Visiting My Friends is Contributing to the Creation and Strengthening of Intercultural Dialogue between Children
June 23, 2016, 06:00
On the evening of June 22nd, a presentation of the children’s book Visiting My Friends was held in the comfortable hall of the Kasimali Bayalinov Children’s Library.
Guests of the presentation included representatives from the Embassies of Russia, South Korea, Tajikistan, Azerbaijan, and Ukraine, organizational partners who had participated in the “Music is the Soul of the People” project, representatives from the Assembly of the Peoples of Kyrgyzstan, the Moldobasanov Kyrgyz National Conservatory, the Office of the President of the Kyrgyz Republic, international organizations, and city libraries.
This book was created by our Foundation as a continuation of the concert-series “Music is the Soul of the People” which was created to introduce schoolchildren and adults to the musical traditions of different ethnic groups as part of the UNESCO and UNDP project “Music is the Soul of the People” (implemented in 2014-2015).
650 Russian-language copies of the book Visiting My Friends are being freely distributed as part of the UNESCO 2014-2015 program. The book will be distributed to every school library in Bishkek, city libraries, international organizations, and embassies.
The book’s author is the young writer and art-expert Altin Kapalova. She published her book under the pseudonym Altin Aman. The book’s illustrator is Djum Goon, the editor is Baktigul Kapalova, and the proofreader is Tatyana Kuzmina.
The book’s main character is a young boy named Bekzhen, who invites readers with him as he visits his friends. As the author mentions, visiting friends in Central Asia is a unique experience. Sections of the book share interesting facts about the history, cultural heritage, traditional dress, music, and games of various ethnic groups. Children can learn a couple of words in each different language, and perform fun tasks.
We believe that Visiting My Friends is contributing to the creation and strengthening of intercultural dialogue between children, as well as to mutual understanding and the desire to learn about the various histories, traditions, customs, and languages of Kyrgyzstan.
The book is currently being translated into Kyrgyz.