Student to use grant funding to publish comic books in 10 Turkic languages

Lilia Nizamova is poised to receive 200 thousand rubles from the Ministry of Youth Affairs of Tatarstan.

According to the winner, she was always interested in language preservation and popularization, “In 2022, a comic book in Tatar language by Regina Gayazova and Radif Kashapov saw light. I was very glad to see a modern comic book in Tatar. I was inspired to create something like that for a number of Turkic languages. And it’s now possible thanks to the Ministry’s grant.”

Nizamova’s project is set to publish 1 thousand copies of the book. It’s aimed at preserving and spreading the culture, historical heritage, traditions, and languages of Turkic peoples.

The publication will be preceded by an art workshop at the National Library of Tatarstan in the summer of 2023. The workshop will mostly include teenagers.

“The lab participants – young artists – will create their own stories in graphical form. Teenagers from Tatarstan, Bashkortostan, Yakutia, Kabardino-Balkaria, Karachaevo-Cherkessia, Dagestan, Chuvashia, Altai, and Tuva are invited to join. After the best specimens are selected, the young people will finalise their ideas under the guidance of experienced teachers and supervisors to implement a unified style for the book,” explains the interviewee.

The compilation will also feature additional articles about the culture of mentioned ethnicities in three languages: Russian, Tatar, and a third language. The publication is planned before the end of 2023.