Tengrinews, citing Khabar 24, reports that the first post-pandemic kurultai of Kazakhs living in different parts of Europe, as well as Turkey and Kazakhstan, is taking place in Paris, France.
The event, which will span several days, is being attended by about 1,000 people. For the European Kazakhs, this event is especially important since many of them do not often get the chance to celebrate their heritage. Some are descendants of Kazakhs from the first waves of mass migration which occurred in the mid-20th century, while the new wave consists of more recent immigrants.
The largest event is a soccer tournament. Due to the diversity of languages spoken by the diaspora, sports and music are activities that help people socialize and make friends. There were 13 teams from different countries.
We live outside of Kazakhstan. We need to preserve our culture, our traditions. For this purpose, we organize kurultais once a year, so that we could meet with our relatives and 'kandas' (brethren). It is very important for us here.
The kurultai was organized by the Association of Turkish Kazakhs in France, Kazakh diplomats in Paris and the "Otandastar" Foundation. The program events were created with the aim to provide a culturally enriching and educational experience; some of which include a master class from the ethno-designer Kazipa Kalikyzy, meetings of the representatives of diasporas in Europe, a joint concert of artists from around the world, and even a disco party for the youth.
Today, we proudly raise the flag of Kazakhstan in the heart of Europe - in Paris. Our community is gathered here with the purpose of passing on our ancestral traditions to the younger generation so that they do not forget their roots, their language, or their homeland. We organize these events for the 400-500 Kazakhs who travel from other European countries to enjoy.
The program of the Paris Kurultai includes a visit to the monuments of Abay and Mustafa Shokai, which have become significant cultural attractions.
Of course, there is an intention to continue such events in the future. We can say that this is necessary for Kazakhs who live in Kazakhstan and beyond. In the creation process of New Kazakhstan, we do not want our diasporas around the world to be left behind. We want to help them to be able to make an impact on the future of our community. We look forward to our work with great enthusiasm and are eager to cooperate with the diaspora in all ways.
According to the data presented by "Otandastar" Foundation, up to 8 million Kazakhs live outside of their native country. The process of reconnecting and rebuilding cultural ties with Kazakhstan have been quite successful in the past several years. Thanks to the kurultai, there is sufficient evidence that interest in further cultural cooperation continues to grow.
