V Regional Children’s and Youth Conference in the languages of indigenous peoples of the North of the Sakhalin region and the Far East “Native speech”

The conference was organized by the State Library of Literature and Art Museum of the Book of A. P. Chekhov “Sakhalin Island” within the framework of a grant project with the support of Sakhalin Energy LLC, the Ministry of Culture and Archives of the Sakhalin Region and the Association of Museums of the Sakhalin Region.
The purpose of the conference: preservation, development and popularization of the linguistic and cultural heritage of indigenous peoples, increasing the interest of young people in learning national languages and culture of the CIS.
The recommended topics for the reports were: the problems of preserving languages, traditional culture and knowledge, the spiritual heritage of the CMNS and ways to solve them; the geography of the small homeland and the reflection of the culture of indigenous ethnic groups in geographical names; toponymy and local history in the field of the indigenous environment of indigenous peoples; national sports of the CMNS; reflection of life, everyday life, traditions and history of the CMNS in Russian and foreign literature; analysis of language difficulties associated with the translation of texts. The participant could also choose the topic of the report at his own discretion, provided that it is related to the preservation of the cultural and (or) linguistic heritage of the CMNS.
Within the framework of the International Decade of Indigenous Languages, the Year of Folk Art and Intangible Cultural Heritage of the Peoples of Russia and the jubilee status of the Conference, the organizer provided an extensive cultural and educational program for participants: expert consultations, excursions, thematic events, visits to the Sakhalin Zoo and the Sakhalin Regional Museum of Local Lore, concert performances.
Among the main events held for the conference participants were:
– Participation in the opening and plenary session
IV International Scientific and Practical Conference “Folklore of Paleoasiatic peoples”;
– acquaintance with the Bear Museum, excursion;
– a subscript translation of the chapter of the book “Sakhalin Island”
by A. P. Chekhov, a practical lesson;
– a game of “Scrabble” in the Nivkh language;
– “Why and how to learn the language of a small indigenous people in the XXI century: the social life of the language”. Methodical lesson of Lyudmila Ivanovna Missonova, Candidate of Historical Sciences, leading researcher, curator of the multi-volume ethnological series “Peoples and Cultures” of the Institute of Ethnology and Anthropology named after N. N. Miklukho-Maklay of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow;
– presentation of the fish skin panel “Native Islands” by Veronika Osipova, a member of the Union of Artists of Russia;
– Olena Uutai’s concert “Magic of the North”;
– “Literary evenings: under the rustle of pages and sand”. Creative meeting with Vladimir Sangi and Yeremey Aipin.
Then there was a solemn opening of the conference and a plenary session “On the role of language in preserving the cultural heritage of the indigenous peoples of the North of Russia” in the format of a panel discussion.
Then a breakout session was held. 19 reports were heard in the Nivkh, Vilta, Evenk, Koryak and Ulch languages. The young participants came from the following localities: Val village and Nogliki village of Nogliki district, Molodezhnoye village of Tymovsky district of Sakhalin Oblast, Okhinsky district, Nekrasovka village of Sakhalin Oblast, Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk; Kamchatka Krai, Yelizovo; Zabaikalsky Krai, Chapo-Ologo village of Kalarsky district; Khabarovsk Krai,
Nikolaevsk-on-Amur; Khabarovsk Territory, Komsomolsky district, Belgo village; Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) Neryungrinsky district, Iengra village; Khabarovsk Krai, Ulchsky district, Bulava village.