The Nur Otan Party has organised free English language elective courses for 9th-11th grade students in 84 rural districts and centres as part of the English for Jastar (Youth) project. The project was developed to support the programme introducing trilingualism across the country. Students can improve their English as well as enhance their communication skills. The pilot project, to be conducted September-November, includes native English speakers and local specialists among its instructors. A total of 141 volunteers have expressed their willingness to contribute, 75 of whom are Kazakh university students.
Kazakh Tourism plans to implement quest games on sacred places around Kazakhstan as a way to develop domestic tourism. The expedition will be based on Pokemon Go, Deputy Chairperson of the company Kairat Saduakasov told inform.kz. “First, we will create an electronic version of all sacred places. Players can gain points on a quest. For example, one can get points for a trip to Ulytau or other sacred place. As the quest travel expands, the number of points will increase. The conventional name for the points is Altyn (gold). Altyns can be exchanged for various discounts, such as exchanged for business class instead of economy class on the airline or free luggage delivery. In addition to points, each player will have a personal status. At the beginning, players will be ‘ulan,’ then advance to ‘sultan’ and finally to ‘khan.’ Such players will be given special discounts,” he said.
Almaty youngsters can learn robotics for free at the children’s technopark recently opened in the city’s Palace of Schoolchildren, reported inform.kz. “We installed microblocks, unique equipment with which we will prepare children for international competitions. The technopark will work for free with 20 children in each group. If there is greater interest, we will invite more teachers,” said Aigul Bolatbekova, deputy director of the Centre for New Technologies in Education in Almaty. The programme will involve three groups – initial training in Legos, 3D modelling and an English section for children in advanced robotics.
The nation’s cinematography is on the rise, as a number of Kazakh films will soon be released, said Deputy Minister for Culture and Sports Aktoty Raimkulova. Historical movies such as “Baluan Sholak,” “Kazakh Eli” (Nation) and “Tomiris;” the feature “Zhenimpaz” (Winner) and animated pictures “Kultegin” and “Muzbalak,” as well as “Kunanbai” and “Oralman,” will be shown on the big screen. Kazakh films were previously limited to one-time showings at international festivals and competitions. Due to co-production by two or more countries, however, the movies are gaining more worldwide recognition, such as the Russian-Kazakh film “28 Panfilov’s Riflemen” which became the leader in Russian rolled products, said Raimkulova.
Astana’s Paralympic training centre has launched Invaservice, a unique self-service corner designed for people with disabilities that enables them to clean their own wheelchairs. The system was invented by Ardak Otorbayev, a member of the Kazakh national wheelchair dance team. “It was hard to invent this device, as there were no previous examples. We did it through errors and various attempts. There was a need not only to make pilot equipment, but also to install and run it. I personally tested the equipment and showed how to use it. Now, people are using it willingly, and it pleases me,” said Otorbayev. Invaservice’s equipment is the first domestic system invented based on the needs of those who use wheelchairs.
