The Lumières Foundation, a new Franco-Kazakh platform dedicated to enhancing cooperation in higher education, science, and workforce development, was unveiled on May 5 at Maqsut Narikbayev University (MNU) in Astana. The opening, which was supported by the French Embassy in Kazakhstan and attended by Vice Minister of Science and Higher Education Talgat Yeshenkulov, marked the formal launch of an institutional initiative aimed at expanding university partnerships, promoting dual-degree programs, and increasing student mobility between Kazakhstan and France.
French Ambassador to Kazakhstan Sylvain Guiaugue. Photo credit: MNU French Ambassador Sylvain Guiaugué described the opening as a crucial step in bilateral educational diplomacy, with the foundation serving as a long-term tool for structuring and developing current academic cooperation.
“Today, with the creation of the Lumières Foundation, we are opening a new chapter in this cooperation. We are moving to a new, more structured, ambitious and decisively future-oriented stage,” he said. According to Guiaugué, the foundation will provide a uniform framework for promoting educational programs, co-financing scholarships, and reacting more directly to Kazakhstan’s economic and workforce needs via academic infrastructure.
Talgat Narikbayev, Maqsut Narikbayev University Chairman, described the effort as a practical extension of the broader political discussion between Astana and Paris, stressing that educational collaboration has emerged as a defining pillar of bilateral relations.
“Presidents Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and Emmanuel Macron have repeatedly noted that the development and strengthening of ties in education, science and culture are among the key directions of partnership between France and Kazakhstan,” Narikbayev said. He stated that the foundation’s goal is not just to strengthen institutional cooperation, but also to establish a long-term platform for youth opportunity.
“I am convinced that this foundation will become not only a center for the development and strengthening of cooperation between the universities of France and Kazakhstan, but also a unique space for ideas, knowledge and new opportunities for the youth of our countries,” he said.
Agnès Bousset, deputy director of the Lumières Foundation, sees the initiative as a solution to a separate challenge: a lack of quality Franco-Kazakh initiatives, rather than limited visibility and access. Agnès Bousset, deputy director of the Lumières Foundation.