May 3, 2023 at the Institute of History and Ethnology. Ch.Ch. Valikhanov, International scientific debates were organized in the form of a conference on the topic: “The role and significance of the Constitution of May 3, 1791 for the processes of systemic changes in Poland and Kazakhstan”.

The purpose of the conference, as noted by the director of the Institute of History and Ethnology. Ch.Ch. Valikhanov Z.E. Kabuldinov – to pay attention to the first progressive Constitution in Europe, which was adopted in the Commonwealth on May 3, 1791.

Every year on May 3, Poland celebrates an important public holiday – the National Day of the Third of May (Święto Narodowe Trzeciego Maja), which is also called the Constitution Day on May 3, dedicated to the anniversary of the adoption of the country’s Constitution of 1791.

The event was attended by the Consul General of the Republic of Poland in Almaty – Jozef Tmanovsky, as well as the Consul General of the Republic of Lithuania in Almaty – Gvidas Kerushauskas.

Professors of the Institute of History of the Republic of Lithuania and the Al-Farabi Kazakh National University made separate reports, touching upon the impact on the processes of political transformation – the Constitution of May 3 in Poland and its historical significance in general, as well as the impact on future processes of democratization in the world.

Jozef Tymanowski – The Consul General of the Republic of Poland in Almaty shared that the general idea of the debate is, first of all, to emphasize the importance of the Constitution on May 3 for all countries of the world and not only for Europe. “The idea of the Constitution on May 3 was very important for democratic processes, for the formation of democracy. And in the modern world, democracy is very important. We want many citizens in Kazakhstan, as well as the teaching community, to get acquainted with the Constitution of the Third of May,” the Consul of the Republic of Poland in Almaty shared.

Piotr Boron, a Polish language teacher at the gymnasium School No. 23 in Almaty, made a report in which he said: “When I was invited to the conference, I had doubts about what to say, because professors are scientists, and I am a teacher, and I have not dealt with this topic before”. Further, he expressed his opinion on the significance of this Basic Law of the state not only for Poland, but also for Lithuania. Mr. Peter believes that most people perceive the Constitution of May 3 as exclusively Polish, but he convinces his students that it is Polish-Lithuanian. The speaker also spoke about the professional and pedagogical experience in teaching topics related to the adoption of this historic document. He noted that he is proud that this legislative act is the first Constitution in Western Europe.

After the debate, all the guests of the debate, including the students of gymnasium school No. 23 who took part in the conference, were given books prepared by the Institute of History and Ethnology named after Ch.Ch. Valikhanov: a collection of documents “Polish special settlers in the North Kazakhstan region” and a monograph by Z.E. Kabuldinov “History of Astana” in English.