On 12th March ‘South to the Great Steppe: The Travels of Thomas and Lucy Atkinson in Eastern Kazakhstan, 1847-1852’ by Nick Fielding was presented at the annual Nauryz celebration at Cambridge University, organised by the Cambridge Central Asia Forum (CCAF) and held at Jesus College. Attendees included Professor Ian White, Master of Jesus College and Deputy Vice Chancellor of the University, H.E. Mr. Erzhan Kazykhanov, the Ambassador of Kazakhstan to the UK and Professor Peter Nolan, Director of the Centre of Development  Studies. Dr. Siddharth Saxena, CCAF Chair, moderated the programme.
Others attending included heads of the diplomatic missions accredited in the UK, government officials, together with staff and students from the University of Cambridge.
Dr. Siddharth Saxena, Professor Ian White and Mr. Erzhan Kazykhanov made welcome addresses. Mr. Nick Fielding, the author of the book, gave an insight into the life of Thomas Atkinson and gave a detailed account of the travels the explorer undertook with his wife, Lucy Atkinson, to the Great Steppe in the 19th century.
The presentation was followed by a concert in the honour of the Nauryz celebration organised by Cambridge Central Asia Forum in collaboration with the Cambridge University Kazakh Society in the ancient Chapel of Jesus College. More than four hundred people attended the events.