2009 European Congress of Kazakhs in London, UK

LONDON. March 2. KAZINFORM This year the United Kingdom Kazakh Association is hosting & organising the forthcoming European Congress (Qurultai) of Kazakhs, which will be held from 29th to 31st May 2009 in London.

There are more than 15,000 Kazakhs living in all over Europe and each year they gather in one European city where they hold a ?Qurultai? and a festival which includes cultural events and a soccer tournament. The main aim of these gatherings is to remind the new generation of Kazakh Diaspora about their Kazakh heritage and culture. It also provides the Kazakhs living in different parts of Europe with an opportunity to meet each other, and also to express their opinions on issues relevant to them during the conference held as part of this gathering. The government of Kazakhstan, in particular President Nursultan Nazarbayev values and pays special attention to the Kazakh Diaspora in Europe and consequently supports these annual Qurultais of European Kazakhs through an organisation called the World Association of Kazakhs based in Almaty, Kazakhstan. The President generally sends a large delegation to these congresses which includes his first deputy of the World Association of Kazakhs, Mr Talgat Mamashev and the representatives from the ministries of education, culture and sports. Accompanied with the delegation are also well-known Kazakh folk musicians and artists, Kazinform refers to the press service of Kazakhstan Embassy in the UK.