Kurdish National Congress of North America

The Kurdish National Congress of North America (KNC) is a non-profit, member-driven organization representing Kurds from all parts of Kurdistan living in the United States and Canada. The KNC was founded in 1988, soon after Iraqi chemical weapons attacks on Halabja and other Kurdish cities and villages.

Its objective is to unite Kurds living in North America to work for common goals, to promote the idea of a United Free Kurdistan, and to strengthen the voice of all Kurds living in the USA and Canada. The KNC is a democratic organization.

Its president and board of directors are elected by the members and the organization is governed by a set of by-laws. The KNC encourages open discussion of issues, free speech, and active participation in leadership by its members.

KNC-NA 23rd Annual Conference in 2011

KNC-NA  Annual Conference for 2011 is planed  to be in Canada. We welcome your papers, ideas, suggestions, and contributions.

Next board meeting: Sept 14, 2010

Latest:

August 28, 2009, meeting the Kurdish community in Dallas

KNC-NA president met with the members of the Kurdish community in Dallas and exchanged ideas about further cooperation among various oganizations and personalities for promoting our common cause.

August 27, 2010, Mark Levine interviews PR team of KNC-NA

http://radioinsidescoop.com/?p=6818 

August 26, 2010 participation at DFW International Aalliance

DFW International Alliance Community held an event in which 21 mayors form the Greater Dallas area participated. Different nations from around the world carried their flag in a parade. Kurdistan was represented by the local Kurdish community. The president of KNC-NA joined the community for the event and informed the organizers about the challenges the mayors in Kurdistan face to serve their constituents.

August 24, 2010, board meeting

August 14, 2010, Delil's Concert

On August 14th, 2010, Delil Dilanar, a rising star of the Kurdish classical music, had a concert in Los Angles. According to Dr. Amir Shrifi, a linguist in Southern California, Delils’ musical style transcends contemporary Kurdish musical traditions with his quest for and revival of stylistic variations of Dengbeji ballads ranging from, epic (lawiks), melancholic (heyrans), joyful (dilok/ narink), to religious (lawje) ballads.

Few local musicians in Southern Californian such as Murat, Afshin, Jack, Sheyda, Nidar, and Majid accompanied Delil. The secretary of the Kurdish National Congress of North America (KNC-NA), Mr. Nyma Ardalan, asked the audience about the concert. Everyone he spoke too was impressed with Delir's command of his art. Although the event was organized independently, the chair of the public relations committee of KNC-NA, Mr. Luqman Berwari, was the main force behind it. Luqman exceptional dedication to the Kurdish cause is of great value to our community.

August 3, 2010, Board meeting 

July 31, 2010, KNC-NA delegate meets Professor Fertig,  the president of Humanitarian Law Project

20100731-PRKNC-NAandHLPMeeting.pdf

July 31, 2010, Diane Edgecomb Performance

Diane Edgecomb, an award winning writer and storyteller, had a remarkable performance in Los Angles on July 31, 2010. Diane began collecting Kurdish stories in 1990 to prevent a treasure form disappearing. She first visited Kurdish refuges in Diaspora and later traveled to North Kurdistan to complete "The Kurdish Story Collection Project". She finished the first part of her work and published it in her book "A fire in My Heart", a treasure and a valuable reference for educators, storytellers, and folklorists interested in Kurdish culture. The president and secretary of KNC-NA attended the performance and expressed much appreciation for Daine's contribution to preserving the Kurdish culture. The delegate also answered questions of a very interested American Audience about the status of the Kurds and the violation of human rights by the states that control different parts of Kurdistan.

July 25, 2010, KAES memorial ceremony for Dr. Vera Saeedpour

Dr. Vera Saeedpour, the founder and director of the Kurdish library passed on May 30th 2010. Dr. Saeedpur was married to late Homayoun Saeedpour, a scholar from Eastern Kurdistan . After the passing of Homayoun, Vera dedicated her life to preserving Kurdish culture. Kurdish American Education Society (KAES) held a memorial ceremony for Dr. Vera Saeedpour on July 25, 2010. The KNC-NA president and the chair of public relations committee attended the ceremony and pointed out what cultural similarities had brought Vera and Homayoun together. They appreciated the valuable and unique contribution of Dr. Saeedpour, and also expressed condolences to the family members of the deceased as well as the organizers of the ceremony.

July 22, 2010, KNC-NA Meeting with the Iranian Prince Mr. Reza Pahlavi 

20100722-NewsMeetingWithMrPahlavi.pdf

July 18, 2010, Board meeting

July 13, 2010, KNC-NA letter to President Obama (Copies to Vice President and Secretary of State)

20100713-LettertoMrObama.pdf

July 12, 2010 KNC-NA meets Alberta Premier Mr. Ed Stelmach

The KNC-NA vice president met with Alberta Premier Mr. Ed Stelmach during the premier annual stampede breakfast MacDougal Centre in Calgary on July 12, 2010. He presented our organization's goals and thanked the Premier on behalf of the KNC-NA board of directors for any potential support of the Kurdish cause.

July 06, 2010, Press Release on the Aggression of Iranian Regime

20100706-PRAppealToStopIransAggression.pdf

June 28, 2010, Board meeting

June25, 2010, Press Release on Human Rights violations in Syria

20100625-PRHumanRightsViolationInSyria.pdf

June 19, 2010, KNC-NA letter to Mr. Ignatief, the leader of the Canadian Liberal Party:

20100619-LetterToMrIgnatief.pdf

June 15, 2010Letter form EUTCC to KNC-NA:

20100615-LetterByEUTCCtoKArtin.pdf

June 4-6, 2010, 22nd KNC-NA Annual Conference

On June 4-6 KNC-NA held its 22nd Annual Conference at San Diego State University, San Diego, CA. The agenda and list of the speakers of the conference can be found at:  

http://www.kncna.net/20100604-22ndAnnualConfernceaAenda.pdf

The conference ended on June 6, 2010 and released its resolutions that can be found at:

http://www.kncna.net/20100607-ResolutionsofKNC22ndConference.pdf  

At the end of the conference the new directors of the board were elected:

http://www.kncna.net/20100607-NewsKNCelctionrusults.pdf