Aytysh (fund)

The idea of ​​creating the Aytysh public fund was born in 1998 . In those years, the art of akyns improvisers was poorly developed and was not widespread throughout the country.

In 2001, Sadyk Sher-Niyaz founded a fund to support young akyns-improvisers and restore the former greatness of the traditional art of aitysh ^{[2] [3]} . Together with such well-known akyns as Ashyral Aitaliev, Estebes Tursunaliev and Tuuganbai Abdiev , a school of young akyns was created. By 2014, about 30 people are studying at the school.

In 2003, the art of akyn improvisers and storytellers was included by UNESCO in the list of intangible cultural heritage of mankind . The founder of the foundation, Sadyk Sher-Niyaz, received special thanks to UNESCO Director- General Koichiro Matsuura for his contribution to world culture ^[4] .

In 2004, the Russian television channel NTV devoted a separate report to the art of Aytish and the Aytish public foundation ^[5] , and in 2005, the largest US newspaper Washington Post published an article about it ^[6] .

The Foundation opened new names for talented akyns: Amantai Kutmanaliev, Jenishbek Toktobekov, Elmirbek Imanaliev, Aaly Tutkuchiev, Azamat Bolgonbaev and others ^{[7] [8]} . In addition, the fund contributed to the resumption of cultural unity between the Kyrgyz and Kazakhs , of which Aytish is a part of the culture, through international competitive concerts.

Later, the Aitysh Foundation set itself the task of promoting the development of other cultural spheres. Since 2004, new projects of the Aitysh Public Fund have been launched.

Since 2001, the Aitysh Public Fund has been organizing and sponsoring:

• competitive concerts of akyn improvisers, held 2-3 times a year ^[9] , with a prize fund of 1,000,000 soms (KGS);
• charity concerts, events, cultural events and celebrations of anniversaries of prominent akyns;
• film festivals, film screenings and other events in the field of cinema ^{[10] [11]} .

In addition, the foundation provides support in the production, presentation and distribution of print media, video and audio materials, sponsored by akyns and not only ^[12] .

In 2004, due to the great interest in the art of aitysh among the population, the first channel of the Public Television and Radio Broadcasting Corporation (OTRK) and the second channel of ElTR began to broadcast live competitive concerts of aitysh.

The permanent partners of the fund are the Ministry of Culture of the Kyrgyz Republic, IFES (Interstate Fund for Humanitarian Cooperation), the Dialogue Eurasia Platform , Kyrgyzfilm , the International PEN Club and others.

In 2001, with the aim of assisting in the development of young akyns and storytellers, a school of young akyns-improvisers was founded.

In December 2004, the literary club Kalemger was founded. The goal of the club is to support young writers of Kyrgyzstan. Several collections of club members have been released, as well as dozens of periodical almanacs ^[13] .

In 2006, the film studio " Aitysh Film " was founded. The main goal of the film studio is the development of Kyrgyz cinema by supporting the creativity of talented youth. The studio produces feature films, animations, and documentary-television films.

The annual international short film festival of the CIS , Baltic and Georgia countries “ Kyrgyzstan is a country of short films ” has been held since 2011 in Bishkek , Kyrgyzstan . Traditionally, the opening takes place on December 12 , and the festival itself lasts 4 days. The opening date of the film festival is dedicated to the birthday of the great Kyrgyz writer Chingiz Torokulovich Aitmatov .

• The competition "Aitysh 2011" organized by the Public Foundation "Aitysh" has started in Bishkek
• Republican contest of aitysh "Zhash-Tandai" at OTRK
• PF "Aitysh" organizer of the IFF "Kyrgyzstan - the country of short films"
• PF "Aytish" intends to invest a million dollars in the reconstruction of the cinema "Manas"
• PF "Aitysh" sponsors the animated film "Aku"