IU Center for Languages of the Central Asian Region

On Thursday, April 2, CeLCAR hosted London-based Uyghur poet Aziz Isa Elkun to discuss the history of Uyghur poetry as well as the release of his new anthology "Imprisoned Souls: Poems of Uyghur Prisoners in China" (Hertfordshire Press, 2025).

Throughout the day, Elkun, a member of English PEN and PEN America and President of the Uyghur PEN Centre, met with both faculty and students of the Hamilton Lugar School of Global and International Studies to share important insights into literature, resilience, and cultural expression. The day's schedule of events included a campus tour with a luncheon hosted by Central Eurasian Studies at Indiana University, followed by a special dinner hosted by the event sponsor, Marco Polo Eurasian Cuisine Polo Eurasian Cuisine (https://marcoandpolo.online/).

CeLCAR would like to thank everyone who attended the lecture and helped make this visit possible, with special thanks to Marco Polo for their generous support.

We hope to see you at the talk at 5:00 pm today in GSIB 1060.

Meanwhile, if you want to learn more about the Uyghur people who are being persecuted and held as prisoners by the Chinese government, you can watch this short documentary on China's Vanishing Muslims.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v7AYyUqrMuQ

We regret to inform you that this Wednesday's (4/1) Meet the Author event with Madinay Bawdun has been postponed to mid-April (more details to follow). The Thursday (4/2) event with Aziz Isa Elkun will proceed as scheduled. We hope to see you there!

Please join us at the Hamilton Lugar School of Global and International Studies building on 4/1 and 4/2 for our Meet the Author series. On Wednesday, April 1, Medinay Bawudun will discuss her book Rise Up My Uyghurs as well as her work as founder of the Uyghur Culture Heritage Project. On Thursday, April 2, Aziz Isa Elkun will discuss his book Imprisoned Souls and the Act of Resistance and his work as a human rights advocate.

Happy Birthday to Gulnisa-hanym and Tserenchunt-bagsh!

ལོ་གསར་བཀྲ་ཤིས་བདེ་ལེགས།

Thank you to Professor Eveline Washul, Rabsal Gedun, Central Eurasian Studies at Indiana University, IU's Tibetan Student Association, and members of the Tibetan Mongolian Buddhist Cultural Center in Bloomington for hosting a wonderful Losar event to celebrate the Lunar New Year!

Цагаан сар-ын мэнд хүргэе!

Thank you to Tserenchunt-bagsh, Susie Drost, Central Eurasian Studies at Indiana University, and the Mongolian Society for putting on a wonderful Tsagaan Sar event to celebrate the Lunar New Year!

The Wisconsin Intensive Summer Language Institutes - WISLI are now accepting applications for Summer 2026.

They offer virtual instruction for more than 30 less commonly taught languages! Funding is available!

Join us for a national Uyghur advocacy meet-up to urge Congress to pass the Uyghur Policy Act!

📅 Monday, November 11 | 12–1:00 p.m. EST
📍 Link upon registration

Register: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdry2vA-KHyDlSTJqVElgv9snYt_twGKg4z_zQojXiMyjychg/viewform

Campaign For Uyghurs Uyghur American Association Center for Uyghur Studies

The Indiana University Language Workshop is hosting an online Information Session on Tuesday, October 15 at 4:30 PM EDT via Zoom.

This session will provide an overview of our the 2026 programs, which include intensive in-person, online, and study abroad options. The Workshop offers instruction in over 20 languages, and provides a number opportunities for cultural engagement. Funding is available, and all participants will receive academic credit and pay in-state tuition.

Whether you're exploring language study for academic, professional, or personal reasons, this session is a chance to learn more about how you can meet your language goals in summer 2026!

It is official, CeLCAR, along with 15 other National Language Resource Centers, has lost its Title VI funding. We will be submitting an appeal to the Department of Education to reconsider this decision. In the meanwhile, if you have ever studied a language using our materials, now is the time to PLEASE contact your representatives and let them know that the work we do at CeLCAR is vital to both the American educational system and our national security!

Founded in 2022, CeLCAR is committed to promoting the teaching and learning of the languages and cultures of Central Asia region, an area that includes not only the 5 "-stan countries" (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan), but also Xinjiang (the Uyghur Autonomous Region of Western China (where an estimated million ethnic Uyghurs are being held captive in concentration camps by their own government), Mongolian, and Afghanistan. Over the past 24 years, our research and materials have been instrumental in training the next generation of scholars, educators, and government professionals, while also preserving and promoting languages that are critical to national security but often overlooked in academia.

Please visit our website to see some of the important projects that this vital Title VI funding has made possible in recent years.

Center for Languages of the Central Asian Region Center for Languages of the Central Asian Region