Embassy of the United States

Kazakhstani University Students and Faculty Participate in Seminar on Academic Integrity

At a seminar November 28-29, 2006 thirty students and twenty faculty from across Kazakhstan explored how to create a culture of honesty and confront corruption in Kazakhstani post secondary education.Ambassador John Ordway and Bakhytnur Otarbayeva, president of the Fulbright Association of Kazakhstan, opened the seminar and James Lancaster, a professor at Appalachian State University and a consultant of the Center for Academic Integrity, shared his expertise on the topic. Alumni of U.S. government educational exchange programs facilitated working groups at the seminars. Student and faculty guests from Kyrgyzstan also shared their experience in promoting academic integrity.The students created a sample code of academic integrity and a set of guidelines on maintaining academic honesty that they later discussed with faculty. Kazakhstani faculty examined tools to promote integrity in the classroom.The Fulbright Association of Kazakhstan will publish the sample code of academic integrity and guidelines in English, Kazakh, and Russian, and distribute it to all universities in Kazakhstan. All participants are expected to conduct seminars or trainings for their colleagues in their home institutions by late February 2007.The seminar took place at the Nauryz sanatorium in Almaty, preceding a two-day conference for 30 university faculty on December 1-2.The project was sponsored and organized by the U.S. Embassy Public Affairs Section with the assistance from the Fulbright Association of Kazakhstan. The project partners were the National Debate Center, U.S. Embassy Public Affairs Section in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, and the Ministry of Education, Kazakhstan.     View Photogallery

Ambassador Ordway’s November 27, 2006 Press Conference

Ambassador Ordway held his fourth press conference of 2006 at the Kazakhstani Press Club in Almaty on November 27.   He answered questions about the United States’ support for human rights in Kazakhstan, President Nazarbayev’s visits to the United States and the United Kingdom, grass roots democracy in Kazakhstan, constitutional changes in Kyrgyzstan, energy transportation routes in Central Asia, the arrest of Mark Seidenfeld, Sacha Cohen, mid-term elections in the United States, and the move of the embassy to Astana.        Transcript

President Nazarbayev and Ambassador Ordway Emphasize Strong Partnership at New Embassy Compound Dedication

More than 500 guests, among them President Nursultan Nazarbayev, Foreign Minister Kasymzhomart Tokayev, and Astana Mayor Askar Mamin, attended the embassy's long awaited dedication on November 14. Speaking at the ceremony, President Nazarbayev said the United States and Kazakhstan had achieved a high level of cooperation in international stability, energy security, nonproliferation, the struggle against terrorism, and support for democratic reform. (Link) Ambassador Ordway impressed the audience with remarks in Kazakh and Russian, describing the completion of the two year construction project as "a symbol of the two countries' friendship and strategic partnership." General Charles Williams, the director and chief operating officer of the State Department's Overseas Buildings Office, said the project represented $20 million in terms of investment in the local economy.     View Photogallery

“Stars Over Kazakhstan” Shine on U.S. Embassy Dedication Day

One of the exhibits that caught President Nazarbayev's eye during his visit on Dedication day was a collection of paintings, drawings, and photographs infused with the irrepressible enthusiasm of children. The collection of works represented collaborative efforts by children from Almaty and Astana, and was curated by Roberta Sajda, an artist and educator from Texas who specializes in teaching art to children with disabilities. During Sajda's weeklong visits to Almaty in June and Astana in November this year, she trained 50 Kazakhstani teachers in using art as therapy to help children with disabilities  realize their creative potential. The children themselves stopped by the embassy November 17 to see their art on display. A collection of Sajda's own photographs and collages  can be seen in the French Hall of Astana's Museum of Contemporary Arts, Prospekt Respublika #3, November 10-26, 2006. Both exhibits were features of the embassy's Splash! celebration of the move to Astana. Sajda and fellow arts educator Chau Nguen visited Kazakhstan as part of the State Department's "All Americans:  Images of Heritage and Citizenship" program. The Institute of Social Adaptation of Children (SAD) in Astana, the KENES NGO in Almaty, and the Kaskelen School for Disadvantaged Children in Almaty collaborated with them on the project.      

American and Kazakhstani NGOs Build "Jazz Bridges Kazakhstan"

"American Voices" jazz artists Deborah Brown and Mike Del Ferro played to packed houses in Astana's Presidential Cultural Center November 8, 2006. Jazz is one of the most popular American art forms in Kazakhstan, as demonstrated by the enthusiastic audience response and extensive and laudatory press coverage. In their "Jazz Bridges Kazakhstan" concert, Brown and Del Ferro performed jazz standards from "The American Songbook" and "Jazz Bridges," jazz renditions of Kazakh traditional music. "Jazz Bridges" featured an ensemble of four musicians under the leadership of the world famous dombra player, Alkuat Kazakhbayev. In an interview with Liter daily November 4, Brown said the lovely tones of the dombra expressed the "soul of Kazakhstan".
While in Astana Brown and Del Ferro held jazz workshops for vocalists and musicians at the National Academy of Music on November 6.
The concerts were organized by John Ferguson, a pianist and the executive director of the American Voices Association, in collaboration with the "Astana City Student Alliance" NGO, and the U.S. Embassy, with a generous donation from Exxon Mobil Kazakhstan, Inc.  American Voices was founded in 1992 to promote American music and culture abroad. The Houston-based American Voices is now the only American musical organization committed to interactive performances and education in the Middle East and Central Asia.    View Photogallery

U.S. Trade Delegation from North Dakota Visits Astana

North Dakota Lieutenant Governor Jack Dalrymple headed a delegation of six agricultural equipment manufacturers from North Dakota, a leading agricultural producer in the United States, on a visit to Astana to participate in the 9th annual AgroProd Expo Exhibition October 25-27. The delegation met with many Kazakhstani businessmen to discuss the potential for business partnerships.In a welcome letter sent to fellow expo participants, North Dakota governor John Hoeven said, "These manufacturers are world leaders in producing innovative, state-of-the-art equipment. They are helping to transform agri-business the world over into a more profitable sector." Ambassador John Ordway, who toured the exhibition in Astana October 27, said the delegation from North Dakota demonstrated the opportunities for agricultural trade between the United States and Kazakhstan.   

U.S. Orchestra Conductor Performs in Astana and Almaty

On October 4,  guest American conductor Emily Freeman Brown conducted a concert of American and Kazakhstani music performed by the Academy of Soloists chamber orchestra and the Symphonic Orchestra of Astana State Philharmony at the resplendant National Music Academy of Kazakhstan in Astana.  The concert program included Symphony #1 by Samuel Adler; John Corigliano's Chaconne for Violin and Orchestra from the film, The Red Violin; Leonard Bernstein's Symphonic Dances from West Side Story; and, Chase the Girl! by Kazakhstani composer Tles Kazhgaliyev.  The internationally renowned violinist Aiman Musakhodjaeva, currently the director of Astana's Academy of Soloists, performed a violin solo for the Corigliano piece.  In recognition of Kazakhstan's capital city and the friendship between Kazakhstan and the United States, Brown opened the concert with flawless renditions of the national anthems.  At the conclusion of the concert with the rollicking Kaz shgaliyev piece, the crowd gave Emily a five-minute thunderous ovation, punctuated with cries of "Bravo!"  
On October 11, Brown conducted a concert at the Grand Organ Hall of the Conservatory in Almaty.  The program there included New England Triptych by William Schuman, Adagio for Strings by Samuel Barber, Appachian Spring by Aaron Copeland, and Kazshgaliyev's Legends of the Steppes.  The audience in Almaty was equally appreciative of the conservatory student orchestra's masterful performance.  Brown spent a week in each city rehearsing with the orchestras and teaching master classes to music students.  Brown is currently the music director and conductor of the Philharmonia and Opera Theater at Bowling Green University.  She studied at London’s Royal College of Music, where she was a two-time winner of the Sir Adrian Boult Conducting Prize. She was a 1988 finalist of the internationally known Affiliate Artists Conductor’s Program.  She has conducted orchestras in the United States, Europe and South America, and now Kazakhstan. The concert was the fourth Splash! event season marking the U.S. embassy move from Almaty to Astana.     View Photogallery

Walter Dean Leads Discussion on Media and Democracy

Walter Dean, a 40-year veteran of broadcast journalism, led screenings and discussions in Almaty and Astana September 26 and 28 of Good Night, and Good Luck, the film depicting how Edward R. Murrow helped put an end to the Communist witch hunts of the 1950s by challenging accuser Senator Joe McCarthy on television news. Dean conducted Socratic dialogues with the film audiences and students at KIMEP, KazGu, and Eurasian National University, by posing questions to explain the responsibility of media to provide information citizens need to make crucial decisions affecting their lives. Dean is currently the director of broadcast initiatives for the Committee of Concerned Journalists, a consortium of journalists, publishers, owners and academics. The group seeks "to clarify and renew journalists' faith in the core principles and function of journalism, to create a better understanding of those principles by the public, and to engage and inform ownership and management of these principles and their financial as well as social value." Dean's program was the latest in the series of Splash! events celebrating the move of the embassy from Almaty to Astana, by highlighting American values and culture.       View Photogallery 

Dance Performance Wows Sold Out Crowd in Astana

American choreographer Peter Kalivas treated Astana to a contemporary dance performance featuring professional dancers from The National Opera and Ballet Theatre in Astana and children from the Palace of Youth, on September 23 at 18:00 at the National Opera and Ballet Theatre in Astana. Kalivas' work has been described as "beautifully sculpted and athletic, with a fun and entertaining quality." The Astana performance was a sold-out, standing room only triumph. Ambassadors and staff representing Norway, Great Britain, Italy, India, Japan and the United States and a crowd populated with young dance enthusiasts stood and cheered with the last leap of the dance in a standing ovation, seven curtain calls and an encore.     View Photogallery

Serik Kulmeshkenov's Exhibition Opens in Astana

On September 7 in Astana, the United States Embassy and the Museum of Contemporary Arts presented an exhibition of the works of artist Serik Kulmeshkenov. A native of Astana and a United States citizen since 2005, Serik Kulmeshkenov is an internationally acclaimed artist with awards from over 25 countries. His art media include drawing, engraving, cartooning, calligraphy, photography, and poetry. The artist donated all the exhibited artworks to the Museum of Contemporary Arts in Astana. Serik Kulmeshkenov was born in Astana in 1956 and is the son of a railroad conductor. At the age of 26, he went blind and was diagnosed with Behcet’s Disease, a rare and incurable illness that causes inflammation of the blood vessels. After 12 years of treatment which temporarily restored his sight, Kulmeshkenov lost his left eye and most of the sight in his right. Despite these hardships, Serik Kulmeshkenov has been a graphic artist since 1985 and has won international acclaim.In 1999, Kulmeshkenov won Russia’s “green card lottery” and was able to move to the United States. He now calls Rochester, Minnesota home. Speaking at the exhibit opening, Deputy Chief of Mission Kevin Milas said Kulmeshkenov's "love of the beauty of art and of both his countries must have helped in the restoration of his artistic vision."        View Photogallery

DAS Evan Feigenbaum Addresses Bilateral Relations Conference in Almaty

Evan Feigenbaum, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs, delivered opening remarks August 23 for the conference, "Kazakhstan and the USA:  Current State and Prospects for Bilateral Cooperation," sponsored by the Institute of World Economy and Policy (IWEP) at the First Kazakhstan President Foundation, the U.S. Embassy, and the AES Corporation.  Participants discussed the U.S. role in developing Kazakhstan's energy industry, prospects for supplying oil to the Baku-Tblisi-Ceyhan pipeline, bilateral trade, U.S. support for Kazakhstan's WTO accession, U.S. investment outside the energy sector, and promoting security in Central Asia and the Caspian region.          Transcript

Experts Discuss Corruption in Post Soviet States

On August 22 in Almaty and August 24 in Astana, the American Embassy presented the Russian translation of The System Made Me Do It: Corruption in Post-Soviet Societies, by Rasma Karklins, professor of political science at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Dr. Karklins has written what is described as the first comprehensive study of the origin, nature, and consequences of corruption in post-communist countries. As part of the book presentation, Dr. Karklins and other distinguished guests participated in panel discussions in both cities about corruption. Transparency Kazakhstan executive director Sergey Zlotnikov and other Kazakhstani experts provided perspectives about corruption in Kazakhstan.
Nurbulat Masanov, head of the Almaty branch of the Polyton Discussion Club, moderated the event at the Ankara Hotel in Almaty.  Zauresh Battalova, head of the Astana branch of Polyton, moderated the presentation at the Intercontinental Hotel in Astana, where special guest Beth Jones, former ambassador to Kazakhstan and former Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs, also participated.        View Photogallery

U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Mike Johanns' Visit to Kazakhstan

On July 23-28, the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Mike Johanns paid a visit to Astana and Almaty, Kazakhstan, to lead a U.S. trade and investment mission. Secretary Johanns held meetings with Deputy Prime Minister Karim Masimov, Minister of Agriculture Akhmetzhan Yesimov, Minister of Industry and Trade Vladimir Shkolnik, and regional officials. The goal of the mission was to promote two-way trade and investment between the United States and Kazakhstan. Trade mission participants included 18 U.S. companies and agriculture associations. In both cities, mission participants met with agribusiness and government officials, and had the opportunity to form partnerships with local entrepreneurs. They also visited the Rodina dairy, cattle and grain farm near Astana, and the Plem-Zavod Agricultural Production Facility for dairy, livestock and grain in Almaty.     View Photogallery

U.S. Independence Day Celebration

On June 30, 2006, the American Embassy celebrated its 230th Independence Day in Almaty, Kazakhstan with a beautiful outdoor reception in the Gorniy Gigant area. Ambassador John Ordway gave his Fourth of July remarks in Kazakh, Russian, and English. Aiymdeos Bozzhegitov, head of the Almaty office of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, also honored the reception with congratulatory remarks. The event was attended by 360 people.

The 230th Independence Day was also celebrated in Astana at the Rixos President Hotel on Thursday, June 29, 2006. More than 300 guests from the Kazakhstani government, academia, business, and the NGO sector joined the U.S. Embassy in celebration. Ambassador Ordway was joined on the dais by First Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Rakhat Aliyev for congratulatory remarks.     View Photogallery

Press Conference Given by U.S. Ambassador to Kazakhstan John Ordway on June 21, 2006

On June 21 Ambassador Ordway held his third press conference of 2006 at the Kazakhstani Press Club in Almaty. He answered questions about proposed amendments to Kazakhstan's media law, sanctions against Belarus, the West Kazakhstan-West China gas pipeline, investments in Kazakhstan's energy sector, "Kazakhgate" and the U.S. visa issuance policy.     Transcript

Seventh American Corner Opens in Central Scientific Library in Almaty

On June 19, Ambassador Ordway along with the president of the National Academy of Sciences and the director of the Central Scientific Library opened Kazakhstan's seventh American Corner. The project is a partnership between the U.S. Embassy Public Affairs Section and the Central Scientific (Academic) Library, one of the largest leading libraries in the country. The ceremony was attended by USG alumni, NGOs representatives, local librarians, teachers of English and media. The project represents an investment of over $22,000 from the U.S. Government, an American Studies Collection donated by the U.S. Embassy some years ago, and months of close cooperation between the Central Scientific Library staff and the Embassy's Information Resource Center. During the opening Ambassador Ordway and the president of the National Academy of Sciences stressed the value of strengthening mutual understanding between both countries through providing access to up-to-date print and electronic sources.

Press Conference Given by U.S. Ambassador to Kazakhstan John Ordway on May 10, 2006

On May 10 Ambassador Ordway held his second press conference of 2006 at the Kazakhstani Press Club in Almaty. He answered questions about Vice President Cheney’s May 5-6 visit, the United States’ energy policy, Iran, FBI assistance with the Sarsenbaiuly investigation, Kazakhstan’s bid for the OSCE chairmanship, bilateral cooperation in counter-narcotics, and the April 23 incident involving a mission employee and President Nazarbayev’s motorcade.     Transcript

Vice President Cheney visits Kazakhstan

During his May 5-6 visit to Kazakhstan, Vice President Cheney met with President Nazarbayev and held a press conference where he thanked the president for Kazakhstan’s contributions to coalition efforts in Iraq and in the global war on terror. During the trip Vice President Cheney and President Nazarbayev discussed ways to strengthen bilateral relations, and ways the two countries could work together to advance regional security and prosperity.     Transcript

Assistant Secretary Richard Boucher's Interview on Channel 31

On April 8 during his visit to Kazakhstan, Assistant Secretary Richard Boucher gave an exclusive interview to Channel 31 “Sostoyaniye KZ” program.    Transcript

Ambassador Ordway Opens 5th American Corner in Karaganda, Kazakhstan

On March 10, Ambassador John Ordway and the Deputy Akim of the Karaganda Oblast Serikzhan Kanayev opened the latest American Corner at the Karaganda Oblast Gogol Library. The ceremony was attended by local media, U.S. Government program alumni, Peace Corps volunteers, English teachers from Karaganda schools and universities, librarians, NGO representatives, political parties and local government. In his opening remarks, Ambassador Ordway stressed the role of American Corners in developing a better understanding between the people of the U.S. and Kazakhstan. Sholpan Baimursina, the American Corner Coordinator with the Karaganda Oblast Library, told the audience about AC project plans and activities already underway, including American film screenings and discussion clubs, conducted with support of Peace Corps volunteers.

Ambassador Ordway's March 7 Press Conference in Astana

The U.S. assessment of and cooperation in the Sarsenbaiuly murder investigation, U.S. policy priorities in Kazakhstan, and adoptions of Kazakhstani children were among the topics raised during Ambassador Ordway’s press conference March 7 at the U.S. Embassy Branch Office in Astana.    Transcript

Richard Boucher Reviews U.S. Policy in South, Central Asia

The success of U.S. foreign policy in South and Central Asia is “critically important” to U.S. economic and security interests, according to the State Department’s Richard Boucher. Boucher on February 16 shared his views about U.S. policy objectives in the region with members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee who are considering his nomination to serve as assistant secretary of state for South and Central Asian Affairs.    Transcript