Kurdiya paþerojê
The Kurdish of the future
Framtidens kurdiska

CO-ORDINATOR AND PARTNERS

We are six organisations that co-ordinate in this project:

1. The Foundation for Kurdish Culture in Stockholm (Kurdiska kulturstiftelsen i Stockholm)
Some Kurdish intellectuals and notorious Swedes founded the Foundation for Kurdish Culture in Stockholm. Ingela Mårtensson, Berit Ericsson (both are former M.P.) and Kim Anderzon, actress, are members of the board. The Foundation is political unbound. It works with informations about the Kurds and researchs on the Kurdish language and history.

2. The Federation of the Kurdish Associations in Sweden
The Federation of the Kurdish Associations in Sweden is the only Kurdish organisation that covers the whole of Sweden. The Federation of the Kurdish Associations in Sweden has over 40 local associations and more than 5000 members. The Federation of the Kurdish Associations in Sweden acts as an umbrella organisation for Kurds from all parts of Kurdistan. With the help of the Federation Kurds from all parts of Kurdistan could build a uniform group in Sweden.

3. Institut Kurde de Paris
Institut Kurde de Paris founded 1983 by some Kurdish intellectuals. It has many internationally famous persons as honorary members. It's one of few institutions that got recognition and protection from the French State. It works with information and research. Its work with Kurdish-French dictionary and language seminars twice a year is considered as an important contribution to the Kurdish language.

4. Bureau kurde de Bruxelles
Bureau kurde de Bruxelles is an idealistic organisation that founded by Kurds and Belgians for few years ago. The head of the Bureau is Perwin Jamil who was the president of Institut Kurde de Bruxelles. The Bureau has close relations with Belgian authorities and works with information and research on Kurdish culture and language.

5. SOAS, University of London
School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London has in many years researched on Kurdish language. The teaching at the University is in the two main Kurdish dialects: Kurmadji and Sorani. Christine Allison has taken a doctor's degree in the Kurdish Yezidi folklore and now she is lecturing on the Kurdish language at the University.

6. George-August Universitet, Seminar für Iranistik - Göttingen/Deutschland
Göttingen is one of the most important centres for Kurdish studies in Europe, where the teaching in Kurdish language is regular. In 1996 Professor D. N. Mackenzie replaced by Professor Philip G. Kreyenbroek. Dr Ludwig Paul, the only expert on Zazaki in Europe is working there.

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

With this project we will produce textbooks and teaching aids in Kurdish for Kurds whom mostly live in Europe. There are more than 25 million Kurds of which more than 700,000 in Europe. The number of the Kurds in Sweden is about 20,000 who could not learn their language because of the ban on the teaching in Kurdish language. In both Sweden and Germany the Kurdish kids have the opportunity to learn mother tongue at schools. Since their knowledge in mother tongue is inadequate they want to learn their language at school. Those textbooks we produce will be in CD-ROM and published in Internet so the Kurds overall can use it. We shall make the task of mother tongue teachers easier. Pupils will be tempted to an interesting and interactive reading in their mother tongue. They will by themselves learn more than what their teachers call for.

Our textbooks will be multilingual in a sense that we shall translate all descriptions to five languages: Swedish, English, French, German and Turkish so Kurdish kids in Sweden or in Germany will learn their language with the help of Swedish respectively German. We prepare our project for an international market and with that we ought to be more interesting for EU.

A genuine cause for satisfaction with this project is that for first time Kurds will have a complete package of textbooks in their own language at hand. Millions of Kurds will learn via Internet and CD-ROM their language in spite of all obstacles. This project will found among Kurds great respect for EU.

Individuals have produced textbooks in Kurdish but they were ineffective because they were individual and had bad spreading. With the professional expert group that we had built we will produce such textbooks that will leave its mark on the Kurdish language.
To anchor our materials to teaching mother tongue we have contacted many Kurdish mother tongue teachers and made deal with them to examine our materials on their pupils.

Textbooks that we are producing intend three levels: The intermediate level of the ‘grundskola' (Kurdish I), the senior level (upper forms) of the ‘grundskola' (Kurdish II) and ‘gymnasium‘ (Kurdish III)

Experts

Arif Zêrevan, project editorial (journalist, writer)
Newzad Naji Shokri (linguist)
Remzî Kerîm (teacher, grammarian)
Murad Ciwan (grammarian, mother tongue teacher, writer)
Salam Nouman ( literary, mother tongue teacher, linguist)
Mahmud Lewendî (orientalist, writer)

PRELIMINARY TIME PLAN

We started the project 9-1-1998. The project is made up of three levels, each level takes one year, and the whole project will take three years. The time for level two is from 9-1-1999 to 8-31-2000.

Weqfa kulturî ya kurdî li Stockholmê
Kurdiska kulturstiftelsen i Stockholm
Finnbodavägen 2, 131 31 NACKA
tfn & faks: +46-(0)8-642 36 24
e-poste: stiftelse@kurdi.nu
sîte: http://www.kurdi.nu