World Amazigh Congress

   Its Berber name is Agraw Amadlan Amazigh. It was established in September 1995 in St.-Rome de Dolan by the Paris-based sociocultural association Tamazgha. The congress is a transnational nongovernmental organization headquartered in Paris, and its member associations come from North Africa, sub-Saharan Africa, and the diaspora. The first World Amazigh Congress was held in Gran Canaria (Tafira in Berber, or Las Palmas, Canary Islands) in August 1997. It has also held several meetings since in Lyon in 1999 and in Roubaix in 2002. The objective of the congress is the establishment of "true Amazigh sovereignty" throughout Tamazgha, or land where Berber people reside, regardless of state borders. While the congress is transnational, its sphere of activities and structure are organized along national lines. It is a vehicle for fostering unity among Berbers, promoting Berber culture and language nationally and globally, and publicizing the plight of Berbers throughout Tamazgha, or the Berber nation, an area stretching from western Egypt to the Atlantic Ocean and from the Mediterranean Sea to the Niger River.