2009 Kuresh Project
THE AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF CRIMEAN TURKS (Association; AACT)
The Crimean Tatar Khuresh Project 2009/2010
The American Association of Crimean Turks (Association) delegates, Ayla Bakkalli, Elder Mustafa’ov, Ibrahim Ozdenoglu who attended the First Session of the first World Congress of Crimean Tatars in Crimea on May 19-22, 2009 recognized the need to provide an opportunity and access to current and prospective indigenous Crimean Tatar athletes youth to participate at local, national, regional and international competitions; and provide funding directly to the group teams and individual athletics to realize these opportunities.
At the Crimean Tatar World Congress Delegation we heard first hand the issues of the Crimean Tatar youth and felt compelled to take a result oriented initiative to address the dire situation of the indigenous Crimean Tatar. The potential of sports to effectively influence behavior on one hand, while improving the quality of life in utilizing young peoples talent and promote peaceful co-existence has been increasingly recognized in recent years. The sports project will also assist the indigenous youth to enter into mainstream society through their sportsmanship. The optimum utilization of the Crimean Tatar youth talents is to create an opportunity of inclusion for the youth through their indigenous sport Khuresh.
The Association will set forth and their work with the KHURESH PROJECT as means of support for Crimean Tatar Khuresh athletes and/or teams in varying capacities and to raise funds in that endeavor.
Since the return of the indigenous Crimean Tatars to their homeland of Crimea, Ukraine after their tragic deportation by the Soviet communist Stalin on May 18, 1944 are faced with continual hardships in their attempts to resurrect their destroyed culture and traditions. The indigenous youth in particular are the most vulnerable, confronted with discrimination, xenophobia, and corruptions by ethnic Russians in Crimea who state that Crimean Tatars should be deported again from Crimea. In addition, lack of employment opportunities and access to education for youth creates an environment of hopeless and unable to realize the potential of the indigenous Crimean Tatar youth population in Crimea which make up 28% of the indigenous population.
Project Vision: The Association believes that the success of sportsmanship represents an opportunity to take the need for play and recreation one step further in that, sportsmanship can make an essential contribution to human, social and economic development. The Crimean Tatar sports tradition represents an order of “akaylik”, a code of ethics and aesthetics distinctively its own. The Association in pursuit of this project feels given the environment of antagonism and conflicts faced by indigenous Crimean Tatar youth in Crimea, we believe that sports will bring peaceful co-existence in which fair competition ends in respect and friendship.
Project Purpose: This project is borne out of a need identified during the First World Congress of Crimean Tatars to provide an opportunity and access to current and prospective indigenous Crimean Tatar athletes youth to participate at local, national, regional and international competitions; and gain funding directly to the group teams and individual athletics to realize these opportunities.
The ultimate goal is intend to showcase our traditional cultural through its Khuresh Sports Project hope that it will contribute to social change for the benefit of the indigenous Crimean Tatar youth directly. Please contact the President of the American Association of Crimean Turks, Inc. at
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