On February 4, 2026, AlmaU hosted an open creative meeting with Chinara Aitmatova, the granddaughter of the renowned writer Chingiz Aitmatov and Secretary General of the International Public Organization The Chingiz Aitmatov Issyk-Kul Forum.
During the event, Chinara Aitmatova shared exclusive family memories of Chingiz Aitmatov, spoke about the concept and plans to revive the legendary Issyk-Kul Forum as a global intellectual platform, and presented her perspective on the current state and future of Kyrgyz literature.
“The most valuable memories are those that are not available in open sources. These are my deeply personal memories connected with my grandfather and grandmother. For the world, Aitmatov is a great writer and diplomat, often referred to by Western media as an advocate of Kyrgyz culture. For me, however, he was прежде всего my beloved atashka – a person who always supported me. As a child, I did not fully realize the scale of his personality. But today what matters most is that every Kazakh and every reader finds a personal resonance in his works, a feeling as if these texts were written about themselves. In my view, this is where the true strength of Aitmatov’s legacy lies,” Chinara Aitmatova noted.
Special attention during the meeting was given to the topic of the Issyk-Kul Forum – a unique international intellectual space where significant humanitarian and anti-nuclear initiatives once emerged, influencing the global public agenda.
The event was initiated by the Founder and President of AlmaU, Assylbek Kozhakhmetov, and reflected AlmaU’s strategic mission to promote students’ personal transformation through the humanities and values-based education.
“At AlmaU, we implement the special Tolyq adam program, which clearly demonstrates that our focus on the humanities is deliberate and systematic. The University aims to educate not only professionals, but also responsible citizens – patriots, whose role, as Chingiz Aitmatov repeatedly emphasized, is of fundamental importance for the future of society,” Assylbek Kozhakhmetov, Founder and President of AlmaU, said in his welcoming remarks.
For AlmaU, the meeting also provided an opportunity to introduce guests to the Tolyq adam program, which is designed to develop key lifelong skills among students. The program consists of seven disciplines and focuses on cultivating empathy, ethics, analytical and critical thinking, as well as oral and written communication.
The meeting was held in an open dialogue format and became an important platform for discussing the role of humanitarian values, literature, and intellectual heritage in the contemporary world.