Federation of European Kazakh Associations

Welcome to the website of the Federation of European Kazakh Associations!

Today, a substantial number of Kazakh people have been living in various countries in Europe such as Germany, France, Sweden, Austria, Britain, Norway, Denmark, the Netherlands and Switzerland.

These Kazakhs living in Europe can generally be grouped into two: The first group which represents the majority is composed of the Kazakhs of Eastern Turkistan who rebelled against the Chinese oppression in 1930s and 1950s but lost their struggle for freedom and as a result had to flee their motherland and had found refuge firstly in India and Pakistan and from there had migrated to Turkey as refugees. From 1960s onwards these Kazakhs and their children had migrated to the abovementioned European countries to work and live. The second group who is less in numbers were originated from Kazakhstan who also had to leave their native country because of the collectivisation (Sovietization) policies forced in Kazakhstan in 1920s and initially moved to Iran and Afghanistan. From there they travelled via Turkey and migrated to Europe in 1980s.

They began to live in these European countries but soon after they felt a strong need to preserve their social and cultural values and to strengthen their social solidarity and as a result the Kazakhs began to unite under the roofs of cultural organisations. The first Kazakh associations were established in the early 1980s in Germany, this was followed by the establishment of other Kazakh associations in other European countries. Thus, with the increasing number of these associations in Europe, their executive boards decided to increase solidarity and coordination amongst them. Hence they launched their efforts to unite under an umbrella organisation by setting up a Committee for the Coordination among the Kazakh Associations in Europe.