On the 14^th -15^th of May, 2026 the international scientific conference titled “100^th Anniversary of the First Turkological Congress: Language Issues” was held at the Azerbaijan State Pedagogical University.

The international conference, organized in both in-person and online formats through the joint cooperation of TÜRKSOY, Yunus Emre Institute, Tashkent International University and the Faculty of Philology of Azerbaijan State Pedagogical University, brought together scholars and researchers from Türkiye, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Ukraine, Moldova, Estonia, Afghanistan and other countries.

Researchers from the Institute of Folklore of ANAS also participated in the conference. A leading researcher of the Department of Folklore and Written Literature of the institute, Doctor of Philosophy in Philology and Associate Professor Gulsumkhanim Hasilova made a presentation titled “The Unity of the Turkic World: The First Turkological Congress (in the Studies of J. Gasimov)”.

In the presentation the scholarly activities and rich Turkological heritage of the participants of the First Turkological Congress based on the studies of Professor Jalal Gasimov was investigated. It was noted that Professor Jalal Gasimov, relying on archival materials, examined in a factual and conceptual manner both the positive and negative aspects of the role played by the First Turkological Congress in the development of Turkology as a science, as well as in the history and fate of Turkic peoples, including the reasons why many congress participants became victims of repression.

The leading researcher of the Department of Folklore and Written Literature, Doctor of Philosophy in Philology and Associate Professor Gulnar Osmanova also made her report titled “The Semantics and Functions of Common Motifs in the Turkic Epic Tradition”.

The speaker noted that the folklore of Turkic peoples was one of the most important sources reflecting their shared historical memory, cultural identity and system of spiritual values. Folklore examples possess not only aesthetic and artistic functions, but also play an essential role in shaping collective consciousness and transmitting cultural heritage across generations. Through these examples, the worldview, ethical norms and social relations of the people were systematically expressed. Folklore is not only a legacy of the past, but also a dynamic system actively participating in the formation of modern national consciousness and cultural identity.