Kazan hosted congress of RT Writers Association
On May 23rd, the XVI Congress of the Tatarstan Writers Association took place in Kazan. Congress was addressed by RT President Mintimer Shaimiev.
Addressing the delegates, Mintimer Shaimiev reminded of the past difficult period in life of the association, about the situation during the previous congresses, when issues of great importance had to be discussed for days before the acceptable solution was found. Despite all the difficulties, the association didn’t break apart. However, he reminded, it’s imperative for everybody to understand that the association is not a state establishment. State help to the writers in the difficult period – is just one of the separate steps. A lot was done during the country’s transition to market economy principles, but these changes were difficult for the culture and arts. Opera singers, ballet company, singers and theaters have found their place within the new system - they now perform not only throughout the country, but also abroad. The writers’ situation is a different story.
The head of the Republic commented that representatives of elder generation among the association’s 323 members should be receiving special attention – it’s important to know which ones are in need and find ways to help them. Younger ones possibly need help with finding jobs. Absolute majority of the members work in local print media – this cannot be qualified to be a difficult situation, but individual approach is a key. Possible approaches include state contracts and grants. «All issues uncovered in the course of the congress will be further considered with great attention», - promised Mintimer Shaimiev.
The problems can be resolved, continued the President, but the main issue was and is ethnic literature, “we keep on loosing our language”. He noted positive changes – newly opened Tatar schools & kindergartens, Tatar is being studied on college level. In this case, the issue is not in money, which is available. Mother-tongue can be preserved only if it is spoken at home, at the family level. Unfortunately, we don’t yet have enough of those who realize that, even among representatives of Tatar intelligentsia. If a child knows its mother-tongue from the childhood, the link with his/her cultural roots remains strong all through the life.
Talking about optimization of the educational establishments taking place all through the country, Mintimer Shaimiev noted that ethnic schools will be preserved. In case of schools with small student body, it’s important to explain that base schools are equipped up to the modern requirements. Children should not be devoid of modern opportunities, no child should be left behind. Talking about ethnic/regional component in educational standards, RT President noted that the Republic has two state languages and none of them would be put in disadvantage.
The problems of training translators, publishing books, making literature available to people living in rural settlements were among issues of the heated discussion. Responding to the question on introduction of «Principles of Orthodox Christianity » course into schools of a number of Russian Federation regions, Mintimer Shaimiev noted that a child must be familiar with the principles of other religions as well. «We have a great textbook on the principles of world religions that contains well prepared material. Russia is a multi-ethnic country, so there is no other way», - he said.
The head of the Republic urged the association members to increase the levels of their activity, come up with more initiatives. “A lot has been achieved already. How can we keep the mother-tongue & the ethnic spirit of our people alive? This concern unites all of us. This task is not simple, neither for us, nor for other ethnic cultures», - summed up the President of Tatarstan.