Adopting children should be norm, says Mothers House Public Fund Director
ASTANA – Ana Uii (Mothers’ House) Public Fund has helped approximately 3,500 women keep their children in their birth families and more than 900 youngsters find adoptive families. The experience shows it is possible to reduce social orphanhood with effort and a desire to resolve the issue, said Ana Uii Executive Director Bibigul Makhmetova in…
Israel and Kazakhstan have close ties in education, medicine, agriculture and technology, says envoy
ASTANA – Israel and Kazakhstan have been developing close ties in different spheres and on various levels, exchanging experience and knowledge in education, medicine, agriculture and technology, said Israeli Ambassador Liat Wexelman in an interview with The Astana Times. “We have very close relations between Israel and Kazakhstan. It can be seen from the active…
Child with autism models children’s clothing brands in Astana
ASTANA – Socialisation is vital for children with disabilities, believes educational psychologist and speech pathologist Zarina Dandybayeva. Her 13-year-old son, Alikhan Dandybayev, who has an autistic spectrum disorder, found his interest in modelling for clothing brands, such as Button Blue and Acoola Kids and continue to develop his skills in other spheres. Socialisation is vital…
Two Kazakhfilm productions win honours at Dhaka International Film Festival
ASTANA – Two Kazakhfilm productions were honoured at the 17th Dhaka (Bangladesh) International Film Festival (DIFF) held Jan. 10-18. “Little Prince of Our City” received the Best Children’s Film Badal Rahman award, while “Shynyrau” (Deep Well) was awarded Best Cinematography (Asian Competition Section). “Little Prince of Our City” tells the story of the friendship between…
Kuryk seaport to boost shipment capacity
ASTANA – Approximately 2.5 million tonnes of freight will be shipped through Kuryk seaport in 2019, one million tonnes more than last year. The port, on the Caspian Sea in the Mangystau region, was put into service in December 2016 and began operating the following March. Kuryk has subsequently become a key component in the…
Social innovations planned at IT camp for youth with disabilities
ASTANA – The World of Equal IT Opportunities, aimed at developing IT skills and competencies for young people with disabilities, will launch in March. The project includes a competition involving socially-conscious IT projects, with the winners receiving 2 million tenge (US$5,216). The venture is being implemented by the Samruk Kazyna Trust Social Projects Development Fund,…
Almaty to host first marathon of 2019
ASTANA – The Almaty Marathon, which gathered 14,000 participants last year, will take place April 21. Funds raised from the charitable event will be used to build sports facilities. The 1,200-person preparatory race, the season’s first, will be held Feb. 23 in the city’s First President’s Park. The 10-kilometre main distance will be divided into…
National adoption agency needed to meet Kazakh children’s needs, says Ana Uii executives
ASTANA – Creating a national adoption agency will make the process high quality and more transparent. The agency will also help to meet the needs of children in orphanages by placing them in competent families, said Ana Uii (Mother’s House) Public Fund Executive Committee Chair Anar Rakhimbayeva and fund Executive Director Bibigul Makhmetova in an…
It is important to be one of bright facets of culturally rich Kazakhstan, says Polish community leader
ASTANA – The Polonia Polish Community Public Fund, an ethnocultural centre, actively participates in developing cultural, social and economic ties between Kazakhstan and Poland . It seeks to remember the past and create a common future. Most of Poles in Kazakhstan are descendants of the deportees from Central Ukraine in 1930-1940, one of the first…
New tourist facilities to be built in Pavlodar
ASTANA – New tourist facilities and attractions are on the drawing board for the Pavlodar region’s Bayanaul National Park. The region’s akimat (administration) is encouraging local entrepreneurs to participate in the Business Road Map 2020 state programme and is planning to create a Department of Tourism. “For the organisation of leisure activities of tourists in…
Kazakhstan, Zimbabwe to identify economic cooperation areas
ASTANA – Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa visited Kazakhstan for the first time Jan. 20-21. The delegation toured sights in the capital and met with the local business community. Mnangagwa and Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev officially met Jan. 21 to discuss agriculture, mining, transport and logistics cooperation. The delegation visited Kazakhstan as part of official visits…
Ridder – place of extreme sports and untouched nature
ASTANA – Ridder is a city in the East Kazakhstan region with untouched nature suitable for ecological and sports tourism. Visitors can go camping, do winter sports, climb rocky peaks and visit radon lakes. Ridder is located 128 kilometres from Oskemen, the region’s administrative centre. It is situated in Kendi Altai (Ore Altai), at the…
Using early hip dislocation diagnostics is vital, says Kazakh paediatric orthopaedist
ASTANA – Kazakh paediatric orthopaedist Roza Karabekova has invented panties for newborn babies (up to three months) to prevent hip joint dislocation. She emphasises early diagnosis of the disease, up to age one, prevents further gypsum and splinting treatments. The knitted panties contain a small plastic element that prevents a child from bringing his or…
Kazakhstan doubles number of licenses for geological exploration
ASTANA – The Kazakh Ministry of Industry and Infrastructural Development has issued 26 licenses for geological exploration since mid-September in accordance with the new Code for Natural Resources and Subsoil Use. The number of accepted applications increased two-fold. According to the code introduced in December 2017, applications are reviewed within 10 working days. Each application…
Edgravity online learning company expands educational and knowledge-sharing opportunities
ASTANA – Online education is a new field for Kazakhstan required for expanding educational and knowledge-sharing opportunities, said Edgravity online course company founder Aigerim Khafizova in an interview with The Astana Times. Khafizova, who has extensive work experience in online education, was involved in internships with two large companies in the field during her studies…
Islamic Development Bank provides $40 million loan for Kazakh businesses
ASTANA – The Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) has provided a $40 million loan to Kazakhstan’s Damu Entrepreneurship Development Fund, said fund Deputy Chairperson Daulet Abilkairov at the Central Communications Services Jan. 11 press conference. The loan will be given to businesses corresponding to the requirements of Islamic finances. “These funds will be used to develop…
High quality professional Kazakh language media products should be produced, says actor and voice over director
ASTANA – The Aray Media Group is the first company making professional Kazakh language dubbing according to the international standards in Kazakhstan. This is an important project to develop the Kazakh language, said the company’s Voice Over Director Shah-Murat Ordabayev in an interview to The Astana Times. He believes that to raise population’s interest, all…
Aesthetic works should surround people in public spaces, says Kazakh sculptor
ASTANA – Kazakh sculptor Kadyrkhan Kakimov has created more than 90 works of art displayed across the country. He believes public spaces should be filled with beauty, because it makes people’s lives lovely and thoughtful. “The public spaces should be full of aesthetic works. Not everyone is able to visit museums. It will be food…
Kazakh national award highlights prominent public figures in different fields
ASTANA – The eighth annual Khalyktyn Suiiktisi (People’s Favourite) national award ceremony was held Jan. 12 at the Rixos President Astana hotel. Public figures, activists, sportspeople, artists and government servants chosen by online voting were awarded in 27 categories. The award is given in different categories, noted founder and Respublika-Aimaq-Damu (Republic-Region-Development) Public Fund President Galym…
Local organisation stimulates Astana’s interest in arts
ASTANA – Art Masters London is a commercial educational organisation that holds one-time and short-term visual arts courses and lectures in the city. The unique educational project aims to engage individuals and develop their interest in art, said founder and art expert Assel Kambalova in an interview with The Astana Times. “I created the project…
Kazakhstan offers global investors stable political, social and economic climate, says Kazakh Invest executive
ASTANA – Kazakhstan is able to offer stable political, social and economic conditions and sufficient infrastructure for global investors, said Kazakh Invest Deputy Chairman of the Board Marat Birimzhan. In an exclusive interview with The Astana Times, he indicated the country’s agriculture, transportation and logistics have great potential and should be attractive for investors. The…
Mangystau youth receive up to one million tenge for social projects from World Bank
ASTANA – Mangystau region youth have received up to one million tenge (US$2,664) in World Bank grants for social projects, said regional Youth Policy Department head Bauyrzhan Tuyakov during a press conference related to the 2019 Year of Youth in Kazakhstan organised by the Ministry of Information and Communication. The Year of Youth was announced…
Kazakh Culture and Literature Centre opens in Tashkent
ASTANA – The Kazakh Culture and Literature Centre opened at the Alisher Navoi National Library of Uzbekistan in Tashkent Dec. 26 as part of the Ruhani Zhangyru (Modernisation of Kazakhstan’s Identity) programme and the 2019 Year of Kazakhstan in Uzbekistan, reported inform.kz. Visitors can become acquainted with Kazakh traditions, culture and art through the collection…
Aktobe archaeological sites can be housed in open air museums, parks, says research centre director
ASTANA – Aktobe has many archaeological sites to be discovered, said Director of the Research Centre of the region’s Department of Culture, Archives and Documentation Aslan Mamedov. Once excavated, parks and open air museums can be created to attract visitors and introduce the region’s history. “After studying the sites, we can create open air museums…
Kazakh President reshuffles government, appoints new ministers of foreign affairs, defence and aerospace industries, and industry and infrastructure development
ASTANA – In a reshuffle aimed at strengthening the investment attraction and export promotion efforts of the Kazakh government, President Nursultan Nazarbayev reorganised three ministries and appointed new ministers through a string of presidential decrees Dec. 26. Nazarbayev significantly strengthened the economic diplomacy credentials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs by giving it oversight over…
