Jakarta, 5 November, . Two Kazakhstani nominations, the “Issyk inscription” and the “Collection of printed works of Mashhur Zhusup Kopeyev”, have been included in the UNESCO Memory of the World Asia-Pacific regional register, the Ministry of Culture and Information said.
The decision was taken on 5 November at a meeting of the programme’s Regional Committee for Asia and the Pacific, MOWCAP, in Jakarta. The first nomination is “The Issyk inscription: a Turkic runic inscription on a silver bowl from the Issyk kurgan”. The second is the collection of printed works of Mashhur Zhusup Kopeyev, a Kazakh poet and educator (1858–1931). In the ministry’s view, inclusion confirms international recognition of the value of Kazakhstan’s documentary and historical-cultural heritage and helps to popularise it abroad.
What it means: This is the regional register of Asia and the Pacific, not UNESCO’s international register: the decision does not by itself give worldwide status.
Who benefits: According to the ministry, Kazakhstan’s heritage: it will be shown and studied abroad more often. The report names no next steps, such as an application to the international register.
Background: Memory of the World is a UNESCO programme for preserving documentary heritage: manuscripts, books, archives and inscriptions. MOWCAP is the programme’s Regional Committee for Asia and the Pacific; it keeps its own regional register. The Issyk kurgan is a Saka burial near the town of Esik in Almaty region, the source of the “Golden Man”.
