Self-identification of children and playing Sabantuy: what Ministry of Culture of Tatarstan multimedia needs Balachak complex for
Cartoons, fairy tales and mini-games based on folk motifs for 11 million
The Ministry of Culture of Tatarstan decided to involve children in the study of the Tatar language and the languages of the peoples of the Volga Region with the help of multimedia technologies. The agency is looking for a contractor who will develop the whole multimedia complex Balachak (translated from Tatar “childhood” — ed.). It will include three modules — the mobile application Sabantuy, the interactive animated film Saby, and the mobile board game Uyna.
It is planned that they will be united by the integrating portal Balachak and a mobile application of the same name. For better learning, the department wants to arrange the materials in a single style. The materials of the portal, according to the plan of the Ministry of Culture of Tatarstan, will be designed, among other things, for the use of its materials for teaching children in educational organisations.
It is planned to allocate more than 11 million rubles for the development of the multimedia complex Balachak, which according to the plan of the Ministry of Culture should help preserve cultural linguistic heritage and traditions. We intend to implement the project at the expense of the republican budget.
Electronic books with fairy tales will appear on the Balachak portal. It should include at least one work translated from Russian into Tatar, and at least one translated from Tatar into Russian. Fairy tales in the languages of other Volga Regions will also be available — in Mordovian (Erzya, Moksha), Mari, Udmurt and Chuvash with translation into Tatar and Russian. The fairy tales should reflect the motives of the ethnic heritage of the Tatar, Russian, Mordovian, Mari, Udmurt and Chuvash peoples.
The Ministry of Culture promised Realnoe Vremya to prepare a comment on the project. The publication is ready to publish it upon receipt.
Learning sabantuy through mini-games
With the help of the mobile application Sabantuy, according to the idea of the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Tatarstan, children will have the opportunity to study the ethnic holiday of the same name and its traditions. The plot of at least 25 mini-games will be based on an animated series on the theme of the holiday. The number of episodes corresponds to the number of games — at least 25 with a duration of 45 seconds.
With the help of the application, children will have the opportunity to play traditional sabantuy competitions — bag jumping, kurash, tug of war and stick, horse racing with obstacles, bag fighting, running with a yoke, etc.
The customer demands that the series turn out to be highly artistic. It must be voiced in Russian and Tatar. Before introducing the series into the application, it must receive a rental certificate from the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation.
The app will be released for both Android and iPhone owners. Specific release dates are not specified, but the development should be completed by December 25 of this year.
Self-identification through animated film
The Ministry of Culture of Tatarstan aims to help children identify themselves as native speakers of the language and traditions of the people. It is planned to do this with the help of the interactive modular animated film “Saby” (translated from the Tatar “child” — ed.).
The agency defined it as a kind of “innovative complex of interactive animated modules”. It is planned that the child will have the opportuntiy to either just pass the time watching a movie, or interact with it, answering questions and studying Tatar words. The character will talk to a child in Tatar guise both in Russian and in Tatar.
Playing field — five republics of the Volga Region
The board game Uyna (translated from the Tatar “play” — ed.), according to the idea of the Ministry of Culture, should introduce children to the basics of the languages of the Volga Region in a playful way. At the same time, the users will get a virtual tour of the main attractions and important historical facts of Kazan, Saransk, Yoshkar-Ola, Mordovia, Izhevsk and Cheboksary.
Playing field — five republics of the Volga Region. Children with the help of special cards with questions will have the opportunity to explore the culture, traditions and sights of Tatarstan, Mari El, Mordovia, Chuvashia and Udmurtia. The questions will be presented both in Russian and in the language of the indigenous peoples of the respective regions.
Although the game is listed as desktop, it will be performed in the mobile version. To do this, they will develop a special application, and the rules and video instructions will be posted on the Balachak portal.
Familiarisation through multimedia is laid down by the republican programme for the preservation, study and development of languages
Familiarisation with the culture of Tatarstan and its language is provided through multimedia projects and is also laid down in the republican programme for the preservation, study and development of languages in Tatarstan for 2023-2030. During its operation, it is planned to create up to 320 children's short films and animated films in the Tatar language.
One of the directions of the programme is connected with the creation of a favourable language environment in the Internet space. It includes, for example, the development of thematic TV programmes and the publication in the media of materials on the preservation of languages, the creation of cartoons and short films in Tatar, as well as the appearance of a Russian-Tatar machine translator for the needs of the population and authorities, the creation of a system for analysing and synthesising Tatar speech and the localisation of software products.