Sultan Raev, Secretary General of the International Organization of Turkic Culture (TURKSOY), took part in a panel titled “In the Footsteps of Gasprinsky: Language, Culture and Memory in the Turkic World.” The discussion was held as part of the Turkic World Dialogue Forum in Ankara, organized by Türkiye’s Directorate of Communications.
In his opening remarks, Raev said the newspaper Tercüman, which Ismail Gasprinsky began publishing in Bakhchisaray in 1883, was more than a publication. It helped build cultural ties among Turkic communities living in different regions. Gasprinsky believed that a shared language and culture could bring peoples closer together.
Raev described the principle “Unity in language, thought and action” as an expression of Gasprinsky’s ideas. He said the Turkic world cannot be defined solely by today’s political borders and that Turkic communities with a long history across a vast area are heirs to a shared civilization.
Memory, Raev said, is not only about recalling the past; it also means knowing who people are and which values can guide them into the future. He said it is not enough to tell young people about the past: they should draw strength from that heritage and gain the confidence to build their future.
Raev highlighted initiatives on a common alphabet, language teaching, unified terminology and publishing. The goal, he said, is not simply to use the same letters, but also for societies across the Turkic world to become familiar with one another’s ideas, literature and scientific work.
Culture and the arts can foster mutual understanding between societies, Raev said. Television series, films and songs can sometimes reach wider audiences than years of official work. A work of art may reach millions, while a young person in one Turkic country can learn words through a creation made in another.
Raev said the issue was not limited to technological progress; the place of the Turkic world and other civilizations in the new era also mattered. He called for preserving the civilizational memory embodied in language, literature, music, traditions and thousands of years of intellectual heritage, and for carrying Gasprinsky’s courage, innovative thinking and dedication into the present.
