the world delivered lectures.

Global and regional security challenges, problems of logistics and transport corridors, issues of education and humanitarian co-operation, environmental and climate challenges were discussed in depth. The most acute and serious topic of discussions was the problem of identity (National, Turkic, Central Asian, post-Soviet identities) in the modern Turkic-speaking space. Attention was focused on the importance of preserving cultural identity in the conditions of globalisation and mutual influence.

The International Summer School “A New Era for the Turkic World” was an important step in strengthening scientific co-operation and knowledge exchange between the countries of the Turkic world and beyond. The training course not only provided a unique opportunity to discuss key global and regional challenges, but also promoted international dialogue on various issues. The event emphasised the importance of joint efforts in finding solutions to current and future challenges, strengthened ties between research and academic circles, and deepened mutual understanding among representatives of different countries.