In order to ensure the sustainable development of the country, "Sustainable cities and Communities", a republican photo contest was held on March 21-23 in the Otrar district of Turkestan region, organized by the public association "Photo Art", with the support of the Faculty of Journalism of Al-Farabi Kazakh National University and the magazine "National Geographic-Kazakhstan”. 10 photographers of different ages from Astana, Almaty, Ust-Kamenogorsk, Taraz and Turkestan took part in the competition. In addition to the Nauryz holiday, the photographers visited the Otrar settlement, the Arystan Bab mausoleum, the Arys embankment, where they took photos from various angles and presented 30 works to the jury. Amankel Yerkhanat, a student of the Department of Pre-university Training, took the 3rd prize in the photo contest.