Kazakh cultural centre in Argentina unites Central Asia and Latin America
ASTANA – Irina Vagner, founder of Centro Kazajo, the Kazakh cultural centre in Rosario, Argentina, has announced plans to take part in next year’s Festival of Nations. The annual event, with the participation of three million people, is widely celebrated in the city. “It is one of the most important events in the country. Since…
Garage Museum of Contemporary Art, Grand Palais Paris to display at EXPO 2017
ASTANA – The Garage Museum of Contemporary Art and Grand Palais Museum will present exhibitions and public programmes June 10 – Sept.10 at the Astana Contemporary Art Centre as part of EXPO 2017, according to the press service of the Astana EXPO 2017 national company. “We aim to attract people to our art centre and…
Kyzylorda volunteers cultivate concern for others, present inclusive theatre production
ASTANA – A Kyzylorda volunteer organisation held a charity concert April 21 as part of the social programme to help rehabilitate and socialise individuals with physical challenges. The inclusive theatre and wheelchair dance troupe presented its debut performance. “We decided to arrange a concert to support our unique projects – the inclusive theatre and wheelchair…
Kazakhstan’s anti-corruption legislation may become model for post-Soviet countries, say experts
ASTANA – Transparency International, the leading civil society organisation fighting corruption worldwide, released its Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) at the end of January concerning the level of perceived corruption for 176 countries. Kazakhstan’s score improved by one point to 29, moving the nation from 135th to 131st place. The Kazakh government has paid considerable attention…
Astana to host SCO Interbank Association, Business Council meeting
ASTANA – The joint meeting of the Interbank Association and the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Business Council will be held on the eve of EXPO 2017 in Astana. This was announced April 12 at the meeting at the SCO Secretariat in Beijing between SCO Business Council and Kazakhstan Entrepreneurs’ Forum Chairman Raimbek Batalov and SCO…
Regional internal migration launched, more than 630,000 jobs to be created this year
ASTANA – The government has identified seven regions to stimulate voluntary migration, said Labour and Social Protection Minister Tamara Duissenova at the April 5 Increasing Labour Market Mobility business forum in Shymkent. Labour migrants from the Almaty, Mangistau, South Kazakhstan and Zhambyl regions will receive subsidies for relocation and housing rent for one year to…
Clothing donation project brings warmth, hope to those in need
ASTANA – Almaty residents can donate clothes and items to the Teplo (Warmth) charity boxes to help people in emergencies. There are currently five collection points located at Esentai Square, Dostyk Plaza Mall, Mega Alma-Ata Mall, On Clinic hospital and Pita Green healthy food restaurant. The social and charitable project, aimed at organising contributions for…
Central Asian regional hub for countering global threats to open in Astana
ASTANA – The Central Asian Regional Hub for Countering Global Threats will be established in the capital within the Academy of Law Enforcement Agencies under the Prosecutor General’s Office. The plan was announced April 11 at the meeting in Vienna between Prosecutor General Zhakip Assanov and United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) Executive…
Kazakhstan seeks to improve civil service through international partnerships
ASTANA – The Civil Service Development global and regional trends review highlighting civil service development and reform in North America, Europe, Southeast Asia, the Caucasus and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) countries throughout the past 25 years was highly commended by experts at a April 12 Partnership for Civil Service Excellence conference in the…
Implementing openness, transparency principles lead to change in perception of corruption nationwide
ASTANA – The growth model designed to ensure Kazakhstan’s global competitiveness identifies important priorities, including institutional reforms, security and anti-corruption. President Nursultan Nazarbayev outlined the third stage of modernisation in his Jan. 31 annual address to the nation. The head of state set a task to strengthen efforts to identify and eliminate the causes and…
Kazakhtelecom opens network operations centre
ASTANA – Kazakhtelecom Unified Network Management Centre, launched in mid-March in Almaty, aims to help the company automate work and promptly find and fix malfunctions. The centre’s staff processes approximately 400,000 various types of messages each month, from system signals about malfunctions to information alerts, reported Tengrinews.kz. The facility is equipped with the latest security…
International medical aid project brings free reconstructive surgery to Kazakh children
ASTANA – The Asyl Bala Association has launched a project to provide reconstructive and plastic surgeries to children with congenital facial malformations, post-burn deformities and pigmented spots. The project is being implemented in cooperation with the International Assistance Group and the Medical Centre Corporate Foundation. Visiting American plastic surgeons specialising in helping children with severe…
Almaty photographer reveals how simple hobby turned into career
ASTANA – The breathtaking pictures of exotic marine life taken by Almaty resident Nadezhda Kulagina took the fourth and sixth places in the wrecks category of the 2017 Underwater Photographer of the Year competition. An interpreter by occupation, Kulagina has been involved in underwater photography for seven years. She specifically went to Sudan last year,…
Kazakh diaspora share joy of celebrating Nauryz with people around them
ASTANA – Nauryz, an ancient eastern holiday celebrated March 22 in many Middle and Central Asia countries, is one of the favourite holidays for Kazakh people. The event is also widely celebrated by Kazakh diaspora across the world. The Astana Times interviewed Kazakhstan-born people who currently reside in Paris, Moscow and Los Angeles to learn…
Astana Ballet Theatre premiers “Walpurgis Night”
ASTANA – The “Walpurgis Night” ballet premiered March 17-18 at the Astana Ballet Theatre in the capital. The ballet was staged by Honoured Artist of Russia, People’s Artist of Tatarstan Georgy Kovtun who has produced approximately 300 ballets and choreographic performances for many theatres in Russia and Ukraine, including the Mariinsky and Mikhailovsky Theatres and…
New concept for renting houses in Astana
ASTANA – Local entrepreneurs have set new trends in the hospitality industry in recent years, as the Kazakh capital has become a top tourism and business destination in Central Asia. The Room project head Ainur Nurtai and her team decided to change the approach to small business management and find a perfect business idea.…
Astana Process guarantor states reaffirm commitment to strengthening Syrian ceasefire
ASTANA – Russia, Iran and Turkey reaffirmed their commitment to consolidating and strengthening the ceasefire regime in Syria during a fresh round of peace talks March 14-15 in Astana. It was the third such meeting in Astana in what has become known as the Astana Process. It was also announced that the next high-level meeting…
Astana hosts Battle of the Bars competition
ASTANA – Battle of the Bars, the prestigious calisthenics tournament, was held March 5 in the capital’s Khan Shatyr shopping centre. Hosted in major cities and countries such as Chicago, Dubai, Kuwait, Los Angeles, Mexico and San Jose, the competition was the first organised in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and brought together 16…
Kazakh filmmaker’s latest project creates new wave of independent documentary culture
ASTANA – Young and ambitious filmmaker Kanat Beisekeyev released “Bala,” a film about Kazakh children adopted by American families, in late February. The documentary touches on a sensitive topic, but the author’s simple, understandable language and extraordinarily light narration leaves no one indifferent. “I am extremely happy to present this film. It’s not just a…
Institute of Diplomacy contributes to developing foreign service and promoting national interests
ASTANA – Innovative approaches have transformed foreign policy in recent years. Digital diplomacy is a modern and technological dimension of foreign policy, used as a new soft power tool to advance national interests, project political and economic power. In his address to the nation, “Third Modernisation of Kazakhstan: Global Competitiveness,” President Nursultan Nazarbayev attached particular…
Pilot programme to teach Kazakh in Russian-language schools to launch in 2018
ASTANA – A pilot programme to teach the Kazakh language in Russian-language schools will launched in 2018, said Minister of Education and Science Yerlan Sagadiyev at a governmental meeting in late February. “Children in Russian-language schools do not speak Kazakh and this problem needs attention. A three-level communicative method based on a new scientific approach…
Local designer participates in prestigious UK emerging designer exhibition
ASTANA – Kazakh designer Ruslan Kim will show his ready-to-wear collection at the International Fashion Showcase exhibition (IFS) initiated by British Fashion Council and British Council as part of the London Fashion Week Feb. 17-21. IFS is a series of fashion-installations that demonstrate the works by beginning and ambitious designers from 26 countries and present…
Forum addresses national gender equality achievements and challenges
ASTANA – Empowerment of Women in the Corporate Sector, an international forum held Feb.10 in the capital, highlighted the involvement of women in Kazakh business. Of the more than 570,000 enterprises in the nation, 44 percent of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are run by women. The businesses provide 31 percent of all jobs in…
Pro Boxer Firuza Sharipova fights her way to top
ASTANA – Firuza Sharipova will hold a master class Feb. 23 at the Floyd Mayweather Boxing Academy in Zhukovka. A native of Taraz, she is the first Kazakh woman in the professional ring and has been named the sexiest athlete in the country, according to Vesti.kz. The multiple Kazakh boxing champion and Asian continental tournament…
Free training programme introduced to reduce skilled labour shortage, improve social climate among youth
ASTANA – More than 20,000 young people have the opportunity to get free vocational and technical education as part of the Productive Employment and Large Scale Entrepreneurship programme. The project, approved by the government Dec. 26, was launched Jan. 1 by the Ministry of Education and Science. Financing totalling 118.8 billion tenge (US$$365.2 million) has…
