FUND HONOURS SHARAF RASHIDOV’S LIFE

FUND HONOURS SHARAF RASHIDOV’S LIFE On March 27, 2017, the President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev initiated the celebration of the 100th birth anniversary of the outstanding Uzbek statesman, writer and poet Sharaf Rashidov, and on January 13, 2022, he signed a decree on naming Samarkand State University after Sharaf Rashidov. Sharaf Rashidov International Public Fund […]

THE CONTEMPORARY ART OF BAHKSHI A NEW SOUND OF THE GOLDENHERITAGE OF UZBEKISTAN

THE CONTEMPORARY ART OF BAHKSHI A NEW SOUND OF THE GOLDENHERITAGE OF UZBEKISTAN Uzbekistan is a country wrestling with its past and its future. Ancient historical cities where heroes such as Alexander the Great and Tamerlane walked the same smooth worn pavements as today’s tourists, need preserving, yet the country is also caught up in […]

Constitutional referendum in Uzbekistan: a course to continue profound democratic reforms

Constitutional referendum in Uzbekistan: a course to continue profound democratic reforms A national referendum on the law on the new Constitution will beheld in Uzbekistan on 30 April 2023. The updated Basic Law is intendedto consolidate the country’s strategic course for further reform of societyand the state, which has had a positive impact on its […]

31 YEARS YOUNG UZBEKISTAN: SUSTAINABLE PROGRESS FOR FURTHER PROSPERITY

31 YEARS YOUNG UZBEKISTAN: SUSTAINABLE PROGRESS FOR FURTHER PROSPERITY On september 1, 2022 Uzbekistan celebrated the 31st Anniversary of its Independence. From the very beginning the nation has set an ambitious goal – to become a developed, sustainable, democratic state. In a relatively short period, profound structural and institutional transformations were carried out that laid […]

 Sharaf Rashidov – Man and Politician

 Sharaf Rashidov – Man and Politician Celebrating the 105th anniversary of his birth In the autumn of 2022 the 105th anniversary of the birth of Sharaf Rashidovich Rashidov will be celebrated. A famous statesman of Uzbekistan and the Soviet Union, he made a huge personal contribution to the economic and social development of Uzbekistan between […]

NEW UZBEKISTAN SEEKS CONSTITUTIONAL REFORMS

NEW UZBEKISTAN SEEKS CONSTITUTIONAL REFORMS     On May 20, 2022 the Constitutional Commission was established to develop proposals for constitutional amendments as part of a “New Uzbekistan” image refit. This Constitutional Commission is comprised of deputies and senators from all regions, representatives from various social strata, civil society institutions, leading lawyers, political scientists, and other […]

Uzbekistan Pledges Economic Development as a Priority

After broad public discussions, Uzbekistan has adopted its five-year Development Strategy for 2022-2026. It consists of seven priority directions and one hundred goals Uzbekistan is willing to achieve within five years. This strategic document will serve Uzbekistan as a baseline for further reforms in all spheres. The Strategy foresees the implementation of various measures that […]

NEW UZBEKISTAN BEGINS AT THE SCHOOL DOORSTEP EDUCATION REFORMS ENSURE LONG TERM GROWTH OF UZBEKISTAN

From the beginning of the written history of humankind, Central Asia was at the crossroads of civilisations, cultures and development. Archaeological discoveries show that the first known cities and states were present here for more than five thousand years. Magnificent monuments, temples and government buildings, with the sophisticated structures, prove that this land was full […]

UZBEKISTAN’S GROWINGINTERNATIONAL CULTURE & ARTS SCENE

International art lovers attending the 2021 Venice Architecture Biennale were in for a treat. For the very first time in the history of this prestigious festival, Uzbekistan had a national pavilion, situated within the Arsenale. Titled “Mahalla: Urban Rural Living”, this 1:1 scale model of a house in a traditional Uzbek mahalla (neighbourhood) was curated […]

ACHIEVING SOCIAL INCLUSION THROUGH ARTS AND CULTURE IN UZBEKISTAN: WHY ACCESSIBILITY IS SO IMPORTANT

“I really want our society to be inclusive. I think we should start with culture because music and arts do not require interpretation. If we make culture inclusive and accessible, everything else will go by itself, God willing,” said Mirsaid Mukhotorov, a blind student of international law at the University of World Economy and Diplomacy. […]

A SPRING OF KNOWLEDGE AND BEAUTY:UZBEK AND CHAGATAI COLLECTIONS AT THE BRITISH LIBRARY

Since its creation in 1753, the British Library – formerly the Library of the British Museum – has amassed more than 170 million collection items. A small portion of these are in Uzbek or Chagatai, or related to the territory of the contemporary Republic of Uzbekistan. Despite their small number, the 50-odd Turkic manuscripts from […]

THE ROAD TO GROWTH

Prior to 2020, Uzbekistan was one of the fastest growing travel destinations in the world, with the surge in visitors arriving beyond even the highest expectations of those within the Central Asia tourism scene. It was an exciting time to be creating product and leading sales of Uzbekistan holidays for a company organising tours for […]

Attention! All Aboard

250km/h, speed of Uzbekistan’s finest train, the Afrosiyob The early morning sun shone definitively through the dust-covered, weathered window pane, as our train trundled through a landscape of hillside foliage. We were on a journey from Uzbekistan’s capital, Tashkent towards the great Silk Road city of Kokand, now the perfect introduction to the Fergana Valley […]

Sardobinsky Dam Breach – A Loud Wake-Up Call

The catastrophic breach of the dam earlier this year provides the perfect opportunity for the Uzbek government to learn from and improve its energy policy towards a sustainable future that goes hand in hand with economic reforms in the country. By Iain Watt, IGI Solutions, regional expert in water security Early in the morning of […]

FROM MASSACHUSETTS TO TASHKENT: A CAREER IN INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

WWW.OCAMAGAZINE.COM OCA#35 SUMMER 2020 Interview with Michael Schena recorded by Saniya Seilkhanova Growing up in Plymouth, Massachusetts and later studying at Louisiana State University (LSU) in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where he pursued a degree in International Affairs, Michael Schena decided to pursue a career that would allow him travel and work. A regular visitor to […]

Lecture about Savitsky Museum helps to raise funds for anti-COVID-19 campaign in Uzbekistan

Last Sunday, Solidarity with Uzbekistan, a digital fundraising campaign benefited from yet another webinar to help raise money for the vulnerable people affected by COVID-19 lockdown in the country. An interesting lecture about the Savitsky Museum given by its former director Marinika Babanazarova was fully booked. Held at 3pm in London, the Zoom-session attracted over […]

Transforming Education in Uzbekistan: A President’s Initiative

Stories and reminders of Uzbekistan’s great scientists and scholars of the past can be found everywhere in the country. Travellers on the magnificent Tashkent subway, when stopping at the Kosmonavtlar station, can walk the length of the platform and view a gallery of those who built, influenced and pioneered the Soviet space program. In chronological […]

Sharaf Rashidov’s 100th birth anniversary: remembering the Uzbek statesman and a writer

This year marks the 100th anniversary since birth of Sharaf R. Rashidov, the first secretary of the Uzbek communist party (in office from 1959 until 1983). Rashidov was born on November the 6th 1917, the day before the Bolsheviks under Lenin seized power in Russia. His birthday seems symbolical as he would become the highest […]