Rafael Khakimov and Tatarmultfilm will show historic cartoons about Tatars in social networks
Due to the low level of knowledge of Tatarstan history, the youth of the Institute of History named after Sh. Marjani of RT Academy of Sciences together with the Tatarmultfilm have launched the joint project – a series of cartoons, videos and comics about the history of Tatars in the social networks. The pilot five-minute video appeared last week, the next one should be already a 15-minute video about the achievements of the Tatars, which is also planned to be distributed in the social networks.
Interactive history of Tatarstan
Recently launched in the social network cartoon 'The origin of Tatars' was a pilot of the large joint programme of the Institute of History and Tatarmultfilm on the work with young people.
'Together with Tatarmultfilm — it is a whole project,' told Rafael Khakimov, the director of the Institute of History named after Sh. Mardzhani to Realnoe Vremya. 'We are preparing (already have done) a cartoon for children, which now goes into circulation – 'The arrow of time'. The Ministry of Education has already approved it. Simultaneously, we do are doing a book, a cartoon, sometimes comics. Now we are doing the textbooks for junior grades (1-4 grades). At the same time, there will be text and videos. The programme is big, I do not want to announce all work yet.'
According to Anna Belobrova, the Vice-head of the Association Tatarmultfilm, in addition to video tutorials and textbooks, it is planned to create an electronic atlas. And the video has become the basis for the work of the group.
'We needed to create a pilot project, first, to establish a mechanism of interaction between animators and historians and, secondly, to create a product that would be the basis for future works,' said Anna Belobrova.
The historians have entered the social networks
However, perhaps, the most interesting thing is that a part of the project for the first time in Tatarstan Republic is prepared specially for social networks.
'With the youth we are also preparing the following video – the history of Tatars in 15 minutes from the point of view of achieving success,' says Rafael Khakimov. 'About how in the history of the ancestors of the Tatars they succeed, at what expense, how they built the state, what factors determined this. It is focused mostly on youth, and the youth itself is initiator. We are asked for assistance in terms of text, pictures and so on.'
According to Khakimov, the five-minute video turned out to be too short: 'It may raise more questions than answers. For someone who is already more or less prepared, they put the material in general outline (without this general logic it is difficult to continue). Now there will be some simple images, but significant, which determined the stages. We, perhaps, will divide: one part about the Middle Ages, the other – about the Russian Empire'.
'We saw that all our reports are necessary just for few'
In fact, the Institute of History went on a radical change of format of work with young people in the framework of strengthening the identity of the Tatars.
'From past experience we have seen that all our reports are necessary just for few,' continues Rafael Khakimov. 'Its efficiency is very difficult to verify. This year we have decided to do a product that will show how strong the identity is becoming. In this regard, we have made the video, and more products will be. We want to monitor in the end of the year how effective it will be.'
Besides, there is a need to translate the fundamental work 'History of Tatars' in 7 volumes in more convenient and simple formats. In the Institute of History they hope that this will help attract young people to study the past of their people:
'Our research has shown that young people absolutely do not know the history of Tatarstan. It made us so discouraged that we decided to turn sharply and to do everything for social networks, the Internet. YouTube, Facebook, Vkontakte – we are developing this area now so that young people understood what we mean when we talk about the history of Tatars, Tatarstan, Eurasia.'
Funding from old projects
The individual financing of a cartoon or a new video for social networks is not expected. According to Anna Belobrova, the cartoon has been done on a voluntary basis by cartoonists, and the editor himself was Rafael Khakimov: 'This was a joint project, our specialists have created it in the framework of free creativity'.
In general, the project, according to Khakimov, is financed by the old, already existing programmes. First, by the programme on strengthening of the identity of the Tatars. Secondly, there is financing on the part of Tatarmultfilm in the framework of preparation of textbooks. The team has already worked together during the work on the pilot.'
'We want to introduce a new format: on the one hand – for school, on the other hand, for social networks,' said Khakimov.
'Simultenously with a chronological sequence we show what was happening on the map'
The pilot project appeared in social networks in the end of last week. It is a small animation about the origin of Tatars. The video was demonstrated in the framework of the lecture 'Akyl fabrikasy', which was held in Kazan in the end of May. Then it became known that the video is a joint project of the Institute of History named after Sh. Mardzhani and the Association Tatarmultfilm and Tatar Children's Press.
'The task was to show it clearly, comprehensible for children and adults the history of the Tatars: how the Tatar state was formed, how the borders changed over time, how the nation was formed, how the changes stemmed,' told Anna Belobrova to Realnoe Vremya on the creation of the pilot. 'The video lasts about 6 minutes, and for that time we had to show everything. Therefore we chose this technology, together with a chronological sequence (there is a timeline) we show what was happening on the map of Eurasia.'