This paper examines the implementation of a multilingual education policy in Kazakhstan. Considering the current language policy and sociolinguistic context of Kazakhstan, it focuses on major achievements and challenges to the implementation of a multilingual education policy in secondary schools (Grades 1-11). Teachers, students, parents, experts in language education were asked about the value of multilingualism and multilingual education as well as language education practices in their schools. Research data were collected through qualitatively designed instruments such as interviews and focus group discussions, and quantitatively designed instruments of survey. This paper first outlines the sociolinguistic situation and language policy, then it describes the factors of success, and finally it draws attention to contributory factors that hinder implementation of multilingual education in the country. These include different interpretations of multilingual education by major stakeholders, pedagogical weaknesses, lack of institutionalization and resources, etc. The paper finishes with practical recommendations for implementation of multilingual education in Kazakhstan.

In this keynote paper I explore the potential of the PAA Model and the 4T Lenses to pluralize and decolonize English Medium Education (EME). By emphasizing affective decolonization, I argue for the necessity of recognizing emotions as socially embedded practices tied to power dynamics, drawing on the works of Sara Ahmed and Michalinos Zembylas. The PAA Model (Plurilingualism, Affect, Agency) advocates for a linguistically inclusive and emotionally aware educational environment that acknowledges the historical traumas of colonialism and their impact on EME.

In conjunction with the PAA Model, I will present the 4T Lenses—Translanguaging, Trans-semiotizing, Transknowledging, and Trans-culturing—as frameworks to enhance the integration of diverse semiotic, cultural and epistemic resources in EME. By fostering a transformative vision for EME, this paper calls for educators to embrace an affective decolonizing approach to EME that prioritizes emotional well-being, cultural relevance, and epistemic diversity, ultimately working towards a more sustainable and inclusive EME.

The purpose of this paper is, through a review of recent research on English-Medium Education (EME) in Kazakhstan – including research co-conducted by the presenter – to unpack the rationales, opportunities, and challenges of teaching in English in a post-Soviet, Central Asian context where Kazakh or Russian are the dominant languages of communication and instruction. The presentation will focus on policies of EMI in secondary and higher education, and describe the rationales of those policies as aiming toward goals of development of scientific knowledge of secondary and higher education, and internationalization of higher education. The presentation will then offer a review of empirical findings in Kazakhstan and similar contexts of challenges and benefits of EMI for different stakeholders in five dimensions: 1) institutional, 2) social, 3) cultural, 4) linguistic, and 5) pedagogical. The author will conclude that while some benefits are obtainable, others are either a threat to the local language ecology, a threat to the local economy and human capital development, or unrealistic without adequate institutional, linguistic, and pedagogical supports.

Current interest in care and caring is linked to the emergence of catastrophic risks arising from humanity’s acquisition, in the course of the last century, of the ability to destroy itself. The claim is that care and caring now function as hypergoods or moral sources, as frameworks enabling us to orient ourselves in moral space, to define our identities, and to evaluate the relative worth of different courses of action. In this sense ‘care’ and ‘caring’ are virtue terms of the 21st century. A distinction is made between a cinema of care as a type and a cinema of care as a token. Whereas the type is the general category, the token is a concrete, localised manifestation of the category. A definition of the general type is proffered, with one feature—the avoidance of harm—being foregrounded as a necessary condition. With an eye to pinpointing what a Chinese caring cinema localised in Hong Kong might look like, Ann Hui’s contribution to Hong Kong cinema and, more specifically, her 2011 film, A Simple Life, are explored as a concrete token of the general category of a cinema of care.

The concept of decolonization has become more common in the work of scholars studying Kazakhstan and other post-Soviet countries over the past 5–6 years. This interest has grown due to several political and economic changes, such as the formation of new independent states, shifts in political regimes, the achievement of sovereignty by many nations, and the establishment of borders for these countries.

However, the decolonization process in post-Soviet countries, including Kazakhstan, is not entirely new. In Kazakhstan, it began with the political and intellectual movements led by Kazakh intellectuals in the early 20th century. Later, in the 1950s and 1960s, the independence movements of Asian and African nations inspired further progress, particularly in culture and art during the 1960s. This focus on culture and art was significant because Kazakhstan had been under the control of the Russian Empire and, later, the Soviet Union for many years. This history gave rise to a form of decolonization known as the "decolonization of the mind," which developed through cultural and artistic expression.

Kazakh cinema, which started to develop in the 1960s, became one of the fields that contributed to this decolonization of the mind. After independence, a new phase of decolonization began. Modern Kazakh filmmakers have worked to explore national identity through historical, cultural, and psychological themes. Their films have highlighted the effects of the colonial era and addressed complex issues within the national consciousness.

In recent years, there has been a growing interest in decolonization within Kazakh society. This trend has been further intensified by the events surrounding Russia and Ukraine. While Kazakh cinema has responded to some of these societal demands, it has not always fully met expectations.

This presentation explores the contributions of Kazakh cinema to the decolonization process and its role in responding to the needs of contemporary Kazakh society. It also examines the strengths and limitations of cinema in driving this important process.

In the Soviet period, Kazakhstan went through the process of nation–building and cultural modernization shaped by the Soviet vision of how nations, particularly nations of the East, should mature and catch up with the developed nations. With the slogan “socialist in content nationalist in form,” all the nations gradually had to reach the same high level of development and adopt the same form of national culture - to have opera, theater, ballet, national novel, and other attributes of European culture. After gaining independence in Kazakhstan, a new era of “Kazakhstani” nation-building began. Because of the migration processes and the baby boom of 2000 and 2010, the share of Kazakhs in the country has more than doubled, and the share of Kazakhs among the urban population has dramatically increased. The Russian language was supported for some time as a lingua franca, receiving the status of the “official language” of interethnic communication and, at the same time, remaining the “prestigious” language of bureaucracy, culture, and education. However, the position of the Kazakh language and Kazakh culture gradually strengthened. The stigma of everything “traditional,” “backward,” and “countryside” associated with Kazakh weakened. Language hierarchies and the linguistic landscape of cities have changed, and today, this includes not only Russian and Kazakh but also English. To attract potential clients, business and advertising have increasingly begun to switch to Kazakh. Both modern (rap) and traditional (aitys) genres have begun to develop in Kazakh. The Kazakh language became the dominant language of media and culture.