Mussa Ekzekov was re-elected Chairman of the Supreme Council of the Congress at the working meeting of the VIII Convention of the WAC.
Naala Chkadua
By decision of the participants of the VIII Convention of the World Abaza Congress, Mussa Ekzekov again became the Chairman of the Supreme Council of the WAC. The election of the Chairman and members of the Supreme Council was part of the meeting of delegates at the beginning of the work of the Congress, which takes place in Sukhum on December 7-8. The meeting also documented the already existing partnership relations of the WAC with the State Committee for the Repatriation of Abkhazia and the Federation of Abkhazian Cultural Centers in Turkey.
The working session of the Congress began with the announcement of the agenda, which, in addition to the elective part, included reports from the Supreme Council of the Congress and the Central Audit Commission, amendments to the Charter of the Congress and a number of other items.
The current Chairman of the Supreme Council, Mussa Ekzekov, welcomed the representatives of the Abaza people who had gathered at the meeting of the VIII Convention, and noted that the quorum had been reached. Then he gave the floor to the Executive Secretary of the WAC Inar Gitsba, who made a detailed report on the work of the Supreme Council of the Congress for 5 years.
"Over the past period of work of the Supreme Council of the WAC, the governing bodies of the organization, as well as the bodies that ensure the activities of the Congress, have been fully formed. 10 meetings of the Council were held both in person and by videoconferencing. Daily work is underway to receive new members of Congress. To date, more than 2,500 people have been admitted to the WAC. The basis of the regional structure of the Congress has been formed, general meetings of members have been organized, councils of regional branches have been formed in the Republic of Abkhazia, the Karachay-Cherkess Republic, the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic, the Republic of Adygea, the Republic of Turkey, the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, the Syrian Arab Republic, Egypt, Germany, Adjara, the Netherlands, the Stavropol Region, Moscow, St. Petersburg," Gitsba listed.
He drew the attention of the convention participants to the fruitful work of the Congress in launching local branches of the WAC: over 5 years, 54 branches were opened in the settlements of Abkhazia, and 10 in the cities and villages of Turkey.
In his report, Gitsba told about such achievements over the past period as the creation of a unique multilingual information portal of the Congress, the implementation of a scientific program for the preservation and development of the Abkhaz and Abaza languages, a number of public and social initiatives: a joint charity event of the WAC with the Abkhaz-Abaza Diaspora of Turkey "Soul Warmth", restoration of the park in the village of Adzyubzha, participation in the construction of a monument to those who fell in the PWPA in the village of Otkhara and many other projects.
The speaker also told about the specifics of the activities of the Congress during the quarantine measures in Abkhazia in connection with the Covid-19 pandemic.
"The WAC has completely switched to work to protect the health of the country's residents. Thus, Chairman of the Supreme Council Mussa Ekzekov purchased and donated to Abkhazia the medical equipment and personal protective equipment necessary in the fight against coronavirus. The WAC provided assistance to the families of repatriates who were in need of food in conditions of self-isolation. There were about 130 people in need of humanitarian support," said Inar Gitsba.
In a report from the Central Audit Commission, Murat Mukov, head of the division of ANO "Alashara" in Cherkessk, noted that the expenses of the WAC for five years amounted to more than 100 million rubles. According to the calculations of the Commission, the World Abaza Congress received donations from the Chairman of the Supreme Council Mussa Ekzekov in the amount of more than 90 million rubles, from the SC member Beslan Agrba - 10 million rubles. Membership fees amounted to more than 44 thousand rubles, donations from the Regional Branch of the Congress in Turkey for 2020-2021 - about 300 thousand rubles. Mukov also noted the contribution to the organization of the VIII Convention from the government of the Republic of Abkhazia in the amount of 500,000 rubles.
After the reports, the procedure for electing new members to the Supreme Council of the WAC was launched. The Executive Secretary of the Congress, Inar Gitsba, announced the list of candidates provided to the Congress Staff by the Council of the regional branch of the WAC in Abkhazia. The participants of the Congress voted for the admission to the Supreme Council of all candidates on a single list. Therefore, Arda Ashuba, Viacheslav Chirikba, Marina Bartsyts, Vadim Kharazia, Dzhambul Indzhgiya, Nuri Kvarchia became members of the WAC Supreme Council from Abkhazia, Mukhadin Aubekov, Murat Mukov, Umar Konchev and Armida Chagova from the KChR, Vladimir Pshenokov from the KBR, from Moscow - Beslan Agrba, Oleg Bartsyts, Beslan Kobakhia and Muradin Urchukov, from the EU countries - Erkan Khadzhimba, from Turkey - Bulent Avidzba, Shamil Eshba, Kamil Barkan (Marshan), Atilla Bganba, Mehmet Inapshba and Murat Gechba, from Adjara - Natalie Lazba, from Syria - Sharaf Marshan, from Jordan - Muhamed Abaza (Chichba).
The next thing to do was to choose the Chairman of the Supreme Council of the WAC. Only one candidate was nominated as a contender for this post - the current head of the Supreme Council, Mussa Ekzekov. By the unanimous decision of the participants of the Congress, he again became the head of the Supreme Council of the World Abaza Congress.
The Chairman of the WAC Supreme Council addressed the representatives of the Diaspora, assuring them that the mission of the Congress to unite the Abaza people and the task of preserving the traditional culture of the Abkhazians and Abaza will remain key areas of work of the WAC.
"I thank everyone for the honor given to me to be the newly elected President of the Congress. Thanks for every vote. Everything that we rely on today was created before us, by our ancestors, and our duty is to work without slowing down in order to match their wisdom and strength, to preserve the traditions of the people that are so dear to us in order to continue to bring our culture, our language and our values," said Ekzekov.
Then the Chairman of the Supreme Council submitted a decision to introduce a number of changes to the Charter of the organization for consideration by the participants. In particular, the Chairman of the Supreme Council proposed to abolish the Presidium of the Supreme Council of the WAC: its functions will be taken over by the Office of the Chairman of the Supreme Council of the WAC.
Commenting on this change in the structure of the organization, the head of the WAC Staff, Kan Tania, noted that the competence of the Presidium of the Supreme Council fell on the shoulders of the staff of the Office of the Chairman of the Supreme Council in fact back in 2018, from the moment when then new edition of the Charter of the Congress was adopted. The decision taken now only reinforced this circumstance.
The majority of the Congress participants supported this change: 111 out of 115 people voted for it.
Mussa Ekzekov also raised the issue of the relevance of closer interaction between the Congress and other organizations to create new projects and expand the geography of cultural initiatives.
The working session of the Congress was attended by the Chairman of the State Committee of the Republic of Abkhazia for Repatriation Vadim Kharazia and the Chairman of the Federation of Abkhazian Cultural Centers in Turkey (Abkhazfed) Murat Makharia. To consolidate the already existing partnerships between the WAC, the State Committee for Repatriation of the Republic of Abkhazia and the Federation of Abkhazian Cultural Centers, the parties signed protocols on cooperation.
"In order to strengthen and concretize cooperation, for more effective implementation of the tasks our people are facing, it was decided to sign cooperation protocols with the Committee for Repatriation of the Republic of Abkhazia and the Federation of Abkhazian Cultural Centers," Ekzekov announced.
Chairman of the State Committee for Repatriation of the Republic of Abkhazia Vadim Kharazia noted the importance of interaction between representatives of the Abaza people from all over the world at the level of large associations.
"I congratulate everyone on the 30th anniversary of the World Abaza Congress and wish the Chairman of the Supreme Council and the team success. Working together, we will be able to achieve even greater success in uniting the Abaza people," Kharazia expressed confidence.
Chairman of the Federation of Abkhazian Cultural Centers Murat Makharia, in turn, noted that it is necessary to actively develop a dialogue between representatives of the Diaspora from different parts of the world in order to preserve and develop the culture of the Abaza people.
"I thank the WAC for all the work done. Free of charge, without expecting anything in return, Mussa Ekzekov works for the benefit of the Abaza people, for which I thank him from the entire Diaspora. Together we can do a lot," Makharia said.
The VIII Convention of the World Abaza Congress will continue with the work of round tables, the topics of which will be: the moral and ethical behaviour code of the Abaza people "Apsuara", the prospects for the preservation and study of the native language, as well as the issue of education and development of youth and the problem of ecology in the modern world.
Conventions of the World Abaza Congress are traditionally held every 5 years. Representatives of the Abaza people from all over the world gather to sum up the work of the organization, elect the Chairman and members of the Supreme Council. In addition, within the framework of the Congress, a program of future initiatives is determined and the general direction of the organization's activities is approved.
Information partners of the VIII Convention of the World Abaza Congress: Abkhazian State Television and Radio Company (AGTRK), Abaza-TV channel, Sputnik Abkhazia news agency.
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