On September 15-16, events dedicated to the 30th anniversary of Turkmenistan’s membership in UNESCO, celebrated this year, as well as the 20th anniversary of the adoption of the UNESCO Convention “For the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage” were held in the cities of Balkanabat and Turkmenbashy.

Celebrations began in the cultural centers of Balkanabat - in the Regional History Museum of the region and in the Balkan velayat library, where exhibitions of intangible cultural heritage were organized, the exhibits of which included museum values, as well as works of contemporary artists and craftsmen. Musical groups from the city of oil workers greeted those gathered.

The thematic conference “Milli mirasymyz-egsilmez hazynamyz” (“National heritage is inexhaustible wealth”) was held in the conference hall of the Museum of Local History. On this occasion, representatives of the public and creative intelligentsia of the city, teachers and students of educational institutions gathered here.

During the conference, speeches were made by the executive secretary of the National Commission of Turkmenistan for UNESCO Chinar Rustemova, the head of the Department of Intangible Cultural Heritage of the Ministry of Culture of Turkmenistan Gozel Magtymgulyeva, a representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan, heads of historical and local history museums from the regions of the country, as well as the national museum “Gökdepe” of the Ahal velayat.

Those present were acquainted with the work being carried out in Turkmenistan to preserve and widely popularize the intangible cultural heritage of the Turkmen people in the world, as well as to develop multifaceted cooperation with UNESCO. Information was presented about historical and natural monuments, intangible cultural heritage values preserved in different regions of the country.

The speakers focused on the issues of preserving monuments and examples of national cultural heritage included in the UNESCO World Heritage List, as well as on the work to submit other objects of intangible cultural heritage of the Turkmen people to this List.

On September 16, the events continued at the Ruhyet Palace in the city of Turkmenbashy, where an exhibition of decorative and applied arts, museum values was organized, and a meeting was held with the folk group “Dagdan”, which preserves traditional Turkmen music and dances in its repertoire.

As you know, the Balkan velayat is considered the birthplace of the ancient ritual dance “kushtdepdi” and the accompanying gazals. The dance was especially popular among the Turkmens, who inhabited the vast coast of the Caspian Sea. Then it spread throughout the territory of Turkmenistan, acquiring characteristic features of performance in various regions of the country.

The leader of the “Dagdan” team spoke about the varieties of “kushtdepdi”, the development of its traditions, as well as the significance of its inclusion in the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. As noted, today the traditional content of dance is filled with new content, which reflects the characteristics of the Turkmen national culture, which in the process of its development organically combines experience with innovation, heritage with progress, history with modernity.

The events in the Balkan velayat were jointly organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Culture of the country, the National Commission of Turkmenistan for UNESCO, and the hyakimlik of the Balkan region.