TURKSOY declares Astana 2012 Turkic World Capital

    Astana has been declared the cultural capital of the Turkic world for 2012. The declaration is unprecedented in the TURKSOY organization’s history.
    The assignment of this high status to Kazakhstan’s capital was announced at a regular meeting of the Permanent Council of Culture Ministers of the organization’s member states.
    The meeting involved officials from Kazakhstan, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan, Bashkortostan, Tatarstan, Moldova, and Cyprus. It was decided at the meeting that 2012 would be the year of Nikolai Katanov – a linguist and ethnographer; authority on Turkic languages and peoples.
    In addition, the preparation of activities under the program - Astana 2012, the Cultural Capital of the Turkic World was discussed.
    The organization’s Secretary General Dusen Kasseinov was re-elected and retained his office for the next three years, while the TURKSOY Interim Coordinator, Kazakhstan’s Minister of Culture was replaced by his Turkish counterpart, Ertugrul Gunay. The meeting resulted in signing a declaration on cooperation.
    Dusen Kasseinov, TURKSOY secretary general said, “Next year, all cultural workers, artists, musicians, dancers, painters, and writers - all will assemble in Astana, and I believe this will inspire them to create new works. On the other hand, Astana will show all of its potential, that it is one of the best cities in the Turkic world, which is modern, civilized, dynamic and has all it takes to host any festival or a forum of any level,” Caspionet said.