The 13th International Altai Communities Symposium, traditionally organized every two years with the aim of promoting a better understanding of the civilization structure and cultural values of Altai communities, and supported by the Union of Turkish World Municipalities (TDBB), was held in Szeged, Hungary, on September 3–5, 2025, with the main theme “The Culture of Giving Names, Titles, and Nicknames.”
Hosted by the Altai Research Center of Szeged University in Hungary, the symposium brought together around 140 Altaiist scholars from 12 countries, including the host country Hungary, as well as Türkiye, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Mongolia, the Russian Federation, Germany, Japan, and China, who participated and presented papers.
Held in 28 sessions, the symposium featured presentations on topics such as: the historical evolution and etymology of the culture of giving names, titles, and nicknames, which played an important role in shaping the civilizational values and identities of Altai peoples and communities; the naming of mythological and epic characters; the stories of names, titles, and nicknames; naming rules based on cultural identity, social status, class, gender, and age; traditions and rituals; the function of heroes’ names in literary works; and the impact of social changes and traditions on naming practices.
At the closing session, it was decided that the symposium to be held in 2026 would be dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the First Turkology Congress, which was organized in Baku in 1926 and created a great impact in the academic world, with the main theme “Current Issues of Turkology”. It was announced that proposals from three different countries regarding the host of the symposium would be evaluated and disclosed as soon as possible.
At the opening of the symposium, it was announced that the papers presented at the Altai Communities: Place and Water Names symposium, held in 2023 at Al-Farabi University in Almaty, Kazakhstan, had been published by TDBB and were presented to the Rector of Al-Farabi University, Zhanseit Tuimebayev.
