A HIGHLAND FLING: SCOTTISH INVESTMENT IN CENTRAL ASIA As of this year, Great Britain has enhanced its focus and attention on Central Asia. David Cameron, the UK Foreign Secretary and former Prime Minister, conducted a high-profile visit to all five Central Asian states and Mongolia in April 2024. His visit was to talk about investment […]
A BRIEF HISTORY OF MUSIC IN JIZZAKH Folk music was considered risqué by some due to political reasons for decades, but like the Jazz style of America that was also considered equally as taboo, it has become a defining musical style of Uzbekistan. In terms of vocal styles, the main folk style is known as […]
EXPLORING THE CASTLES OF JIZZAKH Uzbekistan, particularly the Jizzakh Region, has some beautiful and varied countryside. You might be surprised to hear that it also has some impressive castles and fortresses. In Europe we think our history is full of castles, princesses and knights, especially during the middle ages. It is little known that many […]
TURNING A DEAD DESERT INTO A FLOURISHING OASIS The period of the Russian Empire’s domination of Central Asia in the 1960s and 1970s gave impetus, among other things, to the expansion of irrigation construction and the irrigation of previously undeveloped areas. This was a consequence of the establishment of peaceful life and the cessation of […]
THE POWER OF POETRY: RASHIDOV’S ETERNAL KASHMIR SONG The romantic novella The Song of Kashmir (1956) reflects the Indian people’s struggle for liberation. Judging by its tone, this summary of Rashidov’s works and the reference in it to The Song of Kashmir date from Soviet times, and at first glance seem far removed from the […]
AMAZING JIZZAKH SAMSA It is no exaggeration to say that the Uzbek samsa (also somsa) is now known all over the world. Uzbek restaurants are growing in popularity and can be found in many countries of the world. And samsa has always been an integral part of Uzbekistan’s traditional gastronomic wealth, especially samsa with meat […]
THE MAIN THING IN BISHKEK IS CONNECTIONS In 2023, the cultural treasury of Bishkek received a new addition: the immersive audio performance ‘Connections’. This theatrical project follows a site-specific ‘promenade performance’ format, combining an audio guide to the city’s landmarks with an emotionally charged artistic performance. During this excursion performance, the audience does not sit […]
CREATE A HYPER-LOCAL WORLD by Natalie Bays, Founder of the NO Collective I was born into the first generation to fully immerse themselves into the internet. As a teen, I could have spoken to anyone in the world from my home computer at any time; but despite this – I was only ever interested in […]
JUST LEGENDARY Surprisingly there are quite a few links between British Legends and Central Asia. Quite a few of these links are already known, but it’s only really with the emergence of Central Asia onto the world scene that they are becoming better appreciated. Some of these historical links are mentioned below. I have had […]
“Vibrant Navruz and Iftar Celebrations in London: A Cultural Extravaganza” The Navruz and iftar celebrations held in London were a resounding success, marking a vibrant start to the year’s festivities. The event was organized and sponsored by the Eurasian Creative Guild, London (ECG), OCA magazine and Orzu Arts, and served as the inaugural event in […]
The city of Jizzakh has become a symbol for the prestigious London Film Festival. On May 30th, 2023, at the fifth ECG Film Festival in London there was an award ceremony dedicated to the 80th anniversary of Maria Akhmedjanova – Shevel – an outstanding architect and creative artist of Uzbekistan. Maria Akhmedjanova – Shevel – […]
INTERVIEW: HIS EXCELLENCY MAGZHAN ILYASSOV,AMBASSADOR TO THE UNITED KINGDOM OF GREAT BRITAIN AND NORTHERN IRELAND Diplomatic relations between the Republic of Kazakhstan and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland were established on 19 January 1992, with the Embassy opening in the UK in 1996. Thirty years on, relations continue to be as […]
INTERVIEW: Her Excellency Cathy Leach, Ambassador to Kazakhstan Ms Kathy Leach started her role as Her Majesty’s Ambassador to the Republic of Kazakhstan in August 2021. Previously she was Deputy Director, Constitution and Devolution, Europe Directorate in the FCDO. From 2012 to 2015 Kathy served as Ambassador to the Republic of Armenia. Kathy is married […]
The British Museum has announced that it is working closely with colleagues in the Art and Culture Development Foundation (ACDF) under the Ministry of Culture, and the staff of the Embassy of the Republic of Uzbekistan in London. On 30th September 2020 the Museum signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the ACDF and agreed to […]
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 […]
Dear Reader It is was a great honor to be asked to be the Guest Editor for this edition of OCA magazine. The magazine is now in its twelfth year and has grown in influence over that time. I have been involved with OCA and the Eurasian Creative Guild for nearly nine years – having […]
This year marks 30 years since the establishment of twinning relations between the cities of Shymkent and Stevenage. As part of the strengthening of educational and cultural relationships, as well as the development of bilateral cooperation between cities, at the initiative of the publishing house “Hertfordshire Press” the book “City Blooming for 2200 Years” was […]
Shahsanem is a writer, film critic, translator, international business, tourism,. In 2001 she moved to Scotland, married. I work in Edinburgh. Writer and translator. I work in a private company and do creative work in my spare time. I participate in Literary Festivals organized by the OCA Magazine team. I promote the Culture of the […]
John is an author, playwright, songwriter and poet, and chairman of the Eurasian Creative Guild. He is the author of over thousand books on many topics, and has been shortlisted for the Young People’s Science Book Prize five times. He is also a translator of literature from Russia and Central Asia. He was joint winner […]
Gareth is originally from the UK, with Welsh routes and heritage. He originally trained as a designer and then, over thirty years ago, he found his passion for education, both teaching shared ideas and learning new things every day. He worked in Kazakhstan for nearly nine years in a wide variety of educational settings; from […]
Michael Daniel is a British independent researcher, composer and filmmaker with Baltic & Slavic roots. He created an intergenerational memory project “Józefa’s Letters” that’s been widely exhibited throughout the Eurasian space. In 2019, he made and co-scored the documentary short film “Józefa’s Letters” which has received 9 official film festival selections. Visit: https://vimeo.com/michaelsagatis OCA: Tell […]
Founder of CIC ” Communities Art of Life” Humanitarian, NLP Master practitioner certificate Coach, Public speaker, Well-being Mentor / Coach, Performed in NHS High-security hospitals – art therapist. Farmer Olympic athlete – the Moscow Olympic Game 1980 Survivor of severe child abuse and domestic violence I was born in Latvia into the times during […]
February 1992 saw the single worst atrocity committed during the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. The Khojaly Massacre took the lives of 613 civilians. The death toll included 106 women, 63 children and 70 elderly people. Despite this tragedy, and many other instances of unimaginable brutality, Azerbaijan always looks for peaceful resolution of this unresolved conflict. This has […]
WWW.OCAMAGAZINE.COM OCA#35 SUMMER 2020 As Ukraine continues to look towards the EU for its future, OCA Magazine met with the Ukrainian Ambassador to Belarus, in order to find out more about the European geopolitical direction of the country, as well as the development of Ukrainian-Belarusian relations. OCA: What is the regime of work of your embassy during […]
OCA #35 SUMMER 2020 WWW.OCAMAGAZINE.COM interview prepared by Saniya Seilkhanova INTERVIEW: ALDONA GRUPAS Born in Riga, Latvia, to Lithuanian parents, Aldona Grupas later moved to Klaipėda in Lithuania, before resettling in the UK, where she embarked on a geriatric-nursing career. She has written books for Lithuanians who move to the UK to help them […]
Establishment of Azerbaijan Democratic Republic on 28 May, 1918 was a glorious page in Azerbaijani history. Committing to principles of democracy and secularity, ADR was the first parliamentary republic in the Muslim East, granting women the right to vote before most western democracies. ADR fell in April 1920 after Bolshevik invasion. Nevertheless, it laid the […]
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