“Tree of Values” Readers’ Conference Held at KAFU

On October 27, 2026, the Kazakh-American Free University (KAFU) hosted a readers’ conference titled “Tree of Values” (“Құндылықтар ағашы”) for second-year students, as part of the “Adal Azamat” (Honest Citizen) program and the “Reading Nation” initiative.

The primary objective of the event was to foster a greater interest in reading among students, develop their ability to identify moral values ​​within literary works, articulate their own opinions with supporting arguments, and connect the ideas found in the books they read to their own personal life principles.

A unique feature of the conference was that students prepared a diverse range of literary works for discussion. Despite differences in authors, genres, plots, and characters, all participants were united by a single question: “What value did the book I read help me realize?”

During the event, students presented the works they had read, discussed key events and characters, highlighted core moral values, and justified their choices with specific examples from the texts.

The centerpiece of the conference was a symbolic “Tree of Values.” Its roots represented the book as a source of knowledge and spiritual growth; the trunk symbolized the reader’s reflections; the branches stood for moral values; and the fruits represented the concrete actions in which these values ​​are reflected. Participants wrote the values ​​they identified in the books onto leaf-shaped cards and placed them on the tree’s branches. In this way, the tree was gradually filled with the spiritual and moral guideposts gleaned from various books.

Working in pairs, students discussed the actions of literary characters, shared their impressions of what they had read, and reflected on which ideas from the works were the most significant to them. Next, the participants compared the values ​​represented on a symbolic tree and analyzed how the same moral principles manifest across various literary works.

A distinct segment of the conference was dedicated to the exchange of reading recommendations. Each student selected a book from those presented that they wished to read in the future and explained their choice. This format helped broaden the students’ literary horizons and sparked an interest in new works.

To conclude the event, participants wrote down—on heart-shaped cards—the value they found most significant, along with a specific action they could take to embody that value in their daily lives. This exercise helped bridge the gap between ideas found in literature and the concepts of personal responsibility and conscious behavior.

The conference culminated in the presentation of a collective “Tree of Values,” which illustrated the diverse moral guideposts that unite various literary works. The participants reached a shared conclusion: “Different books—shared values!”

Hosting this reading conference fostered a culture of reading, critical thinking, and communication skills among the students. Furthermore, the event served as an essential component of the educational and developmental mission at KAFU, which aims to cultivate the spiritual and moral character of young people, foster responsible citizenship, and promote reading as a foundation for both intellectual and personal growth.