Oriented on making people closer

On March 25, a special event dedicated to the 300th anniversary of the birth of the outstanding Turkmen poet and thinker Magtymguly Pyragy was held at the UN headquarters in New York, organized by the Permanent Mission of Turkmenistan to the United Nations in cooperation with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the International Organization of Turkic Culture (TURKSOY).

The event was held under the motto "300 years of following the path of peace and trust of Magtymguly Pyragy" and tamed for World Poetry Day, according to the page of the Turkmen permanent Mission.

The solemn event was attended by the heads of the UNESCO Representative Office at the UN headquarters, the International Organization of Turkic Culture, the Chairman of the ECOSOC, permanent representatives of the UN member states, employees of diplomatic missions and UN agencies.

During the event, the importance of the adoption in 2023 of the decision of the UNESCO Executive Council on the international celebration of the 300th anniversary of Magtymguly Pyragy, as well as the proclamation of 2024 as the Year of Magtymguly Pyragy within the framework of TURKSOY, was noted.

The Permanent Representative of Turkmenistan to the United Nations, Ambassador Aksoltan Atayeva, opening the event stressed that Magtymguly’s poetry goes far beyond national and linguistic borders and influences poets and thinkers throughout the Turkic world and beyond.

The manuscripts of Magtymguly Pyragy, included in the UNESCO International Register "Memory of the World", were distributed over a large geographical area, in places visited by the poet, in what is now Central Asia, Afghanistan, the Caucasus, Iran, Russia, the Middle East and other regions of the world. This left an imprint on his worldview, became the core of his approaches based on respect for other peoples and cultures, good neighborliness, friendship and mutual understanding.

At the same time, while in other parts of the world, Magtymguly brought knowledge about his homeland, traditions and customs, acting as an ambassador of the Turkmen people, promoting cooperation or in the modern concept of a dialogue of civilizations.

It was emphasized that today Turkmenistan's foreign policy is a continuation of the ideas of the great poet, his ideas about the world and the role of the Turkmen people in it. Permanent neutrality, peacefulness, equal and respectful cooperation, strengthening global peace and trust have become the main priorities of Turkmenistan's national policy.

In this regard, the importance and symbolism of the adoption of the resolution by the UN General Assembly on the proclamation of 2025 as the International Year of Peace and Trust in the jubilee year of Magtymguly Pyragy on March 21, 2024 at the initiative of Turkmenistan was emphasized.

During the event, special attention was paid to the role of poetry in promoting the culture of peace in modern conditions. Lines from the works of Magtymguly Pyragy and other outstanding poets and philosophers from various countries were read out, whose anniversary is also celebrated this year, in particular the 100th anniversary of Parvina Etesami (Iran), the 500th anniversary of Luis Vas de Camoens (Portugal), the 100th anniversary of Berdibek Sokpakbayev (Kazakhstan), the 150th anniversary of Ibn Ruzaika (Oman), the 200th anniversary of Ajiniyaz Kosybai uly (Uzbekistan), the 100th anniversary of Zbigniew Herbert (Poland).

Video materials about the life and work of Magtymguly Pyragy were also shown during the event.

The participants were presented with collections of poems by the Turkmen poet in English and crumpled gifts dedicated to the Year of Magtymguly Pyragy and the city of Anew as the cultural capital of the Turkic world in 2024.

ORIENT news

Photo: un.mission.gov.tm