On the 2^nd-4^th of April in 2026 the III International Symposium on Turkic Folk Culture was held in Tashkent, the capital of the Republic of Uzbekistan, at the Academy of Sciences of Uzbekistan, dedicated to the 90^th anniversary of the outstanding folklorist, honored scientist, academician Tora Mirzayev.

At the symposium, Associate Professor of the Institute of Folklore of ANAS, PhD in Philology Aynur Aydin Ibrahimova delivered a presentation titled “Distinctive Features of Uzbek Epic Narration Schools (on the example of the Khorezm Epic Narration Schools)”. In her report, it was scientifically substantiated that the formation of Khorezm bakhshi performance is intrinsically linked to the process of the development of the epic genre, and the stages of the emergence and evolution of this art in the Khorezm region were analyzed.

At the same time, it was noted that information based on sources about Ashiq Aydin, who attained the status of a spiritual patron (pir) in the bakhshi tradition, had been preserved to nowadays and the historical-genetic features of epic samples associated with him were systematically interpreted.

Additionally, within the framework of the symposium, Aynur Ibrahimova served as a moderator of the panel “Dede Qorqud”.

It should be noted that a total of 219 scholars and researchers from Turkey, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Germany, Korea and Kyrgyzstan participated in the international scientific event dedicated to the topic “Comparative Study of the Folklore of Turkic Peoples: Local Features and Scientific-Theoretical Approaches” and 204 academic papers were presented. Within the symposium, reports were delivered in thematic sections such as “Alpamish,” “Dede Qorqud,” “Sagibulbul,” “Koroghlu,” “Malika Ayyar,” “Kuntugmish,” “Ashiq Garib” and others.

The symposium was jointly organized by a number of prestigious scientific and higher education institutions, including the Uzbekistan Academy of Sciences, the Institute of Uzbek Language, Literature and Folklore, the Alisher Navoi State Museum of Literature, the Abu Rayhan Biruni Institute of Oriental Studies, the Tashkent State University of Uzbek Language and Literature named after Alisher Navoi, the Writers’ Union of Uzbekistan, the Institute of Turkish Culture Studies, Ege University, the Institute of Folklore of ANAS, Ankara Hacı Bayram Veli University, the Institute of Eurasian Studies of Dongduk University (South Korea), the Turkic Academy of Archaeological Cultural Heritage, and the International Organization of Turkic Culture (TURKSOY).

Within the framework of the event a three-volume work by academician Tora Mirzayev was also presented.