Uyghur PEN Board Members
Uyghur PEN News
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Uyghur PEN Centre’s New Leadership Team
On April 16, 2025, at the Mir Publishing House office in Almaty, Kazakhstan, members of the Uyghur PEN has elected their new leadership team. The newly elected Executive Committee of the International Uyghur Centre is as follows: Aziz Isa ElkunPresident of Uyghur PEN CentreEmail: penuyghur@gmail.com Aziz Isa Elkun is a poet, author and academic. He was born in Shayar County in Uyghuristan (East Turkistan), and graduated from Urumchi University. He has been living in London since 2001, where he studied at Birkbeck University. He has published many poems, stories, and research articles in both Uyghur and and English. Since 2013, he has participated in various research projects on Uyghur culture and music as a researcher at SOAS University of London, including the ‘Sounding Islam China‘ project in 2013 and the ‘Uyghur Meshrep in Kazakhstan’ project in 2018. He is an active member of the exiled Uyghur community and the founder of the Uyghur music group London Uyghur Ensemble, established in 2006. In early 2019, he produced a short documentary film, “An Unanswered Telephone Call”, depicting the ongoing sufferings of his family after China pursued a total blockade of international telephone calls between Uyghurs at home and abroad since 2017. He has co-authored English language articles with Rachel Harris, in Inner Asia and Central Asian Survey (‘Invitation to a Mourning Ceremony’: Perspectives on the Uyghur Internet and ‘Islam by Smartphone: the changing sounds of Uyghur religiosity’) and ‘Islam by smartphone: reading the Uyghur Islamic revival on WeChat’, Central Asian Survey 38(1), 2019, 61-80; co-authored a research report with Rachel Harris published by Uyghur Human Rights Project February 2023 (The Complicity of Heritage: Cultural Heritage and Genocide in the Uyghur Region); a book chapter published by The Routledge in 2022, “The Routledge Companion to Music and Human Rights” (‘Music, Terror, and Civilizing Projects in China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region’). One of his major editing and poetry translation works […]
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Uyghur PEN Center’s Election Held in Almaty
The Uyghur PEN Center held its official election on April 16, 2025, at the Mir Publishing House office in Almaty, Kazakhstan. In addition to local members attending in person, participants from around the world joined the event online. A total of 24 members took part in the meeting. The session was chaired by Alisher Khalilov, head of the Executive Committee of the Uyghur PEN Center. Former president and artist Kaiser Ozhun opened the event with a report detailing the founding history of the Uyghur PEN Center and highlighting the accomplishments achieved during his tenure. Following this, Hamid Hamrayev, Secretary General of the Center and a respected writer, presented an overview of the work carried out during his term, as well as the Centre’s future plans and strategic vision. Distinguished Uyghur poet Abdughopur Qutluqov then proposed re-electing Kaiser Ozhun as president. However, Ozhun respectfully declined, citing the organization’s bylaws, which prohibit a third presidential term. The Board of the Uyghur PEN nominated Aziz Isa Elkun for the presidency. Elkun is a poet, writer, and academic based in the UK, and a former Secretary General of the Uyghur PEN Center. Elkun, who had travelled to Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan and was present at the Almaty meeting, accepted his nomination. In his address, he expressed gratitude for the Board’s trust and pledged to work tirelessly to promote Uyghur literature worldwide and defend freedom of expression for Uyghur writers and artists. After deliberation, the official election was conducted. Aziz Isa Elkun was unanimously elected as president of the Uyghur PEN Center. Subsequent elections for key leadership roles were also held. Alisher Khalilov was unanimously elected Secretary General, while Dr. Hakimjan Guliyev, a Doctor of Arts and acclaimed artist, was chosen as Chairman of the Executive Committee. The new Executive Committee members of the Board include […]