In today's time where the Assyrians have been living in all the corners of the world and under the present situation of globalisation, the importance of conferences and international gatherings comes as a democratic and practical method of exchanging ideas and experiences among intellectuals in order to preserve national identity and develop Assyrian existence in homeland and Diaspora. Thus the Assyrian conference in the Russian Federation comes as a consequence in this direction.

The Editorial board of "Melta" Bulletin organized the conference with support of a steering group of the Assyrians of Russia held under the title (The Assyrians Today: Issues and Perspectives) at the Moscow Hotel conference room. The agenda of the conference was based on four streams; The Issue of the Assyrians in the Middle East, Assyrian Communities in Diaspora, Perspectives of Development, and The Way to Rapprochement of the Different Tribal and Confessional Groups. The official conference languages were Assyrian, English and Russian - simultaneous interpretation was provided.

The arrival of the delegations and guests started earlier in order to meet and see how their brothers, as small minorities among different and dominated national majorities, have lived and preserved their national traditions in the region for nearly two hundred years. The first day of the conference started by introductions of the organizing committee and the invited speakers whom arrived from different countries of the world such as USA, Europe, the Middle Eastern countries and the republics of the former Soviet Union namely, Armenia, Georgia, Tatarstan and Kazakhstan. The four sessions spread over the conference's two days covered some interesting subjects delivered by prominent professors, scholars and writers as:
· Assyrians Today (Dr. Gabriel Oussi - Sweden)
· Genocide and Identity (Dr. Gabriele Yonan - Germany)
· Perspective of Development (Dr. Khoshaba P. Jasim - Chicago, USA)
· Legal Status of Assyrians in Russia (Advocate Walter Veniaminove - Russia)
· Assyrians in the Central Asia ( Dr. Anzor S. Ivanov - Kazakhstan)
· 5000 years of writing (Dr. Norman Solhkhah - Chicago, USA)
· A Global Strategy for Assyrians (Professor Ronald Thomas - Tehran, Iran)
· Prospects for Development: Reaching Out of Our Ghetto (Professor Eden Naby-Frye - Harvard, USA)
· Assyrian Diaspora and Perspectives of its Development in Contemporary World ( Dr. Irina Sagradovea-Gasparyan - Erevan, Armenia)
· Alienation of Assyrian Political Performance in Diaspora (Aprim Shapera, London, UK)
· A Phenomenon of Scanty Assyrian Community in Tatarstan: Present and Future (Rabi Arsen V Savva (Kasan, Tatarstan)
· Arts as an Important Factor of a Successful Development of the Assyrian National Movement (Professor Tamraz N. Ivanov (Tbilisi, Georgia)
· Sport as a Factor of Consolidation of World Assyrian Diaspora (Mr. Igor Bar-Sliva - Moscow, Russia).
· Economic Mechanism of Raising the Assyrian Social Status (Mr. Nugzar Khoshabaev-Tziklauri - Moscow, Russia)
· Forming a Political Elite is the Main Mechanism of National Revival (Mr.Edward A. Badalove - Moscow, Russia).
· Repression against the Assyrians in the USSR: 1920 - 1953 (Professor Mikhail Sado - Saint Petersburg, Russia).

Professors Sargis Osipove, Eden Naby-Frye, Ronald Thomas, Mikhail Sado and Tamraz Ivanov all participated in chairing the conference's sessions.

On the last day of the conference and during the open discussion session a unanimous decision was taken that the conference should become an annual event due to the fact that many constructive discussions took place and fruitful results reached during the conference sessions which needs further details and persistently pursuing and studying.

The conference programme included not only the above sessions but a number of social and cultural activities starting with attending a ballet performance at "Bolshoy" - The Grand Opera House, in Moscow and visiting Red Square & Kremlin, historical churches & museums, a dinner cruise across Moscow river, and above all visiting Assyrian families of whom some had preserved their Assyrian way of life, traditions, food and even "Raweh" and "Lilyanah", the oldest Assyrians songs.

A special thanks and credit should be forwarded to the Assyrians who financially supported this conference.


Professor Sargis G. Osipove
For the Organizing Committee

Moscow, May 12th 2002