"Union of Onomasts" in Kazakhstan

Dear readers, I stumbled upon an organisation in Kazakhstan: "Union of Onomasts" ( in Kazakh "Ономастар одағы" қоғамдық бірлестігі, in Russian Общественное объединение "Союз ономастов"), which was founded in 2022 by Prof. Gulnara Bekenova from the Eurasian Humanities Institute in Astana.

Their email is soyuz.onomastov@mail.ru

Gulnara Bekenova is a scholar with a keen interest in onomastics. Holding a Ph.D. in Philology and the academic title of Associate Professor, she graduated from the Shakarim State University of Semey in 1989 with a specialization in Kazakh language and literature. Bekenova defended her doctoral dissertation in 2000, focusing on Kazakh language. 

She has been recognized with awards such as the Certificate of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the badge "Pedagogue-Innovator" from the Kazakh Academy of Education, and a Letter of Thanks from the Kyzylorda State University named after Korkyt Ata. Her scholarly work spans 25 publications, including studies on contemporary Kazakh language, lexicology, and onomastics. Bekenova's research interests lie in linguistics, particularly in the study of contemporary Kazakh language and toponymy.