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The Kurdish Cooperation Organization

Serving Kurds everywhere

The Kurdish Cooperation Organization is a non-partisan, non-violent federation of Kurdish communities in the homeland, across the region and in the diaspora. It offers country programmes, courses, heritage resources and protected participation under one charter.

JoinFind your country

Country programmes
35
City pages
85
Languages
18
Charter version
1.0.0.1
Where the community lives

Institute estimate (range), 2016

Filled circle: low estimate. Ring: high estimate.

Sources Institut kurde de Paris, The Kurdish diaspora (Dec 2016 table of ranges) Secondary source

Show as a table

Institute estimate (range), 2016

Filled circle: low estimate. Ring: high estimate.

Sources Institut kurde de Paris, The Kurdish diaspora (Dec 2016 table of ranges) Secondary source

CountryFigureSource
Germany850,000 to 950,000Secondary source
France230,000 to 250,000Secondary source
Netherlands100,000 to 120,000Secondary source
Sweden85,000 to 100,000Secondary source
Switzerland85,000 to 95,000Secondary source
Austria80,000 to 95,000Secondary source
United Kingdom70,000 to 90,000Secondary source
Belgium70,000 to 85,000Secondary source
Greece40,000 to 50,000Secondary source
Denmark25,000 to 30,000Secondary source
Italy25,000 to 30,000Secondary source
Norway25,000 to 30,000Secondary source
Finland15,000 to 18,000Secondary source
ArmeniaNo figure for this measure
AustraliaNo figure for this measure
AzerbaijanNo figure for this measure
CanadaNo figure for this measure
CyprusNo figure for this measure
EgyptNo figure for this measure
GeorgiaNo figure for this measure
IranNo figure for this measure
IraqNo figure for this measure
IsraelNo figure for this measure
JapanNo figure for this measure
JordanNo figure for this measure
KazakhstanNo figure for this measure
KyrgyzstanNo figure for this measure
LebanonNo figure for this measure
New ZealandNo figure for this measure
RussiaNo figure for this measure
SyriaNo figure for this measure
TürkiyeNo figure for this measure
TurkmenistanNo figure for this measure
United Arab EmiratesNo figure for this measure
United StatesNo figure for this measure

Participation is designed so that it does not expose members or their relatives. Protected participation

01Start here

02Areas

Eight service sites, each built around one need.

  • 01

    Academy

    Every field of knowledge, courses in all Kurdish varieties, and communities of practice.

  • 02

    Heritage

    History from the Zagros to today, memory, faiths, arts, literature and food.

  • 03

    Language

    Kurmanji, Sorani, Zazaki, Southern Kurdish and Gorani, in every script.

  • 04

    Research

    Kurdish studies: the observatory, reading lists and new research.

  • 05

    Opportunities

    Livelihoods, skills, jobs, mentoring and diaspora-to-region bridges.

  • 06

    Civic

    Civic education, rights literacy, statelessness help and dialogue.

  • 07

    Development

    Social programmes, livelihoods and disaster preparedness for Kurdish communities.

  • 08

    News and events

    Kurdish and regional news with every outlet labelled, and the calendar of Kurdish days.

03Where the community lives

Where the community livesCountries are shaded by programme status, not by population. Cities are marked only at city level.

The map needs JavaScript. The places it shows are listed beside it.

Layers

Places on this map (85)

Map: OpenFreeMap, OpenMapTiles, data © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL). Boundaries: Natural Earth. Places: the platform’s own pages.

  • Homeland
  • Country hub
  • Country page
  • By demand

Countries are shaded by programme status, not by population. Cities are marked only at city level.

  • Country programmes

    35
    • Homeland4
    • Country hub12
    • Country page11
    • Country page by demand8
    • Europe14
    • Middle East8
    • Asia-Pacific3
    • Caucasus3
    • Central Asia3
    • North America2
    • Africa1
    • Europe and Central Asia1

Country programmes

All 35 country programmes

04Now

Next in the calendar

  1. Republic of MahabadJanuary 22Remembrance
  2. End of the Kobanî siegeJanuary 26Remembrance
  3. NewrozMarch 21Festival
  4. Halabja remembranceMarch 16Remembrance
  5. Kurdish Journalism DayApril 22Civic
  6. Anfal remembranceApril 14Remembrance
  7. Çarşema Sor (Red Wednesday)AprilReligious
  8. Kurdish Language DayMay 15Cultural
  9. Yazidi genocide remembranceAugust 3Remembrance
  10. Kurdistan Flag DayDecember 17Civic
  11. Cejna ÊzîdDecemberReligious
  12. Dersim remembrance1937 to 1938 (communities mark different dates)Remembrance
  13. Eid al-Fitr (Cejna Remezanê)1 ShawwalReligious
  14. Eid al-Adha (Cejna Qurbanê)10 Dhu al-HijjahReligious

Calendar

Forming

05The Academy

Faculties, departments, disciplines and courses. Every outline is a draft until it is reviewed.

  • Planned90
  • Outline drafted14
  • Wave 114
  • Wave 254
  • Wave 336

Featured course

Kurmanji A1 (Latin)

First steps in spoken and written Kurmanji, using the Latin alphabet.

Outline draftedFoundationsWave 140 h

Kurmanji (Northern Kurdish)Sorani (Central Kurdish)Zazaki (Kirmanckî, Dimilkî)Southern Kurdish (Kelhurî, Feylî)Gorani / HawramiKurmanji in CyrillicKurmanji in the Arabic-based script (Badînî)

06Who we serve

The network serves Kurdish communities of every language, faith and generation. This includes speakers of Kurmanji, Sorani, Southern Kurdish, Zazaki and Gorani, people of Sunni, Alevi, Yazidi, Yarsan, Shia, Christian and Jewish faith, and secular people. Belonging rests on self-identification.

  • 01

    Homeland: Kurdistan in Turkey (Bakur), Iraq (Başûr), Iran (Rojhilat) and Syria (Rojava)

  • 02

    Regional dispersion: western Turkey, the Middle East, the Caucasus, Central Asia and Khorasan

  • 03

    Global diaspora: Europe, North America, Australia, New Zealand, Japan and beyond

07Languages and scripts

Every language the community speaks, with its script and how well technology supports it.

  • At launch2
  • Phase 23
  • By demand4

Help translate

08Protected participation

Kurds abroad report surveillance, threats and pressure on relatives, from several states and from rival factions; human rights organisations document these practices. The site is designed so that taking part does not expose members or their families.

What we never do

  • No request for your password or a sign-in code, by email, phone or message
  • No sign-in links by email
  • No sale, sharing or publication of what members tell us
  • No public list of members or attendees
  • No contact with your relatives, in the homeland or anywhere else

What we do

  • You may take part under a pseudonym
  • Your profile, groups and courses stay private unless you open them
  • Ethnicity, faith, dialect, home region and political views are optional, and never shown in public

Protected participation

09Research and open science

Every figure keeps its measure, year, source and label. Unknown is shown as unknown.

Reading list

How statistics see the community

10Commitments

The Kurdish Cooperation Organization is a federation of a Global level, Regional Chapters and Diaspora Chapters, and Community Cells chartered by Chapters in cities, campuses and professional networks. It is strictly non-partisan and non-violent, and claims no public authority.

  1. 1

    Strictly non-partisan: no party, faction or armed actor

  2. 2

    Non-violent and civilian in all work

  3. 3

    Sovereign-compatible: no claim to public authority or territory

  4. 4

    Inclusive of every region, dialect, gender, generation and minority

  5. 5

    Evidence first, with corrections made in public

  6. 6

    Protected participation for every member

How the federation works Charter

11Ways to take part

The network is built from the ground up: Community Cells in cities, Chapters in countries and regions, and contributors in every field.

  • 01

    Become a member

    Make a private profile. Dialect, faith and home region are optional.

  • 02

    Form a Community Cell

    Start a Community Cell in your city, chartered by your Chapter.

  • 03

    Join a community of practice

    Work with others in your field on indicators, protocols and toolkits in the Academy.

  • 04

    Teach Kurdish

    Teach in a mother-tongue school, or write a course in any Kurdish variety.

  • 05

    Mentor

    Guide newcomers and young Kurds into study and work.

  • 06

    Record memory

    Record oral history and family memory with consent, in any dialect.

Get involved

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