An international Qırım Tatar Studies Association was launched in Canada

On 31 October 2026, at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, representatives of the academic community from Ukraine, Turkey, and Canada adopted a decision to create an international academic network and a Memorandum of Intent defining its future activities.

The Association’s main goal is to establish Crimean Tatar studies as an independent, interdisciplinary academic direction and unite Crimean Tatar researchers from different countries around the world.

The development of Crimean Tatar studies is also one of the directions of the Global Coalition of Ukrainian Studies. The President of Ukraine’s Representation in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, as a co-founder of the initiative, contributes to the integration of Crimean topics into educational courses. This makes it possible to deepen international cooperation and convey the true history of Crimea to the world community.
A separate emphasis is on the development of Crimean Tatar studies in the global paradigm of Indigenous Studies, which places the voices, experiences, and rights of Crimean Tatars as an indigenous people at the centre of scientific work. The Association’s activities will also encompass research on other indigenous peoples of Crimea – the Karaites and Krymchaks.

The Association is open to Crimean researchers from all over the world, regardless of ethnic, national, or institutional background, who share its founding principles and are committed to quality decolonial research.

Key principles include “nothing about us without us,” academic freedom, research ethics, a decolonial approach, preservation of historical truth, and academic autonomy.

In the context of the Russian occupation of Crimea, the Association aims to counteract the erasure of Crimean Tatar knowledge and historical memory, preserve cultural heritage, and strengthen the international presence of Crimean Tatar studies.

The Association’s long-term vision is related to the future of the liberated Crimea within the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine and the development of universities, research centers and cultural institutions there.

Such international academic networks strengthen the voice of Crimea in the world and form the knowledge necessary for its future after de-occupation.

More details – at the link: https://cutt.ly/TyOYAzL9