HISTORY OF THE FOUNDATION'S ESTABLISHMENT

 

Turkic Culture and Heritage Foundation was established as an international organization at the initiative of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, with the support of the Presidents of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, and the Republic of Türkiye. 

The Charter of the Foundation was ratified at the Bishkek Summit of the Cooperation Council of Turkic-Speaking States (Turkic Council) in 2012. The Foundation began its actual activities in 2015 with the signing of the Host Country Agreement with the Government of Azerbaijan.Therefore,the Foundation’s main office is located in Baku.

After the approval of the mandatory contribution scale to the Foundation’s budget by the participating countries at the end of 2021, the Foundation began full-fledged operations as an international organization in 2022.In the same year, the participating countries sent two of their representatives each for the formation of the Foundation’s international staff.

In 2019, Hungary joined the Foundation as an observer country. In 2024, Turkmenistan applied for the same status at the Foundation.

The Presidents of the Foundation are appointed for a term of 4 years from each participating country in alphabetical order. The first President of the Foundation, H.E. Ms. Gunay Efendiyeva from Azerbaijan, held this position from 2015 to 2023. The current President of the Foundation is H.E. Ms. Aktoty Raimkulova from Kazakhstan, appointed in November 2023 during the Astana Summit of the Organization of Turkic States.

 

Mandate of the Foundation

 

The main objectives of the Foundation, according to its Charter, are to preserve, research, and promote Turkic culture and heritage by providing support and funding for various activities, projects, and programs. To achieve these goals, the Foundation:

 

• Provides funds for the protection, preservation, restoration and promotion of Turkic culture and heritage;
• Assists in solving scientific and technical issues related to the protection, restoration and promotion of Turkic culture and heritage;
• Supports the training of specialists in the field of protection, restoration and promotion of Turkic culture and heritage;
• Assists in the organization of seminars, workshops, conferences, congresses and field studies, as well as exhibitions;
• Assists in the preparation of electronic and printed scientific periodicals and scientific publications;
• Sponsors competitions, festivals, tournaments, etc.;
• Assists in the restoration, support and development of traditional crafts and applied arts in the territories inhabited by Turkic peoples;

• Assists artisans, artists and other creative artists in the protection of intellectual property rights.

 

Therefore, the Foundation is one of the main Turkic cooperation organizations (TURKPA, TURKSOY, the Turkic Academy) in matters of the protection, restoration, and promotion of Turkic cultural heritage. One of the current priority tasks in this regard is the creation of a unified List of the Cultural Heritage of the Turkic World.