During the 5th session of Ulttyq Qurultay in Kyzylorda, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev approved the initiative to establish the National Digital Heritage fund. The phenomenon involves the digitization of historical documents for in-depth study of Kazakhstan’s history using modern technologies. PhD, associate professor Maksat Zhabagin in a comment to El.kz news portal explained in detail what national digital heritage entails.
At the Qurultay, the President noted that the year of digitalization and artificial intelligence opens new opportunities for preserving and studying the country’s historical heritage.
“This is not merely about digitizing archives, but about forming a national repository of memory and knowledge as a key element of ideological and cultural sovereignty"
According to professor, shezhire of the Kazakh people are not only a system of tribal ties but also a unique cultural, social, and historical phenomenon. It reflects migration routes, alliances and divisions, demographic processes, and the formation of a shared gene pool of a people that began in the Neolithic of Koken and concluded in the era of the Ulus of Jochi.
“Modern genetic research confirms that shezhire reflects a real historical tapestry in which the genetic lines of Kazakh clans have long been interwoven into a single gene pool. Genealogical memory recorded in shezhire does not contradict scientific data; on the contrary, it often complements and explains it. Today, we can reconstruct not only paternal lines but also maternal ones, linking the living tradition of shezhire with ancient human remains around the world” the expert said.
UNESCO heritage
From the perspective of the 2003 UNESCO Convention, shezhire fully corresponds to the concept of intangible cultural heritage as a living form of collective historical memory passed down through generations.
“Its task is not preservation in a museum, but unlocking its potential in the interests of sustainable development”
Common language of Turkic people
Memory of clan and tribal structures is preserved not only among Kazakhs.
"Among Bashkirs it is known as “Shezhere,” among Kyrgyz as “Sanzhyra,” among Turkmens as “Shejre,” and among Tatars as “Shajara.” Dialogue through shezhire represents a new format of interaction among Turkic people, strengthening social harmony and interethnic unity. In the architecture of “National Digital Heritage,” shezhire should become one of the key structural elements - not merely as a folkloric attribute, but as a digital, scientifically verified body of data linked to archives, archaeology, genetics, historical geography, and oral history in other words, a genealogical knowledge graph of Kazakhstan.
Step forward
For many years, Maksat Zhabagin together with historian Zhaksylyk Sabitov have been conducting detailed research into shezhire as a historical source and an object of scientific verification.
“We face a choice: to digitize and interpret this memory on our own terms, or to let others define our past through their narratives and frameworks. Shezhire and genetics in digital form are not a step back into “archaism.” It’s a step toward meaningful sovereignty, scientific reflection, and the maintaining the ability of Kazakhs to act in the global digital arena".