OCA Magazine: Please tell us about yourself and your creative activity/work. MA: In short, I’m a publisher; over the last 20 years of my life, I have been involved in the creation of books and magazines, including this one, and I love my work. People know me as Marat Akhmedjanov or Mark Akhmed (both correct), depending on the country, and come to me when they want to be heard in English-speaking countries or appreciated in their home country. I’m really proud to have this extraordinary opportunity to help them as a publisher and as an individual through my publishing companies ‘Silk Road Media’ and ‘Hertfordshire Press’, and especially through the ‘Eurasian Creative Guild’, where I have been running as the Vice President for the last nine years, uniting and promoting creative people around the world.
OCA Magazine: How did you choose your path in life and who is your role model in the creative space or in life? MA: The first creative person in my life is my mother (not surprisingly) Maria Shevel, she was an architect. She made an adaptation of regular projects of buildings to the aesthetics of Uzbek culture (you can read about it here on the pages of this issue). Moreover, in my early childhood I assisted my elder brother who was a musician, and this is how I was captivated by the world of creativity. I’m still working not only with musicians, but also with writers and poets (mostly), artists, fashion designers and many others. The Eurasian Creative Guild (London) aka. ECG (London) now has over 3,000 members and is growing fast. But my path to publishing started in the library (still not surprising) where I had a part-time job in high school. The librarian introduced me to the world of interesting books and long discussions that influenced me as a young man. After graduation I left my hometown of Jizzakh (you can read about this place in the OCA Magazine: Jizzakh special issue) and moved to Tashkent where I became the first private publisher of press and started a lifestyle magazine about fashion and beauty called ‘Pery’ (the name of the beauties of the Uzbek version of Eden) and ‘Discovery Central Asia’ magazine dedicated to tourism. Some years later I joined the internship for press in the USA and shortly after that I became the winner of the Chivening full scholarship as an international student and moved to the UK. I graduated from the London School of Printing at the London University of Arts with a Master of Arts in Publishing and settled in the UK in 2006.
OCA Magazine: What were your main achievements in 2023-2024? MA: I had three anniversaries in a row: I celebrated twenty-five years as a publisher, ‘Silk Road Media’ is twenty years old, and Hertfordshire Press is fifteen years old. And I’m so inspired by what we’ve done, and I’m looking forward to doing more.
OCA Magazine: What is the main feature that makes you and your art/work unique? MA: I grew up as a product of two worlds (maybe more). My mother was a Slavic Christian from Ukraine and my father was a pure Tatar, born and raised in a very traditional Islamic Uzbekistan. I studied in a very Soviet school that didn’t focus too much on national and religious things and instead promoted a more scientific way of thinking, but at the same time, I lived in a very national and religious community of neighbors called ‘makhalya’. I learned English on my own in high school thanks to the American Library (a program of the U.S. Embassy) and learned a lot about different cultures from expats living and working in Uzbekistan. This multifaceted perspective allows me to work with creative people from Central Asia and former Soviet Union countries in conjunction with Anglo-Saxon English-speaking countries. I understand both sides of the process and can find a certain approach, even if it’s sometimes difficult. Let’s say that my team and I are building land bridges with Eurasia.
OCA Magazine: Please tell us about the events or projects of the Eurasian Creative Guild (London) and projects that you have already taken part in and how does ECG influence your creativity and success in your work? MA: The Eurasian Creative Guild (London) is a not-for-profit initiative of Silk Road Media Ltd. established in 2015. It grew out of the Open Eurasia Literary Contest, which I’ve run as a publisher to find and support talented writers. By the way, the contest is still held annually and remains the largest and oldest independent non-governmental literary contest of Eurasia. And every year we give up to ten grants of $5,000 to the winners to publish their books in the UK.
OCA Magazine: What is your motivation and the main aim of your creativity? MA: I have many things that motivate me to do what I do. My children who look up to me, my friends, people who have become successful thanks to me, people who have passed on their family’s heritage to the world, and many more. And of course I enjoy my life. I travel a lot, meet new interesting people, create some new things that no one has ever done before, and that makes me happy.
OCA Magazine: What advice or wishes would you give to the members of the Guild and other creative people who are just starting their careers?
MA: Stay curious and greedy about your life, the world you live in, and the people around you. That is how creativity works. Nothing can come out of boring things if you don’t look for a way to change it and do it actively (not like ‘oh, if everything could be different…’). Find a crazy dream, build a crazy team and change this crazy world for the better.
OCA Magazine: Tell us, please, about yourself and your creative activity / work. Lidia Belozerova: Meet Lidia Belozerova, the newest Guardian of the Eurasian Creative Guild based in London! I am a captivating blend of talents and passions. I am not only a teacher and psychologist but also a skilled musician, writer, and photographer. My love for travel and dream of circumnavigating the globe ignite a sense of adventure and curiosity in everything I do. One of my accomplishments is founding and successfully running the Idyllwild Montessori School, where I implement the innovative Montessori method. In addition to my academic pursuits, I am an accomplished violinist and pianist, sharing my musical expertise with both children and adults. My talent for capturing joyful moments through professional photography beautifully complements my extensive skill set. I have earned degrees from RCA and NYU and am currently pursuing further education at St. Petersburg State University under the guidance of T.V. Chernigovskaya. Additionally, I am honing my creative writing skills at GetPublished, a renowned school for aspiring writers. My arrival as a Guardian promises to bring a wealth of diverse experiences and expertise to the guild. My enthusiasm for creativity and learning is sure to inspire those around me.
OCA: How did you choose your path and who is your role model in the creative space or life? LB: From the age of four, my father, a musician, introduced me to the Tchaikovsky Music School, where I began learning to play the violin and piano. Music has been a constant companion throughout my life. I’ve had the privilege of performing with symphony orchestras in Moscow, New York, and Los Angeles. I also returned to the same music school where I studied, working as a music teacher. Now, I run my own private school — Idyllwild Montessori School — where I teach children to play the piano and violin.
OCA: What is your main achievement in 2023-2024? LB: My main achievements in 2023-2024 include the release of my three fairy tales in the book Fireflies on Ridero. I also earned my third diploma in psychology and became the Guardian of the Eurasian Creative Guild (London). Additionally, I supported my sons’ participation in the ‘Cinema Future’ and ‘Burabay Short Film Festival,’ where my youngest son won first place for his short film The Phantom of the Queen Mary.
OCA: What is the main feature that makes you and your art/work unique? LB: I am an experienced teacher, psychologist, and musician, working with children with special needs, helping them integrate into mainstream education. I am also working on completing my book, Who Am I? Or Through the Looking Glass of Autism, drawing from my personal journey raising a child on the spectrum.
OCA: Tell us, please, about the events or projects of the Eurasian Creative Guild (London) and projects that you have already taken part in and how does ECG influence your creativity and success in your work? LB: I am an active member and Guardian of the Eurasian Creative Guild (London), helping authors participate in the Open Eurasia Festivals, where one of the writers I previously supported won first place. As mentioned earlier, I also assisted my sons in entering short film festivals, where they achieved notable successes. I frequently host webinars to promote ECG (London), along with showcasing the work of my friends — writers, artists, and filmmakers. Additionally, I contributed an article to WAW magazine and plan to continue developing projects for children.
OCA: What is your motivation and the main aim of your creativity? LB: It is my passion to share my knowledge, heart, and creativity with others, because the arts and creativity make life brighter, helping us grow and develop. My personal goal is to write as much as possible. I have a journal filled with a collection of articles, ideas, and titles just waiting to become books. Isn’t that a great motivation to embrace life with enthusiasm? OCA: What would you wish for the members of the Guild and other creative people, just starting their career? LB: My wish for the new ECG members and all creative individuals is to continue expressing themselves without doubt or hesitation. Your life is unique! No one else has the same experiences as you do. You have so much to say — JUST SAY IT through any art medium. CREATE and UNITE!
OCA Magazine: Tell us, please, about yourself and your creative activity / work. Warren Wills: My name is Warren Wills I’m from Melbourne Australia and I am a composer, a pianist and improviser and an educationalist. I’m a musical director and I’m a theatre director and predominantly my entire life has been spent working with Music. Lately , my focus has been on stylistic decisions /choices and connections with countries and how music can be used to bridge and bring people together, music in the Middle East ,music in Thailand music in China. I’ve recently had the great privilege to travel to locations in the world using music which clearly transcends politics, language and borders such as Baghdad Iraq and Astana and Almaty in Kazakhstan amongst other places. I have been blessed throughout my life should be able to work with such a cross-section of fascinating people as Pamela Anderson from Hollywood , Woody Allen the great director and writer, Sheila Ferguson from the 3 Degrees, Margaret Atwood Canada’s most famous living author to compose for the Royal Shakespeare Company to perform in Riyadh Saudi Arabia where Music was illegal under Sharia law and a host of other extraordinary opportunities.
OCA: How did you choose your path and who is your role model in the creative space or life? WW: My path was chosen for me at the age of four. I was listening to an album of music at my grandfather’s home, to Chopin. I was so fascinated, I was so beguiled, I was so transfixed and transported to other places that I decided there and then I was to be at Composer there was no choice there was no argument.
There are simply too many great role models to mention as an educationalist is Leonard Bernstein, as a pianist Keith Jarrett , Chic Corea, Art Tatum, Oscar Peterson, – in the theatre world people like David Lynch and Woody Allen when it comes to races people like Marcel Proust, Dostoevsky and a host of others I’ve been so fortunate to work with so many wonderful living people I’ve been inspired by so many people from the past I was thrilled to have the chance to the works of Homer the Greek writer of the tales of the RSC to be able to set them to Music this was a complete joy and a revelation.
OCA: What is your main achievement in 2023-2024? WW: Masterpieces as presented by me is an eclectic suite of inspirational global anthems celebrating his return to London after a year away. Masterpieces bring a bravura virtuoso rendering of my talents -featuring , “David Bowie on Mars”, The Spanish Concert – Albeniz/Rodrigo, Gershwin, Broadway offerings, Ryuchi Sakomoto and many more. I have directed and MD’ed in the Middle East and at the Royal Shakespeare company, which has included 25 albums released worldwide. Of my recent album, “Reimagining’s”, Mike Garson (David Bowie’s Musical Director for 40 years) has said, “This is fantastic Warren. A wonderful reimagining. Your touch is beautiful. So creative.” My other main achievement in 2023-2024 is working with Blind Sports and Arts and particular composing the theme for the tennis anthem the group of blind performers represented Australia at the International tennis competition in Rome this year and I was thrilled to have composed the anthem for this furthermore I am delighted to be working with Chinese musicians Chinese dances which is a huge honour and privilege as well as Chinese instrumentalists including the erhu and Chinese flutes.
OCA: What is the main feature that makes you and your art/work unique? WW: The things that certainly distinguish me and separate me from a lot of other people who work in the sphere of music composition music theatre and music education is my capacity for having an in-built plethora of styles – meaning I can play you virtually any piece of music in around 200 styles whether that be Disney, bluegrass, Chopin, classical, jazz , tango , flamenco, Arabic, film-noir, slapstick, gospel, Gilbert and Sullivan etc this is something I’ll be able to do for many many years and to be able to hone and finesse in quite a unique way. Furthermore, I’m also thrilled to be able to share with you that I love doing socially inclusive Theatre this means collaborating with others mostly less fortunate and deprived of the opportunities that I enjoy such as the blind community, those with neuro conditions, people who are homeless, people with mobility issues, children, pensioners amateurs professionals and an ethnically diverse group of people all under the one roof to create a unique and original collaborative piece of music theatre
OCA: Tell us, please, about the events or projects of the Eurasian Creative Guild (London) and projects that you have already taken part in and how does ECG influence your creativity and success in your work? WW: I have had the great fortune of working with ECG quite extensively over the past 2/3 years and in fact since Covid was fortunate enough to be able to travel to Kazakhstan both the capitol Astana up north by the Russian border and down south in Almaty as well as going to Burabay -the creative hub of ECG as well as performing at the Kazhak embassy in London as well as putting on a production which happened in Melbourne Australia which was about BÖRTE and Genghis Khan and set almost 1000 years ago but a clearly significant piece and one which I was thrilled to be able to collaborate with ECG on. I’ve also done many book reviews I’ve done concerts master classes workshops and certainly look forward to be able to do many many of these once again in the future it was the lights working Kazakhstan in a school doing music theatre and composition to a wide range of groups of kids with a translator and I certainly hope this could all be repeated once again in 2025 I certainly really appreciate the value my collaboration and connection with Marat and the ECG
OCA: What is your motivation and the main aim of your creativity? WW: The main aim of my creativity is to allow all people the opportunity to participate, to create and work in the field of music theatre.
Additionally, to inspire people to share the different cultures of experiences created with different instruments different languages and different cultural backgrounds; to be actively able to access bridge and be Catalyst for others musical endeavours. I see myself loosely based , if you like, as an ambassador for Australia to far-flung lands lands most people don’t get a opportunity to travel to but by nature the fact that I certainly believe that Music Francis borders and language I’ve had the opportunity to work in Iraq in Saudi Arabia in Jordan in Egypt and Dubai and a host of other places and let us hope that is able to continue for many years to come.
OCA: What would you wish for the members of the Guild and other creative people, just starting their career? WW: It is important that we are patient and open-minded and if so we will recognise our many opportunities do and are available to us that might ordinarily seem too far out of reach. We live in a time where it’s no longer just about digital or being online or Artificial intelligence, but never before the history of this world, have the inhabitants and the actual planet itself, in my opinion, been so poor in health and so divided in terms of opinions and ideas and beliefs – split into two very distinctive camps.
I would like to believe that for artistes we are on the side of humanity, and politics is not for us, but we are here to serve all people and to use music and Theatre as a way to bring Hope and inspiration into other people‘s lives
OCA Magazine: Tell us, please, about yourself and your creative activity / work. Anastasia Kalinovskaya: I am a Director of Theatrical-performing Art, a Film Director, an Actress, an Acting Teacher, a Contemporary Artist. Also, I am a Member of the Expert Council on Fine Arts in the «Eurasian Creative Guild» for 2024.
I have dedicated most of my life to creativity, developing my unique style in the following areas: theatrical performance, visual art and cinema.
OCA: How did you choose your path and who is your role model in the creative space or life? AK: My Path is a manifestation of the Energy that fills me, this is the «cosmic essence» of my being. Many years ago, I discovered this Energy in myself and united into a harmonious tandem, giving it the will to manifest through my creativity!
I am grateful to my main teachers: theatre director Svetlana Morgun, director, philosopher, philologist Elena Penkina, teacher of stage arts Dmitry Streltsov, artist Alexander Kurgantsev – these are incredibly deep People, who helped strengthen my faith in my strength in those difficult moments of life, when my creative individuality was just beginning to form..
OCA: What is your main achievement in 2023-2024? AK: During this period I organised important exhibitions of paintings and installations, created a new series of art-works, created several theatrical performances, participated in Festivals and competitions of paintings, photographs and films, received several awards, received a «Global Talent Visa» in the direction of «ART/Visual Art» and was able to move to the UK.
OCA: What is the main feature that makes you and your art/work unique? AK: I am looking for sacred meanings intertwined in the destinies of Humanity..
In paintings, theatrical or video performances, – I speak with images and symbols that can be understood by opening your Consciousness. Working with people, I try to reveal their true feelings and potential, which can be hidden under a layer of fears and doubts.. I believe that at the level of pure Energy, people will be able to unite in understanding deep Ideas and accept themselves as part of a single picture of the World.
OCA: Tell us, please, about the events or projects of the Eurasian Creative Guild (London) and projects that you have already taken part in and how does ECG influence your creativity and success in your work? AK: International Film Festival «Eurasian Creative Guild Film Festival» 2023, where my Debut Short Film «THE CONJUGACY» was included in the finals; Competition and Festival «Voices of Friends: Poetry & Art» 2023, where three of my paintings and one photo work were included in the finals, and in the «PAINTINGS» category I took the honorable 2nd place, and also, within the framework of the Festival, an exhibition of my paintings was organized and I held an Art-Performance; Almanac «Voices of Friends: Poetry & Art» 2024, where one of my paintings was posted; Competition «Voices of Friends: Poetry & Art» 2024, where I was awarded 2nd place in the «PAINTINGS» category; International Film Festival «Burabay International Short Film Festival» 2024, where my film was included in the finals; Art catalogue «The Great Steppe Treasury» 2024, where two of my paintings are published.
I was also invited to be a member of the Expert Council for Fine Arts at the «Eurasian Creative Guild» and a member of the jury of the «Eurasian Creative Guild Film Festival» 2024.
«Eurasian Creative Guild» gave me the opportunity to express my creativity, make new acquaintances, showed support, and also brought me new experience, which is undoubtedly important for creative growth!
OCA: What is your motivation and the main aim of your creativity? AK: Understanding the unpredictability and instability of this world motivates to speed up many processes, to search for new forms of implementation. I understand too deeply how important it is to have time to live, feel and create something that will leave a mark.
My goal is further development in visual, theatrical and cinematic arts.
OCA: What would you wish for the members of the Guild and other creative people, just starting their career? AK: Don’t reject your individuality! Develop yourself, believe in yourself, listen to your heart and keep moving towards your goal!
OCA Magazine: Tell us, please, about yourself and your creative activity / work Olga Igumnova: I was born in Kharkov, Ukraine in 1969 and lived, studied and worked in Volgograd most of my life till 2006. Then I studied and worked in Italy and moved to the United Kingdom in 2010. From childhood I have been involved in various creative projects in literature, music, arts as a participant, a supporter or an organiser and have published several articles and books.
OCA: How did you choose your path and who is your role model in the creative space or life?
OI: I was fortunate to continue some of our family traditions: my grandfather Victor Igumnov was a Russian language and literature teacher, a writer and a poet, and my grandfather Michael Melnik, though being a professional engineer, was a talented musician as well. That’s why I think it is natural for members of my wider family, my parents, siblings and me to be interested in art, literature and music. And I am so grateful for my parents, my Mum, teachers and tutors at school, at Volgograd International Friendship Club and Volgograd state University that they helped me with foreign languages and cultures of the world.
OCA: What is your main achievement in 2023-2024? OI: “Coventry Peace Angels” occurred to become my main project in 2024. My friend, a Coventry artist originally from Madrid Maria Layla created a series of sketches for our Angels Almanack. The same sketches have become the inspiration for Coventry collection for “Moda per la Pace” /“Fashion for Peace” festival in Livorno, Italy which took place on June the 15th 2024. The UK presentation of Peace Angels was held on September the 21st, the International Peace Day 2024 in Coventry, UK city of Peace and Reconciliation.
OCA: What is the main feature that makes you and your art/work unique? OI: The very fact the family I come from and belong is rooted in various part of Eurasia influences my actions, professional activities and creativity: it has to contribute to harmony, understanding, peace. We do not always know what kind of personal situations people surrounding us are going through at the moment, and still we are able to send them the message of support through art, literature, music, fashion and other forms of creativity.
OCA: Tell us, please, about the events or projects of the Eurasian Creative Guild (London) and projects that you have already taken part in and how does ECG influence your creativity and success in your work? OI: I sent the video story about “Moda per la Pace” / “Fashion for Peace” and “Art. Fashion. Peace” festivals in Livorno and Coventry for the Eurasia Creative Guild “Voices of Friends” event in September 2024. It got a good response from then so we presented the project in Volgograd and Moscow in October 2024 and headed for several new destinations soon. I am very glad to meet new similar minded friends with the help of Eurasia Creative Guild.
OCA: What is your motivation and the main aim of your creativity? OI: The main motivation is cooperation with Life itself – everyday brings the new opportunities and inspirations, through the meetings with people, their views, ideas, different perceptions of life. Communication with other human beings can be challenging very often, all of us have experienced that. Nevertheless, creativity – the Divine and of humans – is the main source of perfect joy and love in life, experiencing which is the main reason for our existence on this Earth in my opinion.
OCA: What would you wish for the members of the Guild and other creative people, just starting their career? OI: I would like to wish to each and all of us to experience the moments of perfect joy every day. And what is more important – to be able to create such moments of harmony, peace and love for ourselves and people who are able to appreciate them. Thank you very much for your kind attention.
OCA Magazine: Tell us, please, about yourself and your creative activity / work. Aleksandra Vlasova: I am an Art director with a passion for visual storytelling and impactful design. Since graduating, I have been collaborating with Hertfordshire Press under my pen name Alexandra Rey on a wide range of print and media projects, starting in 2008. Over the years, I’ve had the privilege of bringing creative concepts to life across books, magazines, and digital platforms, helping to shape engaging and visually compelling content for diverse audiences.
OCA: How did you choose your path and who is your role model in the creative space or life? AV: Since childhood, I’ve always loved drawing and creating stories—it felt like a natural way to express myself. As I grew older, I became fascinated by the kind of creativity that not only tells a story but also helps people and leaves a lasting, tangible impact. Designing something that others can hold, interact with, or be inspired by has always driven my passion. Collaboration, turning ideas into reality, and seeing the product of that effort come to life continue to motivate me in my creative journey.
OCA: What is your main achievement in 2023-2024? AV: My main achievement in 2023-2024 is simply being alive and maintaining the ability to generate ideas that help others express their creativity. One of the ideas I’m most proud of is offering my skills as an award through the Alexandra Rey Award in Open Eurasia 2025.
The Alexandra Rey Award is an annual literary accolade celebrating exceptional talent in literature. Established by the ECG Guardian, it recognizes outstanding works translated into English, creating opportunities for both emerging and established authors.
The award includes a comprehensive eBook production package, offering professional yet simple editing to preserve the author’s original voice, and publishing the work on Amazon Kindle for global distribution. Additionally, it features a promotional campaign to increase visibility and connect the author with readers, leveraging Amazon’s platform to maximize exposure and success.
This initiative is a way to give back to the creative community, offering a platform for brilliant literary voices to thrive and achieve greater recognition. It reflects my belief in creativity as a means to help others and make a lasting impact.
OCA: What is the main feature that makes you and your art/work unique? AV: What makes my work unique is my approach to blending inspiration and individuality. I love drawing inspiration from other designers, artists, and teachers, as their perspectives and techniques often spark new ideas. However, I always add my own “spices”—a personal touch that reflects my creativity, personality, and vision. This philosophy shapes not just my work but also how I approach life, ensuring everything I create is both authentic and uniquely my own.
OCA: Tell us, please, about the events or projects of the Eurasian Creative Guild (London) and projects that you have already taken part in and how does ECG influence your creativity and success in your work? AV: As a digital artist, my work is intricately tied to many of the events and projects organized by the Eurasian Creative Guild (London). From designing promotional materials to creating visuals for various initiatives, my contributions become part of these events’ identity and success.
Beyond digital art, I also explore my creative side through poetry. I’m proud to have had my poems published in the Voices of Friends almanac from 2021 to 2024. This recognition has been a deeply rewarding experience, offering a platform to share my thoughts and emotions with a wider audience.
ECG has been a significant influence on my creativity and professional growth. The Guild fosters a sense of community, collaboration, and inspiration, encouraging me to push boundaries and explore new ideas. Whether through visual art or written expression, being part of ECG has helped me connect with other creatives and further my journey in meaningful ways.
OCA: What is your motivation and the main aim of your creativity? AV: My motivation comes from a deep desire to explore my own creativity while helping others unlock and express theirs. I believe creativity is a powerful tool for connection, inspiration, and growth. Whether through my designs, collaborations, or ideas, my goal is to encourage people to embrace their unique creative potential and bring their visions to life.
OCA: What would you wish for the members of the Guild and other creative people, just starting their career? AV: My wish for the members of the Guild and all budding creatives is simple: Try, always try. Every attempt, whether successful or not, is a step toward growth and discovery. Embrace the journey, learn from the process, and never let fear hold you back from pursuing your creative dreams.
Hospitable Kazakhstan will welcome the participants of the festival ‘VI Voices of Friends: Poetry & Art’ from different corners of the planet.
Every year the picturesque resort of Burabay becomes a meeting place for artists thanks to the festival ‘Voices of Friends: Poetry & Art’.
The festival unites literature and visual art of the countries of the Eurasian space, glorifies artists and opens new names. Organised by the Eurasian Creative Guild (London). It is held annually since 2021 at the end of September in the resort area of Burabay (Kazakhstan). This year’s festival will take place from 15 to 18 September. ‘Voices of Friends’ is planned to be attended by creative people from Belarus, UAE, Russia, Uzbekistan, Lithuania, Georgia, Ukraine, UK, Canada, Israel and Kazakhstan
The festival programme promises to be bright and rich. The guests are expected to attend film screenings, creative evenings, book presentations, master classes and the award ceremony of the Open Eurasia, Cinema Future and Burabay Film Festival competitions.
The festival officially starts on 15 September at the Higher Pedagogical College in Shchuchinsk, where a literary marathon, film screenings, a presentation of Burabay’s creative community and an exhibition of paintings by local artists and performances by authors Maria Muchinskaya, Dr. Al Artaman, Olga Shpakovich, Elena Makarova and ECG Guardian Saltanat Khamzeyeva will take place.
The local community, led by Yssuf Krykbessov, will present their work and meet writers from different countries, exchange ideas and cultures. The guests will be immersed in the atmosphere of multiculturalism and learn more about the achievements in the development of international cultural relations.
At the opening is planned to speak vice-chairman of the Eurasian Creative Guild – Marat Akhmedjenov , British Ambassador to Kazakhstan, Rector of the college Galina Bichun and others.
The festival will be held not only in offline format, but also online. In zoom there will be a performance of the writer from Israel Nina Yagolnitser. The moderator will be the director of ECG contests Anna Lari.
On 16 September the presentation of books by Hertfordshire Press and Discovery Travel Forum will take place at the Dom U Ozera hotel. The importance of tourism development is acute in today’s world. How can creativity help to develop tourism? How to attract visitors? How to develop a region? There will be a discussion on the problems of tourism development in Burabay district with the participation of experts from different countries of the world.
The creative residence of ECG Horizons will host a master class ‘Transition Plan from Creativity to Creative Business: Practice’ by Taina Kaunis and a photo shoot by British photographer Hannah Davis.
The day will end with a presentation by Alexander Kazarnovsky, Guardian of the Eurasian Creative Guild.
On 17 September, presentations by authors Paulina Geibl-Kravts and Raushan Burkitbaeva-Nukenova will take place at the Skala eco Hotel.
The final day will be held at the Wyndham Garden Burabay Hotel. The winners of Open Eurasia – 2023: Marsel Salimov, Marina Alyasova, Nurlan Toksanov will perform. At the presentations you will be able to feel the beauty of literature and immerse yourself in the worlds created by the authors, live their stories.
The culmination and the most expected event will undoubtedly be the closing ceremony of the festival, where the winners of the Open Eurasia, Voices of Friends competitions will be announced and awarded with medals named after Jonathan Fryer.
The festival ‘IV Voices of Friends: Poetry & Art’ unites creative people from different corners of the Earth, allows to exchange experience and feel the magic of art in the most beautiful place, the picturesque resort of Kazakhstan – Borovoe.
The history of the world is made up of unique people, whose lives and destinies differ from the canons of their historical epoch. And the destiny of a unique woman, who went from being a Christian Ukrainian to becoming a heroine of the Uzbek SSR, who converted to Islam and left an astonishing legacy thanks to her “unfeminine” profession, is woven into the era of the development of the Hungry Steppe.
Maria Ivanovna Akhmedjanova (née Shevel) was born on 1 May 1943 in the village of Gritsenovka, Sumy Region, Ukraine. After the war, the family moved to the Tula region, where Maria spent her childhood and youth. The talented girl graduated with honours from the Faculty of Engineering and Construction at the Tula Polytechnic Institute. The rapid pace of construction under the permanent ‘five-year plan’ became a powerful force that changed her life. While studying at the institute, Maria took part in the construction of the Toktogul hydroelectric power station in Kyrgyzstan: the dam, built in a narrow gorge, is considered one of the highest in the world and its unique design creates the famous Toktogul reservoir, the largest in Central Asia.
After receiving a degree with outstanding academic achievements, Maria was sent on a mission to Uzbekistan. There, in 1965, she joined the Jizzakh factory of reinforced concrete products. It was there that she met her future husband, Ismail Akhmedjanov, who made Uzbekistan a second home for her. During their marriage, she gave birth to five children and was awarded the Motherhood Medal. Each of her children turned out well, and 15 grandchildren keep her memory alive. Maria Akhmedjanova proved herself to be a professional and was soon offered the opportunity to join JizzakhStroy, a general contracting company that was responsible for almost all the major buildings in Jizzakh Region. It was to this organisation that Maria devoted 33 years of her life, becoming first a senior and then a chief engineer.
Maria Akhmedjanova’s main task was to transform the blueprints of faceless standard boxes sent from St Petersburg and Moscow into buildings with a national flavour that not only reflected the identity of Uzbekistan, but also adapted to the complex seismological environment. Under Maria’s sensitive architectural and construction supervision, buildings such as the Khokimiyat (Government) of the Jizzakh Region, the Regional Musical Drama Theatre, the Pedagogical University and the Hotel Uzbekistan were built, while the Zaamin Sanatorium building is still a ‘calling card’ for the region. All these buildings are still in use today.
Maria Akhmedjanova’s high level of professionalism and responsibility, as well as her outstanding human qualities, have enabled her not only to progress in her career, but also to earn the deep respect of her colleagues, superiors and neighbors. She has worked under the direct supervision of Sharof Rashidov and met him personally many times and has received a number of state awards from him: Hero of Labour, Veteran of Labour, Medal of Motherhood and many others state awards.
In the 1990s, when many citizens of the former USSR returned to their home countries in the wave of independence, Maria Akhmedjanova stayed in Uzbekistan, considering it her home and second homeland, where she lived most of her life. Shortly before her death on 15 March 2011, she converted to Islam and was buried next to her husband Ismail in the Muslim cemetery in Jizzakh.
Maria continues to be an inspiration to her children and grandchildren. Since 2014, the Maria Shevel Prize has been awarded annually for the best children’s work at the oldest international non-governmental literary competition in the post-Soviet space, Open Eurasia. Her name has become a symbol of outstanding creative achievement in children’s literature. In 2021, a plaque in her honour was placed on the wall of remembrance at the ECG HORIZONS Burabay Creative Residency in Kazakhstan. In 2023, an award ceremony was held at the fifth ECG Film Festival in London to celebrate Maria’s 80th birthday. “We decided to dedicate the awards ceremony to the memory of Maria Akhmedjanova-Shevel as a tribute to her achievements, her life experience, she is a symbol of multinational Jizzakh that gave the world talented writers – Hamid Alimzhan, Zulfiya and some of the most outstanding leaders of Uzbekistan” – said Alexandra Rey, one of the organisers of the ECG Film Festival. Her children and grandchildren live in Uzbekistan, the UK, Russia and Poland, and among them are successful businessmen, sportsmen, representatives of rare professions and creative people. Her grandson Timur Akhmedjanov, for example, dedicated a charity comic book, Elish and the Wicker Tale, to her memory.
Maria Akhmedjanova-Shevel’s life is a perfect example of how one woman can leave her mark on history and inspire several generations.
DISCOVERING JIZZAKH: THE HIDDEN JEWEL OF UZBEKISTAN
In the heart of Uzbekistan lies a region, with stunning landscapes, diverse fauna and flora, and rich cultural heritage. It is an invitation to explore one of Central Asia’s most enchanting secrets. Jizzakh, cradled by the Nurata ridges and kissed by the Golodnaya Steppe, beckons travellers and scholars alike to uncover its treasures. From its origins as a crucial Silk Road junction to its present-day allure, Jizzakh offers a journey through time, culture, and the splendors of nature.
Jizzakh’s strategic location as a gateway between Samarkand and the Fergana Valley has woven a complex historical narrative, marked by the passage of Sogdians, Arabs, and Bukharan Khanates. The region’s name, derived from the Sogdian for “small fort,” speaks to its historical significance in controlling the Pass of Jilanuti – a key to the riches of the Zerafshan Valley. Today, remnants of this storied past, such as the Muka fortress in the Zaamin mountains and the ancient city of Osru-shana, offer a window into the soul of Central Asia.
The area’s spiritual heritage is palpable in its numerous pilgrimage sites, which not only embody the region’s religious significance but also its potential in developing pilgrimage tourism. Places like the “Parpi Oyim” Complex, Usman ota, Novqa ota, Khojamushkent ota, Parpi ota, Sayfin ota, Savruk ota, Qulfisar ota and the complex of Said ibn Abu Vakkos offer profound experiences, set against the backdrop of Jizzakh’s breathtaking natural landscapes.
Jizzakh’s geography is a canvas of contrasts, from the serene Aydar-Arnasay lakes to the majestic Turkestan Mountains. The region’s unique climate, nurtured by its surrounding ridges, has created diverse ecosystems, home to rare species of flora and fauna. The Zaamin and Nurata Nature Reserves are jewels in Jizzakh’s crown, offering sanctuary to species like Severtsev’s ram and providing a haven for nature enthusiasts.
The Zaamin State Reserve, established in 1928, is a haven for unique juniper forests and a diverse array of fauna, including species listed in the Red Book of the Republic of Uzbekistan. With an area covering 26,840 hectares, the reserve is a mosaic of mountain ranges offering a sharply continental climate and a home for about 700 species of higher plants, 48 of which are endemic. Not far, the Nurata Nature Reserve stands as a testament to nature’s generosity. Created to preserve the special subspecies of argali – Severtsev’s ram, and the genetic variety of mountain walnut, the reserve is also a cultural treasure trove with ancient rock carvings, a thousand-year-old tree known as Oriental Biota Majrum, and historical sites that captivate the imagination.
Moreover, Jizzakh’s mineral-rich waters and healing springs present vast opportunities for wellness tourism. Sanatoriums like “Zomin” and “Marjonsuv” utilize these natural resources, offering treatments that blend traditional knowledge with the curative powers of the environment.
Jizzakh, the vibrant administrative heart of its namesake region, is a city where history and modernity dance under the Uzbek sun. Home to 141,000 people, this city rests at a serene elevation of 450 meters above sea level, cradled by the flowing Sangzor River. It’s a crossroads of culture and commerce, with the Tashkent-Samarkand railway and a major Uzbek highway threading through its bustling streets. At the dawn of the 20th century, Jizzakh was known for its artisanal bread, sheep rearing, blacksmithing, and pottery—crafts that painted the everyday with the strokes of tradition.
Today, Jizzakh pulses with the energy of modern industry, boasting enterprises in food production, textiles, chemicals, and machinery. It’s a city that values knowledge and learning, hosting the Jizzakh State Pedagogical Institute, Jizzakh Polytechnic Institute, various professional colleges, and numerous schools. Yet, it’s not all work in this dynamic city; Jizzakh is also a haven for culture and relaxation, offering a rich tapestry of cultural centers, leisure parks, and tree-lined boulevards that invite residents and visitors alike to enjoy the beauty of life in Jizzakh.
Beyond the hum of its industries and educational institutions, Jizzakh stands as a guardian of history and heritage. The region is dotted with 372 cultural heritage sites, including time-honoured monuments, sacred shrines, and fascinating archaeological finds. Each site tells a story, a whisper from the past, inviting those who wander among them to connect with the ancient heartbeat of this land.
Jizzakh is not just a city but a celebration of Uzbekistan’s enduring spirit, a place where the echoes of the past enrich the melody of the present. The “Iron Gate” or Temir Darvoza, once a strategic fortification on the Great Silk Road, tells stories of ancient times, battles, and the legacy of Amir Temur. Nestled at the Turkestan ridge’s base, amidst distinct peaks that merge into the Morguzar foothills, lies a passage steeped in legend and history: the Iron Gate of Tamerlane. This narrow gorge, spanning 120 to 130 metres across, slices through the landscape, drawing a line between the Nurata Mountains and the Sangzor River valley, a region famed for its breathtaking gorges. Known popularly as Amir Temur’s gate, this site holds a revered status, echoing the sacred visits of ancestors and standing as a testament to the area’s spiritual and historical depth.
Today, the Iron Gate encompasses a modern tableau with roads, railways, concrete paths, and an ancient river weaving through its 10-hectare expanse. Legend tells of a moment frozen in time when Jakhangir, Amir Temur’s grandson, unveiled the strategic prowess of this pass to his army, thereby immortalising the gorge with Temur’s name. Hidden within this historical crevice is a cave adorned with petroglyphs, silently narrating tales of Bronze Age inhabitants. The Iron Gate’s strategic importance as a fortress hub on the Silk Road is undisputed, a fact celebrated in Babur’s esteemed “Baburname.” Known also as the Jizzakh Pass, the gorge is a canvas of history, marked by inscriptions from eras long past. These include orders from Mirzo Ulugbek in Persian, commemorations by Abdulakhan following his conquest over Dashti Kipchak, and writings by Nicholas II from the late 19th century, although time has erased the latter from memory.
This majestic portal not only serves as a gateway between realms but also as a bridge across time, offering a glimpse into the storied past of a land that was once a crucible of empires, scholars, and conquerors. The Iron Gate of Tamerlane stands as a beacon for those who seek to unravel the mysteries of history, nestled within the heart of Uzbekistan’s rich and varied landscape.
In the enchanting gorges of the Morguzar mountain range, within the Zaamin district, the village of Uvol harbours a sanctuary steeped in hope and ancient traditions. The “Parpi Oyim” Complex stands as a beacon of faith for childless women who embark on a unique pilgrimage through the “Teshiktosh” — a narrow aperture in a stone believed to bestow the blessing of motherhood. Following this sacred passage, it is customary for the women to carry pebbles from the site as talismans of their journey until their wish is fulfilled, returning these tokens of gratitude upon the birth of their child. This ritual underscores the profound connection between the local community and the divine, symbolized by the revered tomb of “Parpi Oyim” nestled in the heart of these mystical landscapes.
Further enriching the region’s spiritual tapestry is the Said ibn Abu Vakkos Complex, a sanctuary that unfolds in the serene village of Avliyo-Ota. Divided into an upper expanse, home to sacred springs and unspoiled nature, and a lower realm, where lies the tomb of Said ibn Abu Vakkos, this complex is a mosaic of spiritual and natural beauty. Crafted in the 19th century by master artisans, the mosque within the complex stands as a testament to the enduring legacy of Said ibn Abu Vakkos, a revered figure in Islamic history known for his wisdom beyond his years and his close association with the Prophet Muhammad.
The story of Avliyo-Ota, dating back to the 7th century AD, intertwines with the narrative of Said ibn Abu Vakkos, an Arab commander celebrated for his early conversion to Islam and his remarkable prudence. The complex, spanning 14.2 hectares, is not just a site of historical significance but a living, breathing space where the past meets the present, as evidenced by the vibrant ecosystem within the local well, home to corals listed in the Red Book of Uzbekistan.
In the heart of Majrum’s lush forestry stands a natural wonder that has captivated the hearts and spirits of those who gaze upon it: the Oriental Biota, a colossal tree whose life spans a millennium. This ancient sentinel, also known as Biota orientalis, is more than just a tree; it is a sacred emblem, deeply woven into the fabric of local lore and tradition. With a trunk measuring approximately 8 metres in diameter and a girth of 12 metres, this majestic being stretches its lower branches wide, gracing the earth with its presence. The expansive roots of this verdant giant offer a sheltering space for up to five individuals, a testament to its immense scale and life force.
The Oriental Biota’s revered status is emblematic of the broader allure of the reserve it calls home, a place where natural beauty converges with the echoes of history. Beyond its breathtaking mountainous vistas, diverse plant life, and unique wildlife, the region is a treasure trove of historical and cultural artifacts. From ancient archaeological relics to petroglyphs, from solemn graves to towering megaliths, the area narrates a saga of human civilization that spans thousands of years. Medieval monuments, pastoral landscapes, and remnants of age-old agricultural practices further enrich this tapestry, making the Majrum forestry not just a natural haven but a custodian of human heritage.
Amidst its natural and historical allure, Jizzakh is also a refuge for health and wellness. The Zaamin Sanatorium, situated in the National Park, utilizes the pristine environment and modern medical facilities to offer treatments that rejuvenate the body and spirit. The healing properties of the region’s mineral waters, combined with the pure air and tranquil landscapes, make Jizzakh an ideal retreat for those seeking wellness in the lap of nature.
No exploration of Jizzakh is complete without indulging in its culinary heritage. The “Jizzakh Samsa”, known for its size, juicy filling, and crispy crust, is a testament to the region’s rich gastronomic tradition. This beloved dish, embodying the generous spirit of Jizzakh, offers a taste of the region’s soul, inviting visitors to partake in a feast that delights the senses.
Akhror Burkhanov Press Secretary of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Uzbekistan
The power and potential of nuclear has been evident for decades, even if it has often come surrounded in warnings and threats of misuse by both state actors and terrorists alike. Now, Uzbekistan has announced that it is joining the race and Uzbekistan’s Nuclear Energy Agency (Uzatom) has boldly announced that the first reactor of a small nuclear power plant (NPP) is to be built in Uzbekistan within five years. The location of this new energy source? A site near lake Tuzkan in the Farish district of the Jizzakh region, replacing what was previously to be a larger scale and more conventional nuclear power station.
Uzatom has refused to divulge the cost of this exciting new initiative, but has stated that it will have six pressurized water reactors (PWRs) RITM-200N with a total capacity of 330 MW (55 MW each). Each reactor will com on stream in six month stages, meaning that the station should be fully commissioned by 2032. More significantly, perhaps, Russia’s Rosatom will be the general contractor, with the agreement signed to coincide with Vladimir Putin’s visit to Tashkent on 27th May. It is understood a key part of the deal will enable Uzbekistan companies to be involved in the construction so as to ensure knowledge transfer and learning. The fact that the Jizzakh region will host this groundbreaking new potential power form is significant and a testament to its importance in the Uzbek economy.
Such small rector’s are fast becoming a key new power source for localising nuclear energy and reducing risks.With a maximum output of 300 Megawatt electric (MWe) each can produce 7.2 million kWh per day. By comparison, large-size nuclear power plants have an output of over 1,000 MWe and can produce 24 million kWh per day. They can, however be built in varying sizes and use a range of possible coolants including light water, liquid metal or molten salt, depending on the technology. The aim is to use nuclear fission reactions to generate heat that can be used directly or for generating electricity.
Critically,the economics and business case of SMRs are different from traditional nuclear power plants. They are typically viewed as a helping part of the decarbonisation pictures as they can increase the stability of the electric grid, especially where increasing renewable sources are feeding intermittently into it. Of particular importance is their small size, meaning that there are more suitable sites which require both less space and less cooling water. And, as in the case of the Jizzakh plant, they are modular in nature and can be produced in series which allows for both production and installation cost efficiency and economies of scale.
Understandably, not everyone is convinced. Having small amounts of radioactive material in many locations begs the question as to whether proper safeguards and vigilance will be put in place. There is the obvious terrorist threat, but people also fear that their backyards will e turned into potential Chernobyl disaster zones in the blink of an eye. Fortunately the technology is not new and these reactors are already harnessing the operating experience of large reactors and small scale reactors already in place in nuclear submarines, for example. The small reactors’ inherent safety systems offer a simpler design and a reactor core with lower ore power and larger fractions of coolant which increases the time to react for operators in case of incidents or accidents. These inherent safety systems also allow elimination of a range of components, valves, safety grade pumps, pipes and cables limiting de facto the risk of their failure.
Globally, there are more than eight such small reactor designs in play, with many at different stages of development across 18 countries. While countries such as the U.S., UK, Japan, and the South Korea are actively developing home grown designs, Russia and China connected their first small reactors to the grid in 2019 and 2021, respectively. Attention has been focuses following the Ukraine crisis meaning governments, like that in Uzbekistan, now see such technology as a growing part of the country;s core energy independence.
JIZZAKH REGION, A FUTURE LAND OF OPPORTUNITIES FOR WESTERN COMPANIES AND INVESTORS?
The Jizzakh Region is helping to drive Uzbekistan’s economic growth. With its strategic location and dynamic business environment, the region could become a gateway to Uzbekistan for foreign business, and it already boasts some interesting contributions from Western companies in this region.
With a population of over 1.3 million, the Jizzakh region offers a dynamic workforce ready to contribute to the emerging economy. In recent years, the region has experienced remarkable economic growth, with a consistent year-on-year GDP growth rate, highlighting its potential as a lucrative investment destination. Its importance is further underscored by its historical role as a key region of the Silk Road, connecting our Eastern and Western World.
The historical legacy of the Jizzakh region is closely intertwined with its strategic location, in the heart of the Türkistan, close to major transport routes and neighbouring countries: Afghanistan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan. This geographical advantage has made Jizzakh a central hub for trade and commerce during centuries, echoing its past as a crossroads on the Silk Road. Caravans laden with silk, spices and precious goods used to traverse these ancient paths, bringing wealth and cultural exchange to the region. Today, Jizzakh’s modern aspirations for economic prosperity are deeply rooted in this rich history, as the city seeks to once again leverage its strategic location to connect markets, foster international partnerships and embrace the legacy of trade and cultural exchange that has defined its identity for centuries.
In the grand tapestry of history, I firmly believe in its cyclical nature, where patterns often repeat themselves. Just as Jizzakh flourished as a bustling trading centre in ancient times, it is now emerging as a beacon of opportunity in the global economy of 2024. The region’s transformation into a promising investment destination is being driven by a combination of factors, including a favourable business climate and enticing government incentives. Foreign investors looking to tap into Uzbekistan’s potential will find the Jizzakh region an excellent entry point, providing a gateway to lucrative opportunities and sustainable growth in Uzbekistan.
The Jizzakh Free Economic Zone exemplifies this trend, attracting interest and investment from both Eastern and Western companies. As a potential catalyst for economic development, this Free Economic Zone could create a convergence between historical Silk Road heritage and modern innovation.
As French companies explore opportunities in in Uzbekistan, one promising avenue of cooperation in the Jizzakh Region could be water-saving technologies. The region’s agricultural sector, particularly cotton production, could benefit from French expertise in water management. The climate in the south of France is arid, and agriculture is an important part of the french economy, so France has developed cutting-edge technologies in this sector. By applying innovative water-saving solutions, French companies specializing in this field could help to optimize irrigation practices, to avoid water scarcity.
Water is a major issue for Uzbekistan, and foreign technologies, especially French ones, can bring major economic and ecological benefits. Cooperation in the water sector is part of the recent partnership agreements signed last November in Samarkand between the French President and the President of Uzbekistan. This historic visit, is very important for relations between the two countries, as no French President has visited Uzbekistan since 1991. This Franco-Uzbek rapprochement demonstrates the importance of future cooperation between the nations.
Through my years of business involvement in Uzbekistan, I have come to appreciate the mutually beneficial partnership that exists between Uzbekistan and France. This co-operation has proven to be a win-win partnership between our two countries, with both parties bringing valuable expertise, resources, and opportunities to the table. The synergy between our efforts has not only promoted economic growth, but also fostered cultural exchanges and bilateral ties. This experience reinforces my belief in the power of international relations and cooperation, to hopefully create in the future strong results for businesses between France and this promising region, Jizzakh.
Therefore, I believe that the Jizzakh region is emerging as a promising environment for Western-Uzbek co-operation, with foreign companies now starting to expand their activities not only in Tashkent but also in the regions. By capitalising on the region’s strengths and leveraging each other’s expertise, France and Uzbekistan can create new avenues of cooperation in high-potential sectors such as agriculture, manufacturing and renewable energy. As the partnership between the two nations continues to deepen, the Jizzakh region is designed to realise its full economic potential, driving prosperity and progress for both countries.
Quentin Vercruysse Founder of Magadan Advisory, a boutique consulting firm dedicated to improving economic partnerships between France and Uzbekistan
CAN JIZZAKH REALLY ENTICE TOURISTS TO DISCOVER ITS HISTORY AND CULTURE?
Jizzakh lies on the ancient trading road between Tashkent and Samarkand. When you pass this way, the ghosts of historic heroes are beside you: Alexander the Great came here with his armies on campaign, marching between the wealthy cities of Uzbekistan’s Silk Road oases. Amir Timur is remembered here, too, with what is known as Timur Darvaza (Timur’s Gates), a narrow gorge hewn by time and the water of the Sanzar River. Sadly contemporary visitors to Jizzakh tend to be in a rush, driving through the region on their way to Uzbekistan’s more famous tourist destinations. But those who do take the time to get to know Jizzakh are rewarded with rich experiences and long-lasting memories.
It is an easy drive from Samarkand to Jizzakh, but you can also make the journey by train in around an hour. Arriving in the city and looking around you, there is little surviving evidence that Jizzakh was a Silk Road trading post, a place settlement, and strategically valuable enough to warrant the Sogdians, Arabs, and then the Bukhara Khanate building a succession of fortifications. Jizzakh’s main square is named in honour of Sharaf Rashidov, the First Secretary of the Uzbek Communist Party, who was born here in 1917. Rashidov was a poet as well as a politician, and you can learn about his life in the Rashidov Memorial Museum.
The real treasures of Jizzakh are outside the city, however, so think of it as your springboard for adventure. The brightest star in the region’s constellation is the Zaamin National Park, where clean, fresh mountain air fills your lungs and the photogenic landscape is food for the soul. Parts of the national park are at an altitude of 4,200m above sea level and the varied ecosystems support a wealth of native flora and fauna. Such is the fertility of this land, and the lengthy commitment to its conservation, that some of the trees are already 800 years old. There are more than 700 species of plants, 48 of which are endemic. In springtime, Zaamin is a visual feast, as the red tulips and white acacias bloom on the mountainside. You can wander and picnic in the juniper forests, and then as autumn starts to fall, watch as the deciduous trees turn red, orange, and gold, and then finally drop their leaves.
It’s no wonder that nature’s playground has become a centre for the development of ecotourism and adventure tourism, too. For much of the year, the best ways to explore Zaamin National Park are on foot, on horseback, or by mountain bike. It is possible to follow some of the trails alone, but you will get so much more out of the experience if you go with a trained guide. A knowledgeable local person will not only provide good company but also draw your attention to details in the park’s geology, to the bird calls and the footprints, and be able to explain to you these features. Even a short walk can be an education.
In the winter months, deep snow descends on Zaamin. Skiers and snowboarders dust off their salopettes and make the most of the fresh powder. The lift infrastructure is limited for now, but there are future plans for its expansion; and in any case, more experienced skiers and boarders just use existing lifts to access the great expanse of backcountry routes. You could spend days in these mountains and never ski the same slope twice, and frequently you will be the only person around.
There has long been a sanatorium at Zaamin, making the most of the curative properties of the region’s mountain springs. The building’s white sweep of architecture is a stand-out landmark, contrasting with the deep green of the mountain behind. You can stay here for health reasons, of course, but it can also be a comfortable, convenient base for a few days of vacation.
For a contrasting landscape and experiences, go instead to Aydarkul, a manmade lake in the Kyzylkum (Red Desert) in the northern part of Jizzakh Region. Migratory birds, including pink flamingoes, stop here on their long intercontinental flights, so it is a prime site for birding. You can spend a night or two in a yurt camp, inspired by the nomadic lifestyle of generations past, but equipped with modern comforts like a shower block. There is a certain magic to spending a night gathered around a cracking bonfire, flames dancing, as you listen to a talented folk singer. Far from any city light pollution, Aydarkul also has some of the world’s darkest night skies. The quality of star gazing is unmatched, and even with the naked eye you will be able to clearly see the constellations of the northern hemisphere, shooting stars, and even the International Space Station.
Wherever you stay in Jizzakh and for however long, be sure to taste the delicious local cuisine. Many of the dishes are similar to those in other parts of Uzbekistan, but the local samsa have a reputation which rightly extends far beyond the region’s borders. The generous chunks of meat and onion, covered in a crisp, bronzed pastry can easily replace any meal, and a samsa is conveniently portable for a hike, a bike ride, or a picnic beside a picturesque waterfall.
AN ACADEMIC QUESTION – JIZZAKH’S GROWTH BEYOND 2024
Academic Growth is an important factor in the Ubzbekistan’s development. The progress of every country is measured with respect to the developments in agriculture, education, healthcare and infra structure. The education sector plays a vital role in contributing for the technological developments and hence increase the opportunities for employment and industrial growth. Today, the global focus is on the sustainable developments and it is the right time to summarize the evolution of academic growth in Uzbekistan and especially in the Jizzakh region.
The Jizzakh region lies at the centre/east of Uzbekistan with Jizzakh as its capital city. Approximately 53% of people live in rural areas. A major highlight is the special economic zone set up by the Government of Uzbekistan in collaboration with China contributing to joint projects in both the agro-industrial and mechanical sectors. In the last decade the growth of the Jizzakh region in all sectors is tremendous and expected to be still higher in the upcoming years. One of the major reasons for this progress is the tangible improvements in the academic arena.
This is vivid from the statistical reports highlighting that the number of students enrolling for the primary, secondary and tertiary education has grown three fold. Enrolment in evening courses in higher educational institutions is also increasing.
At this juncture, it is also essential to understand the history of the tertiary education system in Uzbekistan and the transition after the Independence in 1991. The structure of the education system was inherited from Soviet times and has grown tremendously in the last two decades with well developed Universities and research institutes. The world bank report in 2014 depicted that the major challenges faced by the tertiary education system in Uzbekistan are low access, inadequate quality and relevance of graduates and low research production. But the last decade has changed the scenario and shown improved contribution in the tertiary education system. In 2018, the Government of Uzbekistan also developed an Education Sector Plan (ESP) 2019-2023 with extensive consultations with the Local Education Group (LEG), coordinated by UNICEF. The ESP 2019- 2023 elaborated the sectoral priorities for all sub-sectors of education and developed an action plan for the government to follow during the period 2019-2023 and beyond.
The policies focused on three major priorities: Access and Participation, Quality and Relevance, and System reforms and Management. Access and participation were increased by ensuring a safe and enabling learning ecosystem. Moreover, the quality of the education system is improved by developing standard curriculum and competent assessment tools. Teaching learning tools and technology for pedagogy plays a vital role in motivating learners and also creating a competent workforce. This further extends with effective management of the TLEP ecosystem at various levels of the sector. To meet the global competency and to serve the changing requirements of the society the education system has undergone a huge transformation.
Higher secondary Education (16 to 17 years)
The increase in the number of enrollments for higher education is a positive note that acknowledges the development of the academic sector of Jizzakh. The equitable access at all levels is observed in the recent past by new construction, reconstruction and also renovation of schools in this region. The academic structure and pedagogy have oriented towards the following prime factors.
Active development of all domains including the cognitive, creative, language, socio- emotional and healthy lifestyle.
Mapping the competencies of developments including communication, play, socialization and cognitive developments
Creating an active teaching workforce by insisting on teaching professional standards, following a teacher quality framework and conducting special training programs, guidelines for teachers to ensure holistic development, proper education planning and teaching, assessment with modern tools, professional development etc.
Systemic reforms, governance and management using MIS tools to monitor the progress in knowledge transfer at each level in a centralized database system enabled with IT.
Above all, the educational quality assurance framework ensures a systematic review occurs to improve quality and efficiency. The usage of ICT tools as a pedagogic tool has tremendously increased and improved the teaching capacity and professional development. Project based learning, Tool based learning, Research based learning have resulted in tangible outcomes of the learners. Recent studies have proven that GER in higher education has increased in Jizzakh region. There is a notable improvement in the gender parity too due to the proactive efforts of the Government to enroll more female students, attract foreign universities, and encourage private institutions. This is certainly a positive note to ensure improvements in academia both in terms of curriculum and standards and hence contributing to enhanced quality and employability of the nation.
JIZZAKH POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTE AIMS FOR TECHNOLOGICAL EXCELLENCE
It is worth noting that two new, modern production sites have been launched on the territory of the Jizzakh Polytechnic Institute. The first is the “Scientific and Practical Centre for Alternative Energy”, where solar panels are produced. The second training site – “Jizzakh Youth Technopark” – creates a wider opportunity for students of the institute to put into practice the knowledge acquired during the learning process.
It should be said that the launch of the “Scientific and Practical Centre for Alternative Energy” at the institute was one of the big steps in the study of energy problems, the practical direction of work in this area, the popularisation of alternative energy and energy conservation. In particular, this centre, which combines both education and production in its name, opens the way for the training of qualified personnel in this field. This serves to further increase the level of localization of production of alternative energy sources devices in our country.
Another gratifying moment is that the centre’s staff and the teaching staff of the Institute’s Energy Department won a grandiose project within the framework of the capacity-building program of the European Union Foundation “ERASMUS+”. The implementation period for this project “Development of a targeted curriculum for undergraduates in solar energy in Uzbekistan” is planned for 2024-2026, and the creation of educational and scientific laboratory programs of a new format has also been established.
A similar atmosphere has been created in the Jizzakh Youth Technopark, which began work at the Jizzakh Polytechnic Institute. An educational, research and production zone of a new format, putting youth ideas into practice, acceleration centres, virtual laboratories, engineering education courses are equipped with the most modern technologies. In the technology park, young people will be able to master the most modern professions and start working.
Students of the Jizzakh Polytechnic Institute have the opportunity to do internships not only in the building of the higher educational institution, but also at various enterprises in the region. For this purpose, the institute has signed various cooperation agreements and contracts. One of them is the Jizzakh Free Economic Zone. At the same time, this zone plays a big role in the development of industry in the Jizzakh region.
Sanobar Eshbekova, Jizzakh Polytechnic Institute First Vice-Rector for Youth Affairs and Spiritual and Educational Affairs
The Jizzakh region of Uzbekistan proudly enjoys a rich tradition in sport and physical culture. The regional government actively encourage a healthy lifestyle through sport and exercise, particularly among young people. FC Sogdiana Jizzakh play in the Uzbekistan Football Super League and the region has hosted national tournaments in a wide range of sports for many years. In 2023, Jizzakh hosted the World Championship of Belbogli Kurash, a belt variation of the now well-established international jacket wrestling sport of Kurash.
While mainstream global sports such as football are very popular, Jizzakh, in common with the rest of Uzbekistan, retains a serious interest in its own indigenous sports and traditions. Kurash is a form of wrestling where victory is gained by throwing the opponent on to their back utilising a grip on the opponent’s jacket or belt. It has existed in different regional variations for well over 3000 years with tournaments taking place at festivals and weddings. Following Uzbekistan’s independence in 1991, a single synthesised international version was created and currently the International Kurash Association boast well in excess of 100 national federations spread across all continents of the world. Kurash is now a fixture in the Asian Games and other major international multi-sport events and has realistic Olympic aspirations.
One of the most famous Kurash stars of the last twenty years has been Jizzakh’s Olim Ravshanov, the 2007 world champion in the under 66kg category.
Having competed (unsuccessfully!) against Olim at the prestigious Al-Hakim At-Termiziy Tournament in Termez and also, as a fellow competitor, witnessed his outstanding performance when winning his world championship in Ulan Bataar, Mongolia, I can truly attest to his outstanding skill, modesty and sportsmanship. Thanks to the IKA and Uzbekistan Kurash Federation, I have been able to secure this account from Olim summarising his life in Kurash and ongoing commitment to this fascinating sport.
“Even if given the opportunity to choose again, I would still choose Kurash!” Olim Ravshanov
“This may sound like a very lofty statement but I am grateful for my fate because my life has been totally dedicated to Kurash.
My name is Olim Ravshanov. I am 39 years old and was born in a village called Bogdarchilik in the Dostlik district of Jizzakh region.
I am a professional Kurash coach currently coaching the national youth team of Uzbekistan. Previously I was a full-time athlete winning world championships at both youth and adult levels. In addition, I won the Asian continental gold medal and many other international tournaments at home and abroad.”
STARTING KURASH
“Like many children in Uzbekistan, I became interested in Kurash and started training when I was very young, so young and so long ago that I do not remember the exact age. I breathe Kurash!
My two elder brothers were very famous Kurash athletes and were my inspiration. The exploits of my brother, Mamadiyor, with his incredible throwing techniques aroused great admiration, interest and envy in me as well as the thousands of spectators present at his contests. From this I developed the desire to become a successful athlete like him.
From starting as a spectator at traditional Kurash matches held at weddings and festivals, I progressed to become a participant. I was very fortunate to have the support of my brothers and the lessons of my teachers.” WORLD CHAMPION
“Sometimes I experienced hard times in training but, over the years, these difficulties were quickly forgotten when I began to make small achievements in competitions. I won the Jizzakh regional youth championship for the first time when I was 15. From this I was lucky to go on and win the national championship. The most exciting thing about that result was that I won a place to represent Uzbekistan at the World Youth Championship in Tver, Russia in 2000.
This was a real happiness for me. Before the world championship, I participated in very high-level training sessions to help me achieve the expected result. I won the World Youth Championship! I won many tournaments after that, however, the joy of that first world victory still gives me a thrill!
From 2002, I started training under a new teacher, Omon Toymurodov. Under him, I progressed through the Uzbekistan senior ranks and on to the national team. The highlight was winning the gold medal at the 2007 World Championship in Mongolia. In 2009, I was selected for the Asian Championships in Iran and again achieved the gold medal. Around this time, I also won international tournaments in Great Britain, France, and Turkey.”
COACHING
“Since retiring as an athlete, I have been engaged in coaching. I had no choice! I haven’t thought of any field of activity other than Kurash. Kurash is a way of life for me. I grew up in Kurash. I have lived a Kurash life. Even if given the opportunity to choose again, I would still choose Kurash!”
COACHING AND COACH DEVELOPMENT
Today, Olim coaches the Uzbekistan youth team. Apart from this daily responsibility, he is heavily involved in global coach development on behalf of the IKA. He is chief technical coach on many of the IKA’s international coaching qualification courses including that held alongside the recent world championships in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan.
Kurash enthusiasts in the UK await Olim Ravshanov’s return!
Paul Sawyer with thanks to Jamshid Namozov (International Kurash Association) and Orzubek Musinov (Uzbekistan Kurash Federation
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 Bakhshi and consists of melodies that are passed down from generation to generation, so no notation is needed! Several important musical instruments are still played today that bridge the gap between old and new traditions:
Dutor – This instrument is a two-stringed Lute that has a warm tone and is one to two metres in height. Dutar literally means “Two Strings” and these strings are made from silk or nylon, opposed to Guts which had been the preferred material of choice for centuries. This instrument should not be confused with the Dotor, that originates in Bangladesh.
Rubob – Originating from Afghanistan in the 7th century, this instrument very much resembles a Lute and has a short neck. The Rubob is carved from a single piece of wood, which is usually Mulberry. It has three melody strings, three drone strings and usually twelve sympathetic strings. The head of the Rubob is made from animal skin, most commonly a goat. Being known as “The Lion of instruments” is certainly a title to be proud of indeed and the Rubob is performed all over the World due to its popularity.
Tanbur – The Tanbur originates from Central Asia from the Ancient period and is a stringed instrument. It has four strings made of metal than run across the small bridge of wood of the body of the instrument. Again, made from Mulberry, this instrument has been giving joy through song since the Parthian Area where the name Tanbur is derived from Middle Persian texts.
These wonderful musical traditions can be performed at venues such as the prestigious Jizzax Viloyat Musiquali Drama Teatri or Open-Air Festivals, the possibilities are endless when continuing the joy of music.
Jizzakh, a vibrant province in Uzbekistan, showcases a remarkable blend of tradition and modern enterprise. Its bustling cities—Jizzakh, Gallaorol, Dashtabad, and Dostlik—are home to a diverse industrial base, ranging from mineral extraction and cotton cultivation to advanced manufacturing in electronics and construction materials. This thriving economy is supported by key industries like cotton processing, building materials, food production, and light industry, including textiles and apparel.
Each area in Jizzakh is known for producing unique, high-quality products. Dashtabad is famous for its building materials, Zomin for its exquisite onyx, and Baxmal for its luxurious marble. Numerous factories contribute to a robust infrastructure in brick manufacturing, flour milling, and furniture crafting. The region is also rich in natural resources, with the Marjan bulak gold mine and operations extracting lime, wollastonite, tungsten, and lead, cementing Jizzakh’s status as a cornerstone of Uzbekistan’s mineral wealth.
In the 21st century, Jizzakh has become a hub of international cooperation, hosting joint ventures with partners from the UK, Tajikistan, Syria, Poland, Pakistan, China, Indonesia, and Russia. These partnerships have brought world-class products to the market, from vegetable oil and silk fiber to cotton cellulose and mineral water. The region’s entrepreneurial spirit shines through with the production of industrial goods, batteries, and even KIA cars within its free economic zone, making Jizzakh a center of innovation and global collaboration.
Agriculture is the lifeblood of Jizzakh’s economy, with cotton as the dominant crop, complemented by grain, cocoon farming, and a rich variety of fruits and vegetables. The region’s fertile lands are irrigated to support a diverse agricultural output, from potatoes and rice to vineyards and orchards. Animal husbandry is also a key component, with large numbers of cattle, sheep, goats, horses, and poultry, reflecting a dynamic agricultural model that sustains and drives the local economy.
Jizzakh’s investment potential is immense, thanks to special economic zones that foster international collaboration and innovation. Combined with its abundant natural resources and dedicated workforce, the region offers a compelling opportunity for investors seeking to bridge the gap between history and progress.
Jizzakh is more than just an investment destination; it’s a partnership with the land and its people, an invitation to be part of a story that continues to unfold. This province is a mosaic of experiences, blending past, present, and future, and is waiting to be explored and cherished. Whether you’re a traveler, historian, nature enthusiast, investor, or academic, Jizzakh welcomes you to join its ongoing narrative. Here, in one of Central Asia’s most captivating corners, the spirit of Jizzakh whispers tales of resilience and beauty, promising a journey of unforgettable experiences and boundless opportunities. Jizzakh is not merely a place to visit but a legacy to be part of—a canvas where every visitor leaves a mark, and every investment seeds the future.
— Akhror Burkhanov Press Secretary, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Uzbekistann
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 of these old legends originate from central Asia. Folktales and fairy tales have indo-european and central Asian origins that even go back five thousand years. The European medieval princess with her pointed hat, for example, had central Asian origins.
Many people know the famous tourist sites of Samarkand, Khiva, and Bukhara, but impressive as they are, Uzbekistan has so much more than this and the lesser known Jizzakh region is worth exploring for its rich history and culture.
Jizzakh is located south east of Samarkand and north west of Tajikistan and was an important stop on the great Silk Route. The Jizzakh region includes several national parks, including Zammin, the ‘Switzerland’ of Uzbekistan. With its alpine meadows, bright red tulips, snow white acacias, hazelnut, birch, and fir trees, you can find Uzbekistan’s famous black storks in the Guralashsoy gorge. The region has over 370 cultural sites and also boasts the ‘iron gates’ of Timur and its intriguing fortifications dating back from the Silk Route days. There are also various yurt camps, Sanatoriums, and hotels, that join the rivers, lakes, forests, deserts, hills, valleys, and mountains, found in the region.
MYK FORTRESS
In the Zaamin district of the picturesque canyon Chortagna, in the headwaters of the Yettikachi river, sit the ruins of the ancient fortress of Myk. The ruins are at an altitude of about 2000m and consist of four locations called Myk I, II, III and IV.
It is listed as a Zoroastrian castle, though its various transitions and rebuilding continued through to Islamic times. The government of the region was historically run by a handful of aristocrats before Islam. The leader of these aristocrats was the ruler of Utrushana who bore the title of ‘Afshin’, or grand prince. The Afshin ruled with absolute power in the country, and he was deified even after the introduction of Islam. The capital of Utrushana was Bundzhikat in what is now the ruins of the village of Shakristan (Tajikistan). Zaamin was the second largest city in Utrushana, after Bundzhikat. However, Zaamin was older and located directly on the Silk Route. Starting in the 10th century, the road through Zaamin became increasingly important. In the middle ages the region developed an important iron mining and smelting industry. The importance of steel and iron required the control and protection of the Afshins of Utrushana. This is what drove the importance of the fortress and political centre of Myk Fortress as it enabled the authorities to monitor and control the iron and steel production.
Myk is located 43 km south of the city of Zaamin, formed by the widening of the gorge by two lateral tributaries of the Myksava river. The history of Myk castle spans 500 years and consists of two castles of different periods, upper Myk 1 and lower Myk 2 and the industrial and residential settlement Myk 3. North of the ruins, until the mid 1930s, there was the village of Myk. Medieval ceramics and iron slag were also found in the village the on the left bank opposite the Ettykechusai river. A gold coin of the Korezmshah Muhammad period (1200 – 1220) was also found.
Myk 1 appears to be the ruins of a castle from the seventh to the eighth centuries. It is located at the top of a rocky cliff at an altitude of 80 metres. It is built into the natural terrain creating a powerful stronghold that overlooked the entire surrounding territory. The fortress is made of pakhsa blocks further built on with the rectangular bricks. It has three main towers with the further remaining fourth tower. There is a residential tower or dungeon at the southern end of the structure.
In 714, during the first Arab invasion of Utrushana, Myk 1 was looted, burned, and almost completely destroyed. Only a small part of Myk 1 castle remains.
The dungeon consists of barracks, the main hall, and a cult, or religious, room. The walls were decorated with murals of red blue black and yellow painted murals, which are now found in the rubble on the floor. The cult room features two black triangles on a white background. A neighboring room held an altar which held a sacred fire that was constantly burning. Columns, a truncated pyramid, a further altar, and further features are also found in the ruins. Bird and animal bones were also found in the ash pit beneath the altar. Myk 3 is located in the production village with metallurgical furnaces and archaeological layers up to three feet deep with iron slags. The entrance to the village and the Myk valley is blocked by a watch tower 7 km north of the castle. Today, only the foundations remain.
Restoration of the Myk castle began in the 9th century, according to the ‘history of prophets and kings’ written by at-Tabari. It was at this time the stone castle Myk 2 was built. It is located 50 m below Myk 1 directly above the village of Myk 3. Myk 2 was built in a square shape with the corners oriented to the cardinal points of the compass. Partly built into the cliff, the ‘Barbican’ still stands. There are towers, both inside and outside the walls, which are largely preserved.
The castle was built in the style of the Korusan empire, widely found in the middle East at this time. It was especially popular during the construction of the city of Samara, the new capital of the caliphate around this time. Other castles in central Asia can’t compare to the construction of Myk 2, being built by builders from transcaucasia. The build quality was excellent. After being repaired several times, Myk 2 was captured and destroyed between 1028 – 1035 during a siege. Many ceramics, iron instruments, weapons, and copper pieces, remained buried in the ruins afterwards. Some jewellery, glasses, an inkwell, and musical instruments were also found. A large treasure of silver-plated coins was found, wrapped in linen. 1,300 coins were found, but it seems the treasure was much bigger. The Foundation of this wealth was undoubtedly the mining and processing of iron, especially in Myk 3. Iron mining and processing continued in Myk 3 village long after fall of the castle.
The final sudden destruction of the fortress in the middle of the 12th century was due to the Karakhita invasion of Transoxiana. Near to Myk, in 1141, a famous battle occurred between army’s led by Sultan Sanjar and the hordes of Karakhiai. Sanjar’s army was thoroughly beaten. Castles and battles featured heavily in central Asia just as in Europe during the middle ages.
Castles and fortresses, kings and sultans, were part and parcel of life in middle ages central Asia. Myk fortress is no different. Tolkien’s ‘middle earth’ is based on Viking legends of Iceland, which in turn came from their Viking/Scythian origins in central Asia, but that’s a subject for another article. As Central Asia opens up, beautiful Uzbekistan will become better known globally together with its middle ages castles.
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 feuds. However, this was at the expense of the continuation of the existing aryks (channels). The increase in cultivated areas achieved in this way could not be large, and the construction of new irrigation channels was necessary to significantly increase irrigated areas.
Invited experts were highly impressed by Turkestan’s potential for agricultural production. One Turkestan journal stated that the region had ‘the possibility of developing… diverse and valuable branches of agriculture, capable of replacing American cotton, French and Hungarian wine and American dry fruits, Italian and Japanese silk, Australian wool and lard, and a mass of other products’. Although irrigation was the basis of and essential condition for the prosperity of Turkestan’s main industry – agriculture – the area of irrigated land was small in relation to the total area of the region. In all the provinces of the Governor-General’s Office of Turkestan it represented less than 2 per cent.
The construction of new large canals was not feasible for the local population due to the primitive nature of their technical tools. And due to the impossibility of using the previous organisational methods. The expansion of irrigation and the irrigation of new areas planned to make Central Asia the main area of cotton production for the growing Russian textile industry. To solve this problem, water resources had to be studied and possible irrigation areas identified.
One of the most promising areas was the Hungry Degree. This was a fairly large area south of the left bank of the Syr Darya River as it exits the Fergana Valley, reaching as far south as the town of Jizzak. Before 1917, Jizzak was one of the district towns of the Samarkand region, with a population of less than twelve thousand people, where trade was conducted and several handicraft factories were located. It used to be the only relatively large settlement on the edge of the Golodnaya steppe.
The first attempts to develop the Hungry Steppe began soon after the establishment of the Turkestan Governorate. In 1869, at the suggestion of Governor-General K.P. von Kaufmann, a survey party led by Baron Aminov was sent to the steppe. And in 1871 the Tashkent engineer N.F. Ulyanov was sent here to draw up the project directly. The following year, the realisation of his project began.
The first attempt to irrigate part of the Hungry Steppe was unsuccessful; due to a lack of funds and labour, the work was very slow and often stopped for long periods. A few years later, work on the canal, already named the Kaufman Canal, was abandoned until better times. Among the pioneers of the development, a member of the imperial family, Grand Duke N.K. Romanov, who lived in Tashkent due to a “family disgrace”, occupies a prominent place. In 1883-1885, on his initiative, the Iskander-Aryk canal was built on the right bank of the Chirchik River in the Tashkent district, irrigating 4.5 thousand hectares of land. After this success, in 1886 the Grand Duke began the construction of the Bukhar-Aryk Canal from the Syr Darya River. With the help of this canal it was planned to irrigate the Golodnaya steppe and to transfer the water of the river to the possessions of the Bukhara Emir. The Bukhar-aryk was built in 6 years and dug for 27 kilometres. On 9 May 1891, water was sent through the canal.
Unfortunately, this experience was unsuccessful. Due to technical miscalculations, the canal was soon out of order.
Despite this failure, in the autumn of 1891 N.K. Romanov began to build a new canal in the Hungry Steppe under the professional technical supervision of a group of experienced engineers. Its construction was completed in September 1895 and it irrigated 7.6 thousand hectares of land in the north-eastern part of the Hungry Steppe.
The villages of Dukhovskoye, Konnogvardeyskoye, Nadezhdinskoye, Nikolskoye, Romanovskoye, Spasskoye were established on the irrigated land. The Golodnostepskoe experimental field for breeding research was created on 200 hectares. A considerable part of the developed land was given to representatives of the indigenous population. A little later the Grand Duke ceded the irrigated lands and irrigation facilities to the state under certain conditions.
The authorities’ plans for irrigation in the Turkestan region became more active in the mid-1990s after the visit to Turkestan of the Minister of Agriculture and State Property, A.S. Ermolov. Substantial funds were allocated from the state budget for survey work, and a team of Russian engineers and technicians was sent from the Centre.
Preliminary surveys covered about 655 thousand hectares in the Syr Darya, Fergana and Samarkand regions. As a result of this research, which continued until 1900, eight irrigation projects were drawn up, covering a total area of about 229 thousand hectares and costing about 12 million roubles. The irrigation of the Hunger Steppe was again recognised as a priority.
To this end, a 37-kilometre main canal was to be built from the Syr Darya. A budget of 2.25 million roubles was allocated. The construction of the canal was supposed to be completed in 5 years, but due to numerous problems explained by the novelty of the case, the construction was delayed and the cost estimate increased to 7 million rubles.
Finally, in the autumn of 1913, the works were completed and on 5 October 1913, the canal was ceremonially opened. It was given the name “Romanovsky”. Thanks to this canal 38 thousand hectares were irrigated.
On the day of the canal’s inauguration, F.F. Tolmachev, the canal’s director, said: “Today is a holiday of culture, a holiday of engineering knowledge and art, which this time will serve the cause of unusual, rare – I would say, magical beauty, the cause of reviving the Hungry Steppe, the cause of turning the dead desert into a flowering oasis of the richest breadbasket in the very near future”.
By 1917 there were 17 settlements on the irrigated land of the Hungry Steppe, with 3677 families of new settlers. In addition, water from the Romanovsky canal, renamed the Northern Golodnostepsky canal after 1917, was used by the indigenous inhabitants of the kishlaks of the Begovat district (before 1917 – Nausskaya volost of the Khojent district).
The inhabitants received water free of charge. As a result, the kishlaks of the Begovat district were given an opportunity for more sustainable economic development, their population began to grow and quite settled farms were formed. Life, however was initially quite difficult. Malaria was often rampant. Frequent plagues of locusts were a disaster. New agricultural conditions were unfamiliar, especially the salinity of the soil, hot winds and irrigation. Eventually, thanks to the diligence and patience of the Russian peasants, their famine-stricken farms eventually achieved astonishing success, and life flourished.
The new power established after 1917 did not leave the Hungry Steppe unnoticed. As early as 1918, the country’s leadership passed a law ‘On the organisation of irrigation works in Turkestan’. Despite the civil war and intervention, the central government allocated 50 million roubles for the irrigation of 655.5 thousand hectares of land in the Hungry Steppe, the steppe zones of Dalverzin and Uch-Kurgan, intended for cotton fields.
Sharaf Rashidov made a colossal contribution to the development of the Hungry Steppe. As a result of the tasks of development and irrigation of virgin lands in the 60s and 70s, the economy grew considerably and Uzbekistan achieved a certain economic and social position among the republics of the Soviet Union. There were many difficulties, and the great merit of Sharaf Rashidov was to solve all the organisational problems. He was able to use every opportunity rationally to protect the interests of the people and raise their standard of living. His memories of this project became the basis for his novel “Winners”, which is still relevant today.
Yuri S. Flygin, Historian, publicist. Head of the Department of Historical Disciplines of the Tashkent Theological Seminary.
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 genre or the content of the piece. The novella itself is presented as a dramatic and florid retelling of a traditional Kashmiri legend about the cyclical change of seasons and the yearly triumph of the forces of life over the forces of death and decay. The novella’s narrative of natural wisdom is developed through the story of the all-conquering love between Bambur, the King of the Bees, and the spring narcissus, personified by Nargis and surrounded by other equally beautiful and life-loving flowers. Their antagonists, the cruel Blizzard and the enigmatic bringer of death, Harud, overwhelm the blossoming valley with their vile power but in the end are defeated, powerless against the love and the force of life embodied by the flowers, the bees, the trees and the sun shining down on the valley.
In August 1953 Sheikh Abdullah and a number of his associates were arrested by the Indian authorities, accused of conspiring with Pakistan (and thus also with the USA) against the Indian state with the aim of seceding from India and joining Pakistan. Nehru was apparently shocked when he saw the evidence of his former friend’s scheming against India. The infamous Kashmir Conspiracy Case began and there were demonstrations and civil disturbances all over the country. At the time it looked as if Nehru had managed to unravel the imperialist plot, and in 1955 the Soviet leaders Nicolay Bulganin and Nikita Khrushchev paid a triumphal visit to India to finally cement the victory of the left-wing forces over the capitalist reactionaries. But what does all this have to do with The Song of Kashmir?
Among that large Soviet delegation to India was Rashidov, who attended a performance of the first opera in the Kashmiri language written by the poet Dinanath Nadim (a major figure of the Cultural Conference, a progressive writer’s movement in Kashmir). The opera, Bombur taa Yamberzal (The Bee King and the Narcissus) was based on a traditional Kashmiri legend, radically re-worked by Nadim. According to Moti Lal Kemmu, a prominent playwright and theatre critic, who also took part in the performance, in our discussions the 1953 episode [the alleged conspiracy with Pakistan – AU] was attributed to imperialistic intrigue. Since the Cultural Conference was an organisation of progressive writers, artists and performers, it promoted cultural programmes reflecting the unity of all peace-loving Kashmiris and exposing imperialistic manoeuvring. Nadim decided to reflect this political position in his opera, which he created after a visit to China and influenced heavily by an opera he had seen called The White Haired Girl. This, one of the eight model operas of revolutionary China, told the story of a peasant couple who are separated by enemy figures, only to be reunited after the protagonist joins the Chinese revolutionary army fighting the Japanese invaders. The reunion is made possible by victory over the enemy and, simultaneously, the overthrow of an evil landowner who had held the girl in captivity. The plot, which parallels the liberation of the motherland and that of the fiancée in an act of courageous resistance at both romantic and political levels, was created within Socialist Realism and also became a template for several Asian writers. The Song of Kashmir was published in Uzbek (Kashmir qo’shig’i) in 1956, shortly after the Soviet delegation to India; in1958 it was translated into Russian, and in 1961 the Uzbek composer Georgy Muschel wrote a ballet based on the novella. In an article about the composer’s life, Lilia Nikolenko wrote: The ballet was created out of [Muschel’s] direct impressions of Sharaf Rashidov’s poem, The Song of Kashmir, which reflected a poetic Indian legend. The composer also wrote the libretto to the ballet, in which the common striving of the people of the East for independence and the triumph of peace and goodwill are manifested with power and passion.
It is interesting to see how the public discourse surrounding The Song of Kashmir gradually changed over time. Eventually it lost all reference to the opera Bombur taa Yamberzal and its significance for politics and society in Kashmir in the mid-1950s. Dinanath Nadim is mentioned only as a re-teller of an ancient Kashmiri legend. The politically significant identification of the
Kashmiri and Indian cultures is taken for granted and the plot as presented by Rashidov now symbolises the common effort of the peoples of the East in their struggle for independence. Political and literary references and remakes of The Song of Kashmir continued to proliferate, using a growing range of media.
In 1965 a cartoon, Nargis, was made in the USSR based on The Song of Kashmir. This version featured a doppelgänger motif and the dramatic death and resurrection of the protagonist. In 1967, twelve years after the first performance of Bombur taa Yamberzal, Dinanath Nadim’s opera received the Sahitya Academi Award for its contribution to the development of Kashmiri literature. According to the Kashmiri writer and blogger Vinayak
Razdan, in 1971, the Soviet government conferred on Nadim the Soviet Land Nehru Award, a prize given by the Soviet Union to selected Indian artists in recognition of their outstanding work.
In the late 1970s, in the context of growing tension between India and Pakistan, Rashidov, who by now had retired from literary work, re-published The Song of Kashmir with the additional commentary about the various possible interpretations of its plot. According to the Indian journalist Alok Shekhar, in 1984 Rashidov’s novella inspired and informed the famous Soviet-Indian film The Legend of Love. In another curious twist, another major Asian writer, Salman Rushdie, gave the name Bombur Yamberzal to one of his characters in Shalimar The Clown, a novel about Kashmir and the politics of the sub-continent that ripped apart the lives of those caught in the middle of the battleground. To underline the inherent contradiction within the plot, Rushdie named Bombur Yamberzal’s wife, Harud, a small but remarkable touch of his postmodernist irony. The resilience and flexibility of the legend is indeed remarkable.
By Shishir Raj. Advocate. Supreme Court of India. New Delhi
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 and kurduk.
The samsa is a flour based product. In Uzbek cuisine, it is usually round and traditionally baked in a tandoor, although triangular samsas baked in a gas oven is also common today. Even within Uzbekistan itself, samsa varies from region to region, and the discerning gourmet has the opportunity to experience a variety of different flavours by tasting, for example, The Alot samsa contains tomato, while the Samarkand samsa comes with a characteristic set of spices. There is even a Turkish Uzbek samsa with cheese, which has been invented relatively recently and is more for tourists. The Jizzakh samsa is considered a gastronomic masterpiece. It has long been a favourite dish of locals and visitors alike, and is considered the gastronomic trademark of Jizzakh. The way it is prepared surprises those who taste it. The secrets of samsa making have been handed down from generation to generation for several centuries. There is no unanimous opinion about how and when it first appeared, and each institution will tell you its own, different version.
What can be objectively said about the characteristics of Jizzakh samsa? First of all, its weight is astonishing. The size of the samsa is three or four times bigger than the average, and for tourists it can become a main course, after which there is no room to tast anything else!
Secondly, the samsa dough is very thin and the meat (usually mutton) is coarsely chopped. This allows the filling to be cooked so that it retains its juices and flavour. Onions and a little fat are also added to the filling to keep it juicy and rich in flavour. Because of its size, such a samsa is often eaten with a spoon, like soup.
Thirdly, the samsa is cooked in a vertical tandoor. The raw product is placed on the walls and cooked under the influence of dry heat and pressure. Curiously, despite its size it does not fall down in the tandoor. This is a secret of the Jizzakh masters.
Local people call it “Qipchoq somsa”, which means “samsa from Kipchak”. There is a saying: “If you have no physical strength left, go to Kipchak and eat samsa”. According to one version, this refers to the Kipchak mahalla (district) in Jizzakh.
If we take into account the climatic conditions of Jizzakh, we can explain the love and reverence felt locals for this dish. It is a fact that in Jizzakh there are very cold winters, during which a hot and juicy samsa will warm and fill you with strength, and during hot summers, it replaces a full meal. It should be noted that the flavour of this dish is therefore very difficult to reproduce elsewhere. This is due to the special climate, sun, water and air. Vegetables and grasses grown on this fertile land have a bright flavour.
Nowadays you can find many videos on YouTube and TikTok showing Jizzakh samsa from all angles, but this magnificent dish is worthy of personal acquaintance wherever you are from.
Historic Debut: Uzbekistan Hosts Inaugural World Coaching Championship During Eurasian Creative Week
From 22 to 29 June, Uzbekistan hosted the first international World Coaching Championship, as part of the 8th international festival Eurasian Creative Week. For the first time, the festival events took place in three cities of Uzbekistan: Tashkent, Khiva and Nukus.
The festival programme kicked off in Tashkent on 22 June in the Great Hall of TEAM University, where a charity ball was held by Silk Road Media Ltd. The event was dedicated to the 20th anniversary of the festival and brought together more than a hundred representatives of the business and cultural communities from Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Russia, USA, UK, India, Belarus, Finland, Germany, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Israel.
The ball was opened with a welcoming speech by Andrew Wachtel – Chairman of the Board of Directors of TEAM University (General Partner of the Charity Ball). Andrew told the international guests a little about the University and emphasised the importance of such events in strengthening international relations. The guests were then welcomed by Marat Akhmedjanov, founder and head of Silk Road Media Ltd holding (UK), the publishing house. Marat Ismailovich told about the history, mission and values of the holding and thanked everyone who could join the celebration of the company’s anniversary.
As the speaker of the event, Taina Kaunis, advisor to Silk Road Media Holding, noted, in 2024 the round date will be celebrated not only by the holding itself, but also by its projects. For example, the International OCA Magazine is celebrating its 15th anniversary, the Hertfordshire Press is celebrating its 10th anniversary and the Eurasian Creative Guild (London) is celebrating its 9th anniversary.
The guests of the ball, including the famous artist Alinur Rashidov, the director Aliaskar Fatkhullin, the internationally renowned composer Tolibkhon Shahidi, representatives of the diplomatic corps of the embassies of various countries in Uzbekistan, honoured cultural figures of Uzbekistan, as well as heads of large companies, got acquainted with the charitable projects of the holding. Special attention was paid to the publication of books by authors from Eurasian countries (Central Asia, Eastern Europe), the organisation of festivals and the promotion of the region’s creative people at the international level. More than 30 people supported the charitable work of Silk Road Media, showing their indifference. Elish & Superheroes, a unique project to create a comic book museum dedicated to autism and inclusion, received the most support from guests.
As part of the ball programme, the first international coaching championship of its kind, the World Coaching Championship (WCC), organised by Silk Road Media together with the general partner of the championship – the Elena Bezrukova Centre (Kazakhstan), was inaugurated. Elena Bezrukova herself, as the President of the Championship, greeted all the participants of both the competition and festival programmes of the Championship and pointed out that the coaches-competitors have already become the winners of the WCC and the determination of the winners will be held on 25 June. Sheikh Dawood, General Manager of Le Grande Plaza Hotel – also a partner of the festival – also offered words of support to the guests and participants of the WCC. He wished all participants good luck in the competition.
The New Silk Road Charity Ball was also the venue for the official launch of the first issue of the Eurasian Creative Guild magazine (London). The editor-in-chief of the issue, Guardian of ECG (London) Saltanat Khamzeeva (Kazakhstan) told about the main moments in the history of the issue and also thanked other members of ECG (London) who wrote articles for the issue, some of whom were present at the ball.
An important event and the highlight of the ball programme was the award ceremony of the commemorative medal named after Jonathan Fryer (UK) – writer, literary researcher and member of ECG (London). The medal was awarded for the contribution to the development and promotion of cultural projects of Eurasian countries at the international level. The medal was presented to
– Gulsifat Shahidi (Tajikistan) – prose writer, publicist, literary scholar, academician of the International Academy for the Development of Literature (MARLI), winner of many international awards.
– Gulnara Rashidova (Uzbekistan) – head of the Sharaf Rashidov Foundation, academician, public figure. The medal was received by Said Burkhanov, representative of the Foundation.
– Akmal Nur (Uzbekistan) – painter, People’s Artist of Uzbekistan, Laureate of the State Prize of Uzbekistan, full member of the Academy of Arts of Uzbekistan, Chairman of the Academy of Arts of Uzbekistan.
– Boris Babaev (Uzbekistan) – journalist, founder of Kultura.uz and Intellectual Club.
– Alexey Ulko (Uzbekistan) – researcher, linguist and art critic, participant and jury member of Central Asian festivals of literature and experimental cinema.
– Sirojiddin Rauf (Uzbekistan) – Editor-in-chief of the magazines ‘Sharq Yulduzi’ and ‘Zvezda Vostoka’ (‘The Star of the East’).
– Lola Saifi (Uzbekistan) – Founder of the Human House Gallery.
The medal was presented by Marat Akhmedjanov and honorary co-chair of the ball Gulsim Batyr – President of Tashkent Women International Group. She noted the importance of such platforms for self-realisation, communication and creative development of women as ECG (London).
Ball guests also enjoyed a concert programme by the Avicenna vocal duo and the NAVO folk ensemble from Uzbekistan, who performed on folk instruments to the delight of the international guests.
On 23-24 June, with the help of Anna Lari, co-founder of ECG (London) and director of the festival programme, master classes and trainings were held by leading coaches of the World Coaching Championship (WCC) – Marina Galiy, Marina Alyassova, Natalia Gerasimova, Gennady Gorovoy, Viktor Grebennikov, Artem Volsky, Vladislava Baimagambetova, Kuralay Nurkadilova, Taina Kaunis.
The winners of the championship were
1st place – Natalia Gerasimova (Israel) and Vladislava Baimaganbetova (Kazakhstan)
2nd place – Marina Alyassova (Russia) and Artem Volsky (Kazakhstan)
3rd place – Gennady Gorovoy (Israel) and Marina Galiy (Kazakhstan)
“For breadth and boldness of thinking” – Susanna Akopyan (Armenia)
“For harmonious combination of family and educational activities” – Zhanara Riffert (UK)
“For systematic and authorial view of women’s development” – Anna Gharib (UK)
“For the aesthetic presentation of information” – Karina Kay (Italy)
“For the symbiosis of professions that develop a person” – Indira Laktaeva (USA)
“For the development of erudition” – Marina Galiy (Kazakhstan)
“For the ability to listen to others” – Marina Alyassova (Russia)
“For the ability to work with the emotions of the audience” – Natalia Gerasimova (Israel)
“For a vivid example of dedication to his dream” – Gennady Gorovoy (Israel)
“For the development of entrepreneurial thinking” – Artyom Volsky (Kazakhstan)
“For active citizenship in education” – Vladislava Baimaganbetova (Kazakhstan)
“For professional generosity” – Victor Grebennikov (Kazakhstan)
“For exemplifying resilience and vitality” – Kuralay Nurkadilova (Kazakhstan)
“For effective multitasking” – Taina Kaunis (Finland)
We thank the WCC jury:
Elena Bezrukova
Maria Muchinskaya
Nodira Abdullaeva
Viktor Grebennikov
Kuralay Nurkadilova
25 June took place:
– Presentation of animated video aids on ecology and psychology by Elvira Zhusupbekova.
– Poetry lesson with the Belarusian poet Maria Muchinskaya.
– Creative meeting of writers and editors with Saltanat Khamzeyeva.
– Advice and recommendations from Central Asia’s first literary agency by Bakhtygul Makhanbetova.
On 26 June, participants travelled to the legendary city of Khiva, where their day began with a creative quest “Sands of Time: In the Footsteps of Pakhlavan Mahmud” around the historical complex of Ichan-Kala. As part of the creative quest, the guests learned the story of Pakhlavan Mahmud, an outstanding thinker and fighter, tanner and madrasa teacher. In the evening of the same day, the festival participants shared their most vivid impressions and surprising discoveries, as well as the works created during the day. The guests paid special attention to the fact that even a simple man like Pakhlavan Mahmud was able to earn such love and respect from the people that it was an honour for Khans to be buried at his feet (historical fact – the mausoleum of the Khans of Khorezm is located in the building built around the workshop and then the tomb of Pakhlavan Mahmud, which became and remains a place of pilgrimage). The evening, thanks to the Khimiyat of Khiva, was decorated with a concert of folklore and ethnographic folk ensembles “Saikal” and “Doston”. On 27 June, Elena Bezrukova, the President of the World Coaching Championship (WCC), held a master class for the guests to regain their strength, as they had two busy days ahead of them.
On 28 June, the participants of the festival left for Nukus.
The Discovery Travel Forum, unique in its format and content, was held in the conference hall of the ASEM Hotel, which is traditionally characterised by an applied working format. Representatives of the hospitality industry had the opportunity to learn from a Kyrgyz expert, Marina Bashmanova, about the art tourism trend relevant to the region (this trend was selected in advance in dialogue with the Tourism Department of Karakalpakstan). The discussion on world practice in this field aroused great interest among the participants. International experience in tourism development through creative industries was also shared by Taina Kaunis, consultant of the British holding Silk Road Media, who particularly emphasised the prospects of developing cinema as an attraction for the region. Vladislava Baimagambetova, a business coach from the Elena Bezrukova Centre (Almaty, Kazakhstan), provided the Forum participants with unique practical information on international requirements for organising work in the tourism industry. Elena Bezrukova, the founder of the Centre and a business coach with over twenty years’ experience, led a training session for the participants, which allowed them to take a fresh look at the opportunities they already had for business development.
The creative members of the delegation – poets, writers and artists – were given a tour and mini-lecture by Tigran Mkrtychev, Director of the Savitsky Museum. During the tour of the exposition, he told the guests about the historical contribution of Igor Savitsky to the treasury of international art.
In the evening of the same day, the legendary Savitsky Museum hosted an exhibition of Igor Savitsky’s works. On the evening of the same day, the legendary Savitsky Museum hosted the immersive exhibition “Treasures of the Silk Road”, which became a true artistic event and revealed the splendour of the cultural heritage of the Eurasian region. The show included the immersive exhibition itself (projections and “animation” of paintings on the walls of the museum building), a concert and the presentation of the British art catalogue “The Great Steppe Treasure”.
The exhibition was organised by the British non-profit organisation Eurasian Creative Guild (Silk Road Media Holding) with the support of Tigran Mkrtychev, Director of the Savitsky State Museum of Art, and the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Karakalpakstan (Uzbekistan).
A unique exhibition of works by artists from the UK, Lithuania, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Belarus and Uzbekistan unfolded on the walls of the Igor Savitsky Museum. They embodied their vision of the richness and diversity of visual images – paintings and photographs – of the Eurasian space. The works of Maria Yanovskaya, Rozalinda Abdykadyrova, Larisa Pak, Shayzada Bakenova, Olesya Davidovskaya, Maria Muchinskaya, Polina Lakhtina and others were exhibited. It was not just an exhibition of paintings, but a real immersion into the world of art, where each painting became a window into the majestic cultural heritage of the region. This was emphasised by the inclusion of classical paintings from the museum’s own collection alongside works by contemporaries.
Musical accompaniment to the projections in the darkness of the night and urban lighting created a fully immersive experience. “It was an incredible experience to be immersed in the cultural heritage of Eurasia. Seeing the exhibition in such a unique place as the Igor Savitsky Museum was truly exhilarating. I thank the organisers for the opportunity to dive into this world of art and history! – commented Gennady Gorovoy, a guest from Israel.
The event was attended by over 100 guests, including residents of Nukus as well as delegates from various countries, including Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Russia, the UK, Belarus, Finland and Israel.
The festival is organised by the British non-profit organisation Silk Road Media Ltd – Eurasian Creative Guild (London) with the support and participation of Le Grande Plaza Hotel (Tashkent), Bek Tashkent, Bek Khiva, ACEM (Nukus), ARAL (Nukus), Council of Ministers of Karakalpakstan, Savitsky Museum (Nukus), Khiva City Hokimiyat, Ichan-Kala Museum (Tashkent), Human House Gallery (Tashkent), TEAM University (Tashkent) and Ichan-Kala Museum (Nukus). We are grateful to the Council of Ministers of Karakalpakstan, Savitsky Museum (Nukus), Khokimiyat of Khiva, Ichan-Kala Museum, Human House Gallery (Tashkent), TEAM University (Tashkent), AkSai Travel Agency (Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan). Special thanks to General Lessons Educational Centre for providing a team of volunteers and premises.
Eurasian Creative Guild (London) for 12 years of festivals has united more than 11,000 participants from 83 countries of the world, becoming the largest and most prestigious platform for the promotion of creativity of Eurasian artists. Follow us on social networks.
ECG World Championship Coaching: A Celebration of Creativity and Enlightenment in Uzbekistan
ECG World Championship Coaching and Eurasian Creative Week will be held in Uzbekistan (Tashkent, Khiva, Nukus) from June 22 to 29. The event is organised by the Eurasian Creative Guild and the Elena Bezrukov Center. Participants of the festival are coaches and artists from Kazakhstan, Israel, USA, Italy, Finland, Belarus, Great Britain, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and other countries.
The championship will include trainings and master classes from outstanding coaches Marina Galiy “The Phenomenon of Lying”, Marina Alyasova “The Joy of Living in the Age of Change”, Viktor Grebennikov “How to Break Your Financial Ceiling?”, Taina Kaunis, “From Unpacking Personality to Brand Packaging”, Artem Volskiy “Weekly Planning”, Gennady Gorovoy, “How to turn defeat into victory?”, Kuralai Nurkadilova “How to Become a Global Brand?”, Nodira Abdullaeva, Vladislava Vityazeva and others.
“During the ECG World Championship Coaching and Eurasian Creative Week, we are thrilled to provide a platform that fosters creativity, learning, and personal development. This event embodies our commitment to empowering individuals to unleash their full potential and embrace the ever-evolving world around us. We invite everyone to join us for this celebration of innovation, knowledge, and inspiration.” – Elena Bezrukova,President of the Championship.
On the 25thof June, the championship will explore the theme of literature, featuring appearances by editors, publishers, literary critics, and poets.
There will be an opportunity to hear advice and recommendations from the first literary agent in Central Asia Bakhtygul Makhanbetova, professional editor Saltanat Khamzeyeva will talk frankly about the meaning and benefits of writing books, and publisher from London Marat Akhmedjanov will give a speech on the theme: Development of personal brand through publishing. Maria Muchinskaya, a poet from Belarus, will read poetry. And the poetess from Kazakhstan Elvira Zhussupbekova will raise an important topic of ecology and immerse the audience in the world of author’s poetry “Soul Poetry Therapy ”.
Further events will unfold in Khiva on June 26th and 27th, followed by a presentation of the new issue of the art catalogue “Treasure Trove of the Great Steppe” and more at the Savitsky Museum on June 28th and 29th.
On 28th June, an immersive exhibition of paintings in the “Louvre in the Desert” by artists from UK, Kazakhstan, Russia, Kyrgyzstan, Germany, Lithuania, Belarus will be held. The works of Maria Yanovskaya, Xeniya Dubovaya, Alina Khayrudinova, Roza Red, Shaizada Baikenova and others will be shown.
The ECG World Championship Coaching and Eurasian Creative Week is indeed shaping up to be an exceptional celebration of creativity, knowledge, and cultural exchange, offering an unparalleled opportunity to immerse oneself in a world of inspiration and education.
On May 24-28, the 6th ECG Film Festival will be held at Premier Cinemas Romford in the UK. This festival is proudly joining forces with the renowned Romford Film Festival for the 6th consecutive year, promising a diverse and captivating lineup of films.
Founded by the Eurasia Creative Guild. Serving as a cultural bridge between Eurasia and the British audience, this event aims to foster a deeper understanding and appreciation of cinematic and artistic expressions from the region.
With approximately 100 submissions from 22 different countries, the festival has curated a selection of compelling movies from Spain, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, UK, Iran, Uzbekistan, Russia, Cyprus, Kyrgyzstan, Jordan, Tajikistan, Armenia and China. It’s a truly international showcase of cinematic talent!
In addition to the competition lineup, there will be a special non-competitive program organised. Some films will be thought-provoking, others will make the whole family smile, and others will be informative and educational.
Icon directed by Vera Storozheva (drama)
Aul Challenge directed by Islam Satyrov (family comedy)
3723 Voznesensky directed by Valery Belov (documentary)
Cherkess directed by Mohydeen Quandour (drama)
And mark your calendars for the grand opening ceremony on 24th May at 2.00 pm, where we will unveil an exhibition of Central Asian artists, including headliner Rahima Makhmut from Kyrgyzstan.
In continuation of the opening of the festival, the book by Gulsifat Shahidi, a writer from Tajikistan, will be presented.
After the audience enjoys the films of the film festival an award ceremony awaits them.
The excitement doesn’t stop there! Save the date for the awards ceremony on May 28th at 19:00, where the winners from both festivals will be celebrated. ECG will present awards for Best Eurasian Film, Best Short Film, Best Documentary, and Best Screenplay.
Let’s not forget to express our heartfelt gratitude to the esteemed members of our jury. Their expertise, dedication, and discerning taste have been instrumental in shaping the festival’s lineup and recognizing the outstanding talent showcased. We extend our sincerest thanks for their invaluable contribution to the VI ECG Film Festival, and we look forward to celebrating their collective wisdom during the awards ceremony. Thank you, jury members, for your unwavering commitment to the art of cinema!
From 24-28 May, British audiences will immerse themselves in the world of Eurasian cinema, discover new perspectives and celebrate the art of storytelling at the ECG Film Festival (http://eurasianfilmfestival.uk) . The opportunity to unite different cultures through the art of cinema is truly something special.
The practice of international and local conferences is not new. It is a very effective way to focus on a particular issue or area of research and to get multiple views to discuss. But as soon as we shift the POV from discussing the topic in general to some very practical decisions and troubleshooting, we have a kind of bottleneck. On the one hand we have international summits and forums and etc with a very broad agenda and a lot of common toolboxes that are directly useless for any single region (the smaller the region, the less things to do it can get as a summary). On the other hand, local events are deeply linked to the situation within the region and often have no capacity to rise above it. That’s not to say they’re all useless, not at all, just not as effective at troubleshooting as regions need them to be.
What is the solution? Let’s take a look at the experience of the OCA Magazine project called Discovery Travel Forum. It has a history of more than twenty years and was designed specifically for the development of the tourism sector in Central Asia and the CIS countries.
In 2023, we changed the format from a classic panel and workshops with international speakers for the local audience to a hybrid of roundtables, brainstorming sessions and case studies where world experts, local officials, business and community work together on very practical issues and share their experiences with each other.
The first ‘strategic session’ of its kind took place in 2023 in Burabay National Park and Resort, Kazakhstan, and included two key steps. The first was an in-depth analysis of the picture of the region in detail, which was essential for setting the goals of the Discovery Travel Forum. So, in June 2023, the OCA team held a round table with the officials and hoteliers of the Burabay region. The main focus of the conference was the question: what do international tourists expect from a trip to Burabay and what are they willing to pay for? Participants at the event received an answer from a highly experienced traveller, Gareth Stamp, originally British, living in Bulgaria and working in the UK, Kazakhstan and now Nairobi for many years. He pointed out that the demographics of tourism are changing and that the modern, well-to-do traveller is someone over 45 who is not looking for adventure, but is also not looking to just relax in a spa (especially as Central Asian countries cannot yet offer these services at least at the same level as resorts in other parts of the world). “We want to show our friends unusual photos, souvenirs and handicrafts. After all, we want to share great stories,” says Gareth. That’s why the region needs the brand to attract not only inbound tourists and backpackers, but also the international affluent audience.
The practice of international and local conferences is not new. It is a very effective way to focus on a particular issue or area of research and to get multiple views to discuss. But as soon as we shift the POV from discussing the topic in general to some very practical decisions and troubleshooting, we have a kind of bottleneck. On the one hand we have international summits and forums and etc with a very broad agenda and a lot of common toolboxes that are directly useless for any single region (the smaller the region, the less things to do it can get as a summary). On the other hand, local events are deeply linked to the situation within the region and often have no capacity to rise above it. That’s not to say they’re all useless, not at all, just not as effective at troubleshooting as regions need them to be.
What is the solution? Let’s take a look at the experience of the OCA Magazine project called Discovery Travel Forum. It has a history of more than twenty years and was designed specifically for the development of the tourism sector in Central Asia and the CIS countries.
In 2023, we changed the format from a classic panel and workshops with international speakers for the local audience to a hybrid of roundtables, brainstorming sessions and case studies where world experts, local officials, business and community work together on very practical issues and share their experiences with each other.
The first ‘strategic session’ of its kind took place in 2023 in Burabay National Park and Resort, Kazakhstan, and included two key steps. The first was an in-depth analysis of the picture of the region in detail, which was essential for setting the goals of the Discovery Travel Forum. So, in June 2023, the OCA team held a round table with the officials and hoteliers of the Burabay region. The main focus of the conference was the question: what do international tourists expect from a trip to Burabay and what are they willing to pay for? Participants at the event received an answer from a highly experienced traveller, Gareth Stamp, originally British, living in Bulgaria and working in the UK, Kazakhstan and now Nairobi for many years. He pointed out that the demographics of tourism are changing and that the modern, well-to-do traveller is someone over 45 who is not looking for adventure, but is also not looking to just relax in a spa (especially as Central Asian countries cannot yet offer these services at least at the same level as resorts in other parts of the world). “We want to show our friends unusual photos, souvenirs and handicrafts. After all, we want to share great stories,” says Gareth. That’s why the region needs the brand to attract not only inbound tourists and backpackers, but also the international affluent audience.
The second stage was the Discovery Travel Forum (DTF) itself in September 2023. The group of experts from the UK, Poland, Finland, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan arrived in Burabay a few days before the DTF to take a look at the region. They had plenty of time to immerse themselves in the tourist life of the town of Shchuchinsk (one of the most expensive zones of the resort), so at the session they built their presentations around the pool of observations. The local speakers – hoteliers and community activists – shared their vision of the problems of tourism in the region.
The local participants pointed out that in Burabay all agents of a market are out of sync, and this is one of the main problems. Officials write some programmes based on European experience, but not based on the regional specifics, each hotel and resort plays its own games fighting for the current inbound clients, and a community does not know how to attract tourists. Natalie Bays, the director of NoCollective (UK), made a comparison between the city of Shchuchinsk and Romford (London) as tourist destinations. Natalie is one of the active business communities in Romford, influencing its cultural and economic development, so she has a lot of successful cases of destination marketing to share with the participants. First of all, you need to build a local business community working on investment and development in Burabay with a common strategy to inform each other. And you should involve the locals more, that is the most important thing to survive in the area,’ she said. The same position was discussed by Adam Siemienczyk, who has experience in both the UK and Poland. He spoke more about local services as an important part of the economy of experience.
Marina Bashmanova, one of the most experienced figures in experiential and creative tourism in Kyrgyzstan, gave a colourful and highly informative presentation on art tours, their economy and impact on the region. It was the key point of the DTF where all participants got a new perspective for the development of the region. Marat Akhmedjanov, publisher and founder of the Eurasian Creative Guild, also shared his twenty years of experience in publishing travel guides and promoting the territories through literature, visual arts and international events such as festivals and forums.
All the cases and solutions were discussed by the speakers representing Kazakhstan – Elena Bezrukova, business coach on HoReCa from Almaty, Artyom Volsky, one of the most successful hoteliers of Burabay resort, and Nadezhda Atremieva as a blogger and social activist of Burabay. All colleagues noted that the session gave them a lot of real solutions to put into practice. At the same time, the session allowed us to identify some serious limitations that make growth very slow and ineffective. First of all, it’s the lack of experience of HoReCa business owners in this area. Most owners invested in the “boxes” and expected a very short-term ROI and low re-investment, which doesn’t work well for the sustainability of the tourism sector.
This strategic session shows the highest effectiveness in terms of unboxing the region in 3D format and discussing the use of all technologies and practices directly with experts.
by Taina Kaunis, an expert in integrated marketing communications and branding
The local participants pointed out that in Burabay all agents of a market are out of sync, and this is one of the main problems. Officials write some programmes based on European experience, but not based on the regional specifics, each hotel and resort plays its own games fighting for the current inbound clients, and a community does not know how to attract tourists. Natalie Bays, the director of NoCollective (UK), made a comparison between the city of Shchuchinsk and Romford (London) as tourist destinations. Natalie is one of the active business communities in Romford, influencing its cultural and economic development, so she has a lot of successful cases of destination marketing to share with the participants. First of all, you need to build a local business community working on investment and development in Burabay with a common strategy to inform each other. And you should involve the locals more, that is the most important thing to survive in the area,’ she said. The same position was discussed by Adam Siemienczyk, who has experience in both the UK and Poland. He spoke more about local services as an important part of the economy of experience.
Marina Bashmanova, one of the most experienced figures in experiential and creative tourism in Kyrgyzstan, gave a colourful and highly informative presentation on art tours, their economy and impact on the region. It was the key point of the DTF where all participants got a new perspective for the development of the region. Marat Akhmedjanov, publisher and founder of the Eurasian Creative Guild, also shared his twenty years of experience in publishing travel guides and promoting the territories through literature, visual arts and international events such as festivals and forums.
All the cases and solutions were discussed by the speakers representing Kazakhstan – Elena Bezrukova, business coach on HoReCa from Almaty, Artyom Volsky, one of the most successful hoteliers of Burabay resort, and Nadezhda Atremieva as a blogger and social activist of Burabay. All colleagues noted that the session gave them a lot of real solutions to put into practice. At the same time, the session allowed us to identify some serious limitations that make growth very slow and ineffective. First of all, it’s the lack of experience of HoReCa business owners in this area. Most owners invested in the “boxes” and expected a very short-term ROI and low re-investment, which doesn’t work well for the sustainability of the tourism sector.
This strategic session shows the highest effectiveness in terms of unboxing the region in 3D format and discussing the use of all technologies and practices directly with experts.
by Taina Kaunis, an expert in integrated marketing communications and branding
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 in armchairs but instead become the main characters and actively participate in the action. Following the audio guide, they are constantly on the move and led through secret paths in the centre of Bishkek. Along the way, they are presented with opportunities to engage with the city and each other. Although the immersive audio performance format is not new, this experience offers a unique and exciting way to explore the city. Audio plays are a great alternative to traditional tours, which can often be dull and fact-heavy. They allow tourists to uncover the secrets behind the facades of houses and museums, revealing fascinating stories. The main function of this format is to promote the brand of the territory by creating a romanticised image of the city. This image is what tourists fall in love with and then enthusiastically share with their friends, acquaintances, and social media followers. Such recommendations organically increase the region’s tourist attractiveness.
However, the sociocultural project ‘Connections’ not only included a lyrical component in the guide for first-time tourists in Bishkek, but also aimed to support the cultural integration of newcomers into the vibrant life of the Kyrgyzstan capital. Unlike many projects that reveal the history of key places in the city through a literary monologue or character interaction, ‘Connections’ focuses on fostering a deeper understanding of the city’s culture.
The main character, Baha (Bakyt), builds friendly relationships with the city’s guests and reveals the boundaries of the upper, middle, and lower worlds. Viewers discover Bishkek through the personal stories of its residents and learn important subtleties of how to become a local in the city. “Connections” is based on stories from contemporaries about the past, personal stories and little-known facts that create an indescribable atmosphere of mystery and intrigue, captivating the reader from the very beginning and not letting go until the last step. Therefore, “Connections” makes the city an attractive tourist destination not only for external visitors but also for residents of Bishkek.
According to the project’s creators, Vyacheslav Koshelev and Sergey Makarov, the project’s history is interesting and fraught with difficulties. Despite these challenges, the project was successfully launched and well-received by the public. However, due to the format’s relative inaccessibility and the discomfort of walks lasting over two hours in winter, the project’s ‘theatre season’ is limited to March through November. However, the main challenge was the urban environment.
The project aims to showcase not only the tourist attractions of Bishkek but also the daily life of its residents. Therefore, the route was designed to pass through authentic courtyards. Negotiating with local residents was necessary to ensure that tourists have unobstructed passage through the city. This can be a challenging task in a constantly developing metropolis.
Additionally, it is important to consider the accessibility of the urban environment for people with disabilities, pregnant women, and the elderly. Unfortunately, some areas of Bishkek’s urban environment are not yet accessible, and this issue has yet to be resolved by ‘Connections’.
Currently, ‘Connections’ is preparing for the opening of the 2024 season with an immersive audio performance, which offers prospects for new partnerships. Negotiations are underway to create similar performances in Karakol and Osh, as well as in Uzbekistan.
THE CREATIVE INDUSTRIES AS A NEWDRIVING FORCE FOR THE CONOMICDEVELOPMENT OF KAZAKHSTAN
We use the products of the creative industries every day: for example, when we look at social media, watch films, listen to music, walk around town or go shopping. The creative economy sector includes art, design, fashion, animation, computer game development, architecture and urbanism, film, television, new media, music and sound design, marketing and communications, publishing, journalism, creative education and others. Creative industries are one of the key drivers of the modern economy. The 29.5 million jobs in the creative industries are more than the automotive industry in Europe, the US and Japan combined (25 million).
For a long time, creativity in Kazakhstan was considered an unprofitable endeavor. But the situation has changed. Creativity is in demand in many areas of life, especially after the pandemic. Today, to make a profit, companies need to stand out – to create a unique product, to find new ways of interacting with customers and to keep them interested. Creative industries help solve these problems. Creative industries grow even in times of crisis because there are no fixed factors of production – it is the creative activity of people that needs brains. This creates new businesses, which in turn create new jobs.
Today, 95 thousand people are employed in the creative industry, investments in fixed capital amount to 33.3 billion tenge, the number of operating business entities is 32 thousand units, and the contribution of the creative industry to the economy of Kazakhstan is about 2.7%. Creative industries are developing in Astana, Almaty and Shymkent. In general, creative industries have a positive impact on public life and we need to strengthen our work in this direction.
Creative industries have a high gross value added. Over 10 years, this indicator has tripled in Kazakhstan, but the share of the creative industries in Kazakhstan’s GDP has remained the same – around 3%. For comparison, countries with developed creative economies spend on average 19 times more than Kazakhstan on supporting the creative industries as a percentage of GDP. Today, the problem of developing the creative economy in Kazakhstan is being actively studied and various solutions are being sought. The state also understands the need to develop the creative economy.
On 30 November 2021, the Government of Kazakhstan approved the concept of development of the creative economy for 2021-2025. According to this document, by 2025 the contribution of creative industries to Kazakhstan’s economy should increase to 5%; employment in creative industries – up to 4%; the number of SMEs in creative industries – 1.5 times.
The concept is expected to result in the creation of 30,000 new jobs and an increase in exports of creative industry products by $200 million. Since the beginning of 2022, the Ministry of Culture and Sports of the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Department of Creative Tourism and Creative Industries of JSC “NC “Kazakh Tourism” have been working on promoting the legislative inclusion of creative industries in the Law “On Culture” and the Code of Entrepreneurship. The head of state signed a law formalizing the concept of creative industries in Kazakhstan. The task of developing creative industries was outlined by the President in his address to the people of Kazakhstan. The key principles of development should be the equality of academic (museums, biennials, exhibitions, public art) and market integration (auctions, fairs, galleries, art consulting), where the development of art and its commercialization (monetization) will be equally important for the state, as well as the maximum removal of industries from the shadows.
When we talk about the development of creative industries in the regions, there are already a number of positive effects. For example, the increase in the cost of housing in the area of the main attractions. Such attractions can be creative clusters and visitor centres, guesthouses, etc. In Astana, the creative centre Ozge Epic gathers creative intellectuals on its premises. It hosts theatre productions and creative evenings that address important social issues. At the end of 2023, the Art Hub Amanat creative centre was opened in Shymkent. This is a successful and colourful project aimed at developing and supporting Made in KZ products. It showcases the products of Kazakh producers of clothing, textiles, footwear and accessories. It also hosts master classes, fashion shows, music and creative evenings. Now that centre is looking for an investor to open a special gastronomic café.
It is worth noting that Kazakhstan’s gastronomy is also becoming extremely interesting for the local and global market. For example, the city of Almaty was ranked 25th in the prestigious list of “52 places to visit in the New Year” published by the New York Times. “The growing importance of gastronomic culture is increasingly visible in Almaty. The ‘neo-nomadic’ cuisine, based on flour, water and meat, is taking on innovative forms,” the publication notes. Many have already heard of Tary Ethno cafe, one of Kazakhstan’s most popular cafes, which has expanded its presence by opening a branch in Chicago in October 2023.
More generally, creative clusters and cities attract citizens and tourists and serve as a platform for the manifestation of local entrepreneurship. According to the Office for National Statistics, as of 1 January 2023, the creative industry included 248.2 thousand active legal entities and individual entrepreneurs, or 13.8% of all legal entities and 13.1% of all individual entrepreneurs.
To date, major local and international projects have been realized in the country. A breakthrough project was the release of the first virtual clothing collection for the physical brand Global Nomads in cooperation with the agency Digit IN, which was placed on the NFT platform and became the start of a new project – the Astana Ballet Theatre plans to create a collection of virtual ballet costumes and place them on the NFT platform. The Digital Bridge International IT Forum in 2023 brought together more than 30,000 participants, including delegations from 30 countries, representatives of more than 300 IT companies, 450 speakers, more than 100 investors and business angels, and more than 150 start-ups. I moderated a session on creative industries with Timur Bekmambetov, Ernist Umetaliev, Ernar Kurmashev, Mikhail Bychenok and Olzhas Baimagambetov. Each of the speakers represents different areas of the creative industries and works with famous artists around the world. And all participants noted how the situation in this segment has changed positively in our country over the last 2-3 years.
Today, countries, cities and regions within the country, as well as individual companies, are competing for the best specialists, leaders of extraordinary ideas and creators of innovations. I would say that “creativity is a national trait of Kazakhstanis” and we can make a powerful breakthrough through the creative sector in the next 5-7 years.
by Irina Kharitonova, Expert on cultural and creative industries in Central Asia, Europe and the CIS, Director of the Public Foundation for Sustainable Development of Central Asia Creative & Innovation Institute
TOURISM INDUSTRY IN THE CENTRAL ASIAN REGION: KEY CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR SUSTAINABLE FUTURE
The Central Asian region, including Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, is famous for its picturesque landscapes, diverse cultures and rich history. In recent years, the region has emerged as a promising destination for international travellers seeking unique experiences in remote locations. The cultural heritage, eco-tourism, adventure and wellness sectors will continue to grow and attract new visitors. The rapid development of tourism is uneven and usually reveals some gaps in the industry landscape and can be used as a point for further improvement of initial plans and strategies.
Most of these challenges are organic to relatively new and rapidly developing destinations, and the only strategy is to turn them into opportunities through long-term planning and systematic implementation. They are clearly recognised by regional governments and key stakeholders, and great efforts are being made to improve them, although it’s a never-ending process.
1) Infrastructure development Central Asian countries have made significant investments in infrastructure development to improve accessibility for tourists and enhance the overall tourist experience. Airports have been modernised and new ones built, such as Nursultan Nazarbayev International Airport in Kazakhstan and Samarkand International Airport in Uzbekistan. Road networks have been improved, making it easier to travel between cities, and attractions and accommodation have been developed. Global hotel chains are already present in the region, with more than 60 properties currently operating and more in the pipeline for the next few years.
2) Heritage conservation The preservation and restoration of historical sites and cultural heritage is a priority in Central Asia. Preserving and restoring historic sites and cultural heritage is critical to attracting tourists. Governments and organisations in Central Asia are actively investing in these efforts to provide an authentic and immersive experience for visitors. Uzbekistan’s UNESCO World Heritage sites, including the historic centres of Samarkand, Bukhara and Khiva, have undergone extensive renovations. Kazakhstan’s Khoja Ahmed Yasawi Mausoleum and Kyrgyzstan’s Sulaiman-Too Sacred Mountain have also received attention for their conservation.
3) Regional cooperation Central Asian countries have recognised the importance of regional cooperation in promoting tourism. Initiatives such as the Silk Road Tourism Development Association, which includes member countries and international partners, are promoting cooperation in marketing, infrastructure development and policy frameworks to unlock the region’s collective potential. They focus on joint marketing campaigns, sharing best practice and facilitating cross-border travel to maximise the potential of the Silk Road route.
But none of the above challenges, however important, can be met without mentioning the crucial one – the quality of human capital for the tourism industry and services.
The education system is the foundation for this. While tourism and related sectors are developing rapidly with their needs for professionals, the education system itself is more conservative and not as flexible to respond to the current demands of the industry. Higher education is primarily focused on academic indicators and quantitative parameters rather than the needs of the industry, although some universities have successfully implemented contemporary curricula and collaborated with global institutions for joint programmes and dual diplomas. But the results of this activity won’t be seen very soon, it’s a long-term perspective.
In order to support the industry with quality human capital, educational institutions should be organised as a system, involving young people in discovering and enjoying the tourism, hospitality and service sectors before entering universities. Foundation and induction courses for secondary school students will enable them to make sensible choices for further education and a successful future. But a major role in providing professional human capital for the industry should be played by vocational education and training – with narrower and more practical modules, short-term programmes, industry partnerships and educational support from globally recognised players. The next issue is that young people often do not see the tourism sector as prestigious enough for their careers and are not satisfied with the offers and salary levels after graduation. In this case, the sooner they start taking real steps into the industry, the sooner they will master their skills and improve their career path.
What is more, once they are in the industry, they will return to education to update and refine their skills, to acquire new relevant tools for their own projects and, for some of them, to continue as certified coaches or trainers.
So, the concept of lifelong learning, truly linked to the specifics and needs of the industry, is the most relevant strategy for the quality of human capital. With this in mind, many new hotels, restaurants, travel agencies and related services will be opened and operated in the Central Asian region in the coming years. And in order to make it happen with a consistently high level of service, we should start today to implement the best contemporary educational practices, involve the young generation to enjoy tourism and create their successful careers, along with building a sustainable future for Central Asia.
by Artem Klykov, PhD, MBA Professor of Tourism Silk Road International University of Tourism and Cultural Heritage, Samarkand SWISSAM University, Saint Petersburg
Uzbekistan is the only country in Central Asia that borders every country in the region. Uzbekistan is one of only two countries in the world that does not even have neighbours with access to the sea (the other being Liechtenstein). The oldest cities in Uzbekistan are over 2750 years old (Samarkand, for example, is as old as Rome and is one of the oldest cities in the world). Uzbekistan is the only country in the world where more than 90% of the cars are Chevrolets, and more than half of them are white.
These are not all the amazing facts that tourists will encounter while travelling around the country. The Republic of Uzbekistan has made remarkable progress in structural transformation, improving the investment climate and creating a freer, more transparent and level playing field for entrepreneurs, and has improved its position in international rankings on investment climate and doing business, despite the negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Since 2016, more than 100 regulatory legal acts have been adopted to develop the tourism sector in Uzbekistan, with a number of state programmes have been adopted, which have demonstrated their high efficiency. Large-scale measures and reforms in the development of tourism infrastructure, diversification of tourism products of different profiles have led to the dynamic attraction of tourists to Uzbekistan.
The main problem of tourism development is the insufficiently developed system of transport aviation logistics, insufficient coverage by flights of promising tourism markets. Although in recent years systematic work has been carried out to increase the number of flights by foreign airlines, 6 new national airlines of Uzbekistan have been opened to serve foreign and domestic flights. In the current conditions of globalisation, Uzbekistan is trying to provide full access to modern interactive opportunities and remove all existing technical barriers. Cardinal liberalisation of the visa regime (visa-free regime with 93 countries, electronic visas with 57 countries, transit visas with a stay of 5 days for citizens of 53 countries) allowed for a short period of time to ensure a cardinal, essentially annual growth of tourists in the amount of 30% per year in the period before the pandemic.
Visitors from neighbouring countries accounted for the largest share of visits to Uzbekistan in 2022, with 81% of the total tourist flow. At the same time, the most significant increase in flows from other CIS countries in 2023 will come from Russia (by 12% compared to 2019), despite the fact that tourists from Russia already account for more than 80% of the total tourist flow from CIS countries outside Central Asia. Among non-CIS travellers, Uzbekistan is most popular with citizens of Turkey, India, South Korea, Germany, Italy and US.
Uzbekistan has a huge potential and is gaining its worthy place in the international market of tourist services. Today, priority is given to the development of ecological tourism, for which the country has excellent conditions – all four seasons are expressed and unique natural areas from mountains and deserts to forests and lakes are presented. The national system of protected areas includes 8 nature reserves, 2 nature parks and 1 national park, 6 natural monuments, 11 wildlife sanctuaries, more than 50 water protection zones. The only place that modern Uzbekistan cannot offer is the sea. Uzbekistan’s Aral Sea is a clear example of man’s negative impact on nature. In order to draw the attention of the international community to this problem, special routes have been developed where tourists can visually see the consequences of human impact on the environment. There is also a strong emphasis on developing measures to reduce the negative impact of human activity on the country’s ecology.
Uzbekistan also emphasises the development of rural, agrarian, extreme mountain and other types of alternative tourism. These destinations are attracting audiences that are moving towards event tourism and the experience economy.
Traditional cultural tourism is also flourishing. The splendour of many historical monuments preserved since ancient times, their unique architectural style, which has survived hundreds and even thousands of years, continues to amaze the whole world. Most international tourists come to Uzbekistan to see with their own eyes the wonderful works of art created by our ancestors, to feel their greatness and to immerse themselves in the world of legends about great amirs, invincible warriors, brilliant scientists and philosophers. More than 7,400 tangible cultural heritage sites are under state protection.
Tourism is the most sensitive sector, reacting instantly to events in the world, from natural disasters, political and economic crises to epidemics and artificial intelligence. The tourism industry is currently undergoing global and fundamental changes that are fundamentally altering traditional views of the industry. These include the acceleration of digitalisation, the introduction of information technology and the use of new interactive methods to enhance the attractiveness of tourist destinations. For example, artificial intelligence has become an objective reality in tourism. Already, such artificial intelligence algorithms can generate a variety of tourism products and programmes for different categories of travellers. Today, Uzbekistan is integrating new technologies and approaches into the tourism industry. For example, the night-time economy has huge potential to provide employment for the local community and additional monetisation of tourist services in the tourism industry. Every tourist is interested in making the most of their time in the country they are visiting, but not all countries offer such opportunities at night, such as round-the-clock visits to museums, entertainment centres and other attractions. Great results have been achieved in this area in Great Britain, Thailand, Japan and other countries with developed tourism, and we are adopting their experience and adapting it to our realities. Our country is also actively creating infrastructure for the development of inclusive tourism, and facilities for comfortable recreation and travel are being installed at tourist sites and cultural heritage sites for the physically challenged and disabled. In addition, in order to attract a wide range of foreign investors to the tourism industry, public-private partnership mechanisms are being used to stimulate the contribution of investment to the development of tourism infrastructure facilities.
In 2019, Uzbekistan entered the top 20 countries in the world that have achieved the greatest results in improving the business environment, ranking 69th out of 190 countries in the Doing Business 2020 ranking. Not resting on our laurels, we are continuing our steady development in this area.
by Shukhrat Isakulov, Doctor of Economics, Head of the Transport Logistics Development Department of the Tourism Committee under the Ministry of Ecology, Environmental Protection and Climate Change of the Republic of Uzbekistan
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 talking to the bubble of friends I saw every day at school. I grew up in Romford, a metropolitan town on the very eastern edge of London and considered myself an artist from a young age. Art to me was drawing and painting in my own time and the occasional school trip to the London galleries, where we would see exceptional portraits and landscapes. London is the place to grow-up for art-lovers, but not the only place you should grow as an artist.
It wasn’t until I reached university that I truly experienced other creative cultures. People that lived and made artworks from different countries and studied with me, they made artworks that I couldn’t recognize in adjacent to the National Gallery. University of the Arts London is a world-renowned institution and therefore more than a third of my fellow students were from other countries. I was lucky that I was born in London and found myself at a ‘local’ university with so much prestige. In my Romford culture bubble at that time I would not have travelled abroad to study.
My first curatorial job in London was through my university course and was in collaboration with Hitachi Consulting. Organising a simple exhibition of my classmates’ work. This is where I honed my organisational skillset and understood that there was a value of art outside of an institution. The immediate challenges faced here were small but unanticipated. Transporting artists work from storage spaces because they didn’t live in the country, to negotiating fire regulations around culturally traditional materials. It was difficult but immensely satisfying. My biggest accomplishment, providing cultural stories in the form of artworks in a place for people to experience on a daily basis outside of a gallery space. It was not long after that me and my collaborator Joe decided to found The NO Collective (Est. 2010), an organisation which would support society through creativity (hyper-localism) and also support artists with access to unique travel opportunities; to collaborate internationally and bring new cultural influences home.
There were a couple of reasons we were interested in international collaboration. The first was to share the experiences it had brought us as artists. My and Joe’s first international residency was in Norway. As performance artists, we researched Norwegian culture and made artwork alongside Trondheim residents throughout 10 days. This led to recorded artworks, writing, personal logs and even caused a stir in the city, as people heard about our artwork. The experience of making and exhibiting in a different country was so transcendent to our professional art practise that we were hooked. Around the same time a relational aesthetics exhibition by Nicolas Bourriaud in London called ‘Altermodernism’ solidified the need I saw for collaboration with other cultures in a post-modernist world.
The second reason was that while working with small communities in and around London, we had noticed the culture bubble I had experienced growing up. The culture bubble for me is being safe at home in London, with what we already know. Especially in places like Romford, there are few creative organizations, despite culture being a brilliant tool to do social good. We wanted to bring new cultural and creative experiences to the communities we cared about.
I am proud to reflect on the international art programmes we have organized both at home and abroad over the last thirteen years and what they have meant for those involved.
In 2016 we began a project with the Council of State Support under the Auspices of the Government of Azerbaijan called ‘InAzerbaijan’. The programme, which lasted three years, to create a web portal about the country in the UK, was set apart by the creative means in which it was organized. The programme was researched in both the UK and in Azerbaijan by young people (aged 16 – 30) to ensure information was accessible for its readership. It included first hand research through authentic meetings with Azerbaijani communities and we produced extraordinarily creative content by inviting UK creatives to become resident artists for a week in Baku. This was the first Azerbaijan focused website in the UK and it included information which was highly regarded by tourists due to the method of research and the recording of unique experiences. Diplomatically it also provided a platform for conversation about a country that could have otherwise been misunderstood in the UK.
Practically speaking, during this project we made three separate trips to Azerbaijan. The first without any context of place (of course due to lack of information online or in libraries). The most important part of planning an international project is understanding the risk, therefore having a grasp of ‘mitigations’ before you leave is very important. Prior to our first trip I made contact with the UK Embassy in Baku and the Azerbaijan Embassy in London. I also spoke with our hotel and natives to understand any cultural and practical differences. Creating a timetable, putting insurance in place, a risk assessment, some ‘trip rules’ and providing an emergency contact list to all participants is essential.
It was this project that introduced me to the Eurasian Creative Guild which shares so many values with The NO Collective. Our first collaborative project, the ECG Film Festival has found its place alongside the Romford Film Festival which I co-organize in London, and a successful example of placemaking through culture.
Film is a fantastic way to share stories of culture and identity in a really accessible and entertaining way. I support four international film festivals a year in Romford which all bring huge benefits to the town. The Romford Horror Festival in February brings over one thousand static audience members to Romford over four days. There is independent and classic film, ‘horror’ pop up shops and entertainment. During this time local hotels are filled up with guests and restaurants in the local area benefit from an influx of customers. In June the main festival brings film makers from across the world to share their cultural stories. A bigger local audience is shared alongside the ECG film festival that brings more diverse stories from across the globe. Finally the East London LGBTQ+ Film Festival in the Autumn brings together a minority community to share international stories of identity and strength. This brings a different audience and meaning; International advocacy and a huge solidarity to the stories that might be less comfortable from different places.
The important organisation details to be considered in our home projects is to be aware and supportive of cultural difference and diversity. It is always our aim to be as welcoming as humanly possible to anyone who has travelled to join us. Helping with travel plans and providing location guides. This ensures that artists continue to travel to improve the quality of their work and the quality of the experiences that they can bring others.
The programmes that I enjoy participating in the most are those that take artists from places with less cultural infrastructure to a different country. As mentioned, (Norwegian residency), these are the trips that are real career changers. Recently we were invited to Burabay in Kazakhstan as a creative team, to paint a mural and make a film. This allowed our group of four creatives to immerse themselves in to a different culture of people living in the district and reflect these learnings in the work that was made. We also took home a whole realm of unique experiences including meeting an Ambassador and joining an arts festival. This was a huge legacy project, ensuring that local creatives can bring their quality experiences to positively agitate creativity in their own town. Immediate effects have meant more exposure for one of the participants and a new mural organised in a local town from another.
Working abroad is showcased as a brilliant tool for self-development in business. For creatives this is also true, however, unlike usual business-people, creatives also radiate positive change in their wake. They mix with all classes of society, creating projects and artworks that help us share values as humans. They create networks that lead to cultural bridges and diplomatic ties and best of all, they make friends to collaborate with beyond borders.
WHY IS BELARUS CONSIDERED THE TREASURE OF EASTERN EUROPE?
Belarus is a country with an ancient history and rich traditions, enchanting nature and astonishing architecture, industrial giants and well-developed agriculture, unique cuisine and hospitable people.
Belarus is located in the center of Europe at the intersection of many international routes. The capital of the Republic of Belarus is Minsk. Minsk is one of the oldest cities in Europe. The first written mention dates back to 1067. The population of Minsk is about 2 million people.
The climate in Belarus is moderate continental, there are no sudden temperature changes, severe frosts or stifling heat. Heavy rain, hurricanes and other dangerous weather events are extremely rare.
The modern cultural life of Belarus is dynamic and diverse. The country hosts many art, music, theater exhibitions and film festivals. Belarus entertains guests with all kinds of events. Here you can visit a theater forum or a folk culture festival, attend an open-air event dedicated to ancient crafts or national cuisine, take part in a medieval re-enactment.
Attention should be paid to national cuisine. The national cuisine of Belarus has a centuries-old history. Its development and formation were influenced by both climatic conditions and the country’s geographical position at the crossroads of Western and Eastern cultures and the world’s largest religions.
There are a huge number of restaurants and cafes in Belarus that specialize in preparing dishes of national cuisine, which also have thematic interior design – decorative elements reflecting the culture, flavor and national traditions of the Belarusian people. Belarus is famous for amazing folklore, unique rituals, and originality. Belarusian traditions are honored both at the state and at the family levels, they are passed from generation to generation.
Belarus is rich for museums, manors and ethnographic complexes. Guests of museums and numerous complexes can see ancient household items and works of decorative and applied art, hear Belarusian songs and learn about ancient dances of the Belarusian people. For enthusiasts who want to fully experience the ancient Belarusian way of life, agroeco homesteads are organized – rural houses that are suitable for relaxing and exploring the area. Here you can take a walk to the apiary, take part in an exciting haymaking, ride horses, and hunt.
However, the true soul of the Belarusian people is expressed in their traditional folk crafts, the skillful craftsmanship of artisans, which has been passed from generation to generation.
Straw weaving One of the most famous elements of Belarusian folk art can be called straw weaving.
Since ancient times, this craft has helped create durable and convenient products for everyday life and everyday household chores. Belarusians considered straw to be an analogue of gold, so it was often used in the decoration of church temples. In addition, straw weaving in Belarus was included in the UNESCO Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage.
Nowadays, artistic products and souvenirs made from straw are given as gifts to the closest people. Such products have no analogues in the world, this is one of the distinctive features of the artistic traditions of the Belarusian nation.
In Belarus anyone can try themselves as an artisan of this diverse and original craft.
Belarusian “malyavanka” (drawing). Another popular element of Belarusian folk art is malyavanki – these are painted carpets on fabric that were widely distributed on the territory of Belarus starting from the end of the 19th century. In the 20-30s of the 20th century, almost every Belarusian house had decorated walls with painted carpets, on which both scenes from everyday life and fantastic worlds of fairy tales and legends were painted. Belarusian malyavanki have always been popular gifts for anniversaries and weddings.
In Belarus, anyone can try their hand at creating a painted carpet, which will remind them of their visit to Belarus for many years.
Pottery Pottery has been known in Belarus since primitive times, when the first hand-molded earthenware and cooking utensils on fire appeared. Potters shaped the dishes on a potter’s wheel, fired them in forges or home ovens and subjected them to decorative treatments. Over time, pottery, like many others, turned into art. Various symbolic animals, musical instruments, toys and much more made from clay are also an important trend in modern Belarusian traditional art.
Cooperage Almost every locality along with a blacksmith, potter and miller, had its own cooper, who made barrels and dishes from oak, pine, and spruce materials. These materials were tied together with hoops – metal or wood. Containers for water, drinks, for storing food and various things – all this could be made by ancient Belarusian craftsmen. Today modern Belarusian artisans continue the traditions of their ancestors. A modern Belarusian cooper knows not only the techniques of making wooden utensils, but also understands the characteristics of a particular type of wood and can explain how to create these amazing items.
Weaving dolls In Belarus, there always has been a tradition of weaving motanka dolls, parents began making them in ancient times to please their children. Over time, these dolls became ritual. Some of them were made with medicinal herbs inside to cure the sick, some were intended to bring good luck or a good harvest. Some people believed that such a doll contained the spirit of ancestors and could pass on experience from generation to generation.
Felting wool Felting wool is an ancient Belarusian craft. Even in ancient times, people appreciated natural wool for its unique qualities. Shirts, hats, and pants were made from wool. At the end of the 19th century, winter shoes – felt boots – appeared in the everyday life of wealthy people.
Sometimes felt boots were decorated with painting and embroidery. Now the ancient craft of felting is coming back into fashion. An old folk craft is being revived. Young craftsmen use new techniques and materials, combine wool with silk, chiffon, linen, lace, resulting in original dresses, bags, and shoes.
Wood carving Wood carving is the most ancient way of decorating wood products. Compositions of traditional Belarusian carvings usually develop beautifully and freely in the form of plant shoots. Traditionally, Belarusians decorated wooden ships and houses, furniture, dishes, looms and spinning wheels with carvings. Modern Belarusian craftsmen maintain traditions by making a wide variety of items – boxes, wooden sculptures, wood paintings, figures and other products. If you want to visit the heart of Europe, try yourself out as an ancient artisan, feel all the uniqueness, flavor and identity of the Belarusian nation, then you should come to Belarus.
In our country, centuries-old traditions, natural wealth and modern experience are harmoniously intertwined. We always welcome guests and we know how to surprise them. Here every traveler will certainly find for himself what he went on the journey for.
Aleh Andreichyk, Deputy Minister of Sports and Tourism of the Republic of Belarus
HOTEL MANAGEMENT ‘INSIDE OUT’ FOR LOCALS AND INTERNATIONALS
When it comes to a process as complex as hotel management, many tourists don’t even think about how many little things make up their holiday experience. This is especially true in countries where the hospitality industry has only recently emerged as an industry in its own right and is now developing at an accelerated pace to be competitive. The editors of OCA Magazine decided to ask experienced hoteliers for their views on the state of the industry.
OCA GUESTS
Farkhod Tashtemirov, Uzbekistan
Currently in Uzbekistan
Mercure Tashkent Hotel General Manager,
FT Hotels Group LLC CEO,
Member of the Public Council
for Entrepreneurship Support under the President
of the Republic of Uzbekistan
Jesper Francl, Denmark
Currently in Kazakhstan
Rixos Borovoe General Manager,
Hospitality CEO,
Accor Hotels General Manager,
Copenhagen Goodwill Ambassador
OCA: Please, tell us about yourself and the experience. What were the highest points and achievements for you? Farkhod Tashtemirov (FT): I was born on 30 April 1971 in the Kishlak of Eshimaksak, Samarkand province. In 1993 I graduated from one of the best Russian universities with a degree in political science and returned to Tashkent, where I worked in the Ministry of Foreign Economic Relations of the Republic of Uzbekistan, then in the Small and Private Business Support Fund, the Parliament of the Republic of Uzbekistan, joint stock companies and banks. And in 2007 I reached a turning point in my career – I started working in the hotel industry as the Director of Sales and Marketing at Dedeman Silk Road Tashkent Hotel. From that moment on, I fully realised that hospitality is not just a job, it is my calling. Working in this field gives me constant pleasure and I can see the results of my work in a very short time. In 2010, having successfully passed all the stages of interviews and tests, I was hired by the international company of the aparthotel chain operator, The Ascott Group, in its European office in Paris. I spent six months working in all the departments, services and divisions of the European headquarters, as well as in several of the chain’s hotels in Paris. I was then appointed General Manager of Citadines Freedom Square Tbilisi apart hotel and I am still proud that my hotel was ranked among the top 5 best hotels in the chain for the next 3 years in a row, according to guest reviews, occupancy rate, service level, etc. After several years of working in Baku and Novosibirsk, I received an offer from Dedeman Hotels & Resorts International to lead the team that would open the chain’s first hotel in Moscow. During these 2 years I gained valuable experience of opening a hotel in a very short time and after opening the hotel took the first place in www.tripadvisor.com rating among all Moscow hotels. I think this is a very important achievement for any hotel general manager. In 2016, I returned to Uzbekistan, where I now manage the Mercure Tashkent Hotel. I also consider one of my achievements to be the successful rebranding process of Lumiere Hotel & Spa Tashkent to Mercure, an international brand of Accor Hotels, a world leader in the hospitality industry.
Jesper Francl (JF): I have been immersed in the hospitality industry for over two decades, with a wealth of experience spanning various roles within prestigious hotel chains. My journey in hospitality began with positions in F&B outlets, gradually ascending through the ranks to management positions. Throughout my career, I’ve garnered invaluable insights and expertise in hotel operations, guest satisfaction, and team leadership. One of my proudest achievements includes spearheading the transformation of several properties into award-winning establishments, recognized for their exceptional service and elevated guest experiences.
OCA: What key changes in hotel business did you observe for the last 10 years? FT: The hospitality industry, like many other industries, is evolving very fast and the major changes in the last 10 years are very closely related to the digitalisation of the hospitality industry in many aspects. In my opinion, a very important factor in the hotel business is e-reputation. Any hotel guest can write a review about the hotel, hotel services, and hotel staff on the Internet (www.tripadvisor.com, google.com, Yandex.ru, booking.com, etc.) at any time. A negative review, even if it is unreliable, will lead to the loss of potential guests of the hotel, will spoil the image and reputation of the hotel all the time it is online. A positive review will contribute to the development of the hotel, attracting new hotel guests, etc.
JF: Over the past decade, the hotel industry has undergone significant transformations driven by evolving consumer preferences and technological advancements. One of the key changes has been the shift towards personalised experiences, with hotels leveraging data analytics and guest feedback to tailor services and amenities. Additionally, sustainability initiatives have gained prominence, with hotels increasingly adopting eco-friendly practices to reduce their environmental footprint. Moreover, the rise of online booking platforms and social media has revolutionised the way hotels market themselves and engage with guests, emphasising the importance of digital presence and reputation management.
OCA: Do you feel the influence of the creative industries on the development of hotels? In what it is shown? FT: Currently, the hotel industry in Central Asian countries is becoming increasingly competitive, and innovative technologies have a direct impact on the sustainable development of hotels. Creative industries are always connected to the hotel business. Modern hotels cannot be imagined without modern architecture and design, print and digital products, online and offline advertising, audio-video products that convey information about hotels and their services, and much more.
JF: As the General Manager of Rixos Borovoe hotel, I don’t particularly feel a direct impact of the creative industries on hotel development. Our focus primarily lies on delivering exceptional hospitality experiences tailored to our guests’ needs and preferences. While we appreciate and value creativity in various forms, such as design concepts and guest experiences, our approach to hotel development is more rooted in providing excellent service, maintaining operational efficiency, and upholding the highest standards of quality and comfort for our guests.
OCA: What are the trends and problems now and what prospects are hotels waiting for in the next few years? Are there any regional factors that can play in a positive or negative way? FT: Today, hotel guests have become more demanding. He or she links the quality of his or her holiday to the level of comfort and the programme of the stay in the city, so the ecosystem of the accommodation establishment and the possibilities of expanding the range of services are beginning to play a special role. In recent years, especially after the pandemic, the hotel industry has had to make serious changes. Common trends include digitalisation (mobile apps to sell additional hotel services, intelligent room management, contactless check-in, etc.). With the right use of artificial intelligence, hoteliers can surprise and attract more guests. The second strong trend is the meetings industry (formerly the MICE segment). Stimulation of business tourism and event organisers are important factors in attracting corporate clients, increasing occupancy and ROI of hotels. What is important for Uzbekistan now is the mass opening of hotels of different levels, including international chains. This is very important for the development of the country as a whole, because if there are many hotels with international brands, it means that the country is safe for guests from other countries.
JF: Currently, the hotel industry is navigating through unprecedented challenges, including the aftermath of the global pandemic and shifting consumer behaviours. While recovery remains a top priority, hotels are also contending with emerging trends such as the rise of remote work and experiential travel. Embracing technology and innovation will be crucial in addressing these challenges and capitalising on opportunities for growth. Additionally, there is a growing demand for tourist experiences, presenting hotels with opportunities to attract more guests and cater to diverse traveller preferences. However, amidst these opportunities, one significant challenge is the difficulty in finding skilled talent to meet the evolving demands of the industry. Regional factors, such as geopolitical stability, infrastructure development, and tourism policies, will play a significant role in shaping the prospects of hotels in the coming years. By staying agile, adaptable, customer-centric, and actively attracting talent, hotels can position themselves for success amidst uncertainty.
OCA: What will you advise the specialists who are part of the hotel business now? FT: The hotel business is a very interesting, very attractive business. First of all, I recommend all young beginners to study, to learn not only the hotel business, but also mathematics, English and other languages. The second piece of advice is to have patience. Remember that your work will always be appreciated and you must work in a way that you enjoy.
JF: For specialists in the hotel business, I would advise staying agile and proactive in response to market dynamics and consumer preferences. Embrace innovation and leverage technology to enhance operational efficiency and guest experiences. Prioritise sustainability initiatives to align with evolving consumer values and industry trends. Cultivate a culture of continuous learning and development within your team, empowering them to deliver exceptional service and exceed guest expectations. Finally, foster strong partnerships with local communities, businesses, and stakeholders to create mutually beneficial relationships and drive sustainable growth.
Central Asia has a culinary legacy that is mind boggling. Like the region’s history it spans millennia and has undergone a vast amount of change from era to era. It is both fascinating and delicious. Being positioned along the Silk Road allowed for this as trade brought new ingredients, technique and recipes to chefs and to the delight of eaters. And while the cuisine today still reflects those ancient, international roots, it is sadly not getting the attention it deserves.
While I am hardly qualified to talk about the challenges facing chefs and tour operators in Central Asia, there is one thing that I know and that is how to eat and drink! I also know how to profit off the two. As a professional chef turned gastro-tour operator, nothing gives me greater joy than sharing the culinary culture of my adopted home in San Sebastián with guests from all over the world. The fact that I get paid for this is incredible! Which I think answers the question that yes there is money to be made in food tourism, after all 25% of travellers took a food experience over the past year and the global culinary tourism market size is anticipated to have a value of $1.8 trillion by 2027, up from $1.1 billion in 2021 (an increase of over 576% in six years).1 Central Asia should be capitalizing on this trend!
Upon a recent trip to Uzbekistan to present a Master Class in Gastro Tourism at the Samarkand Tourism Forum I was keen to see what the country’s food scene was like. To be honest, I was a little disappointed as complacency seems to be getting in the way of celebration. Being the optimistic eater that I am, I am not discouraged and I smell an incredible opportunity for Uzbekistan and the rest of Central Asia with regards to the gastro-tourism sector as well as the restaurant industry as a whole!
There’s an entire world of culinary possibilities in Central Asia that many locals are not taking advantage of. Time and again I heard people remark that their home country’s dishes were meat-heavy, greasy and sadly uninteresting. Tourism professionals could not believe that I was paid to operate market tours, tastings, cooking classes and multi-day culinary excursions. But Central Asia is uniquely positioned for the same success if only the status quo is abandoned. Food, much like tourism, is in a constant state of evolution, just like the Silk Road was and just like Central Asia still is. Want to create a thriving, dynamic food culture? Look to your ancestors!
The Silk Road is where it all began. The world’s first international cuisine! From the many spices, dried fruit and nuts, vegetables and exotic bites at the bazaars, how could so many of my meals in Uzbekistan miss the mark? Instead of celebrating the unique culinary culture of Central Asia, many restaurants seem to be stuck in a rut ignoring their potential and offering the same menus over and over. Indeed, food seems to be regarded as something of a chore versus something to be cherished and enjoyed. There is, however, one meal in Uzbekistan that is phenomenal: breakfast. Every breakfast I had was a delight and I think most visitors will agree.
If the national cuisines and culinary history of Central Asia are presented with more enthusiasm and pride, you’d have a real winner and a serious money maker. 86% of travellers are interested in eating the local and regional cuisines at their destinations.2 And 45% of travellers polled by Skyscanner chose a holiday destination because of the food or to dine at a specific restaurant.3 If you are still sceptical, just remember that not every traveller is going to buy souvenirs, but every traveller MUST eat and will happily pay a premium for a good experience. Putting a focus on culinary culture is a win-win for tourism and restauranteurs.
To the restauranteurs out there, I’d like to see more invention. In the spirit of the Silk Road, borrow from your neighbors near and far. Be bold and inquisitive! Don’t be afraid to explore new recipes, ingredients and techniques, then make them your own just like Laghman from Uighur China and Kimchee from Korea were adopted. The local populous and restaurant scene has certainly had no problem embracing western junk foods with Pepsi marketing, lifeless pizza and hamburgers everywhere. Spice these dishes up with some inventive twists like the old timers of the caravanserai were apt to do! Hamburgers could become exotic horsemeat burgers, seductively spiced and dressed with suzma. Pizzas and pastas topped with local fresh herbs, sundried tomatoes, peppers and cheese. Speaking of cheese, contrary to what the Bradt Travel Guide to Uzbekistan says, the cheeseballs at the markets are not strong and difficult to eat. They are delicious with flavors rivaling the finest of French goat cheese. This is exactly what I’m talking about, instead of cautionary descriptions the book should have encouraged its readers to dig in!
I want to rally the tour operators of Central Asia to remember that they are cultural ambassadors and have the power to cultivate a new sense of pride in local bazaars, tea houses and eateries. Using food and drink to share your culture and history is wonderfully fun. An entire lunch could be made out of a bazaar tour with tastings at various vendors and stalls to the delight of clients. Walking food tours of a city could easily be organized by themes, from sweets to shashlik or how about a tour focused on cross-cultural dining exploring the increasingly popular influence of Turkish cuisine as well as Korean, Uyghur even Indian eateries? Wanna make a killing? How about a workshop in the home of a local family to make a traditional plov? This is a great example of how it’s not always about the food, but the experience! Add a vegetarian option and I can guarantee you’ll have extra sales and rave reviews.
Visitors come to Central Asia for a number of reasons, history, nature, adventure, religion, architecture, arts and crafts. Food and the culinary culture of the region deserves a seat at the table as well.
OCA Magazine: 15 years of success in building the land bridge with Eurasia in the heart of the storm
Since 2009, OCA Magazine has become a well-regarded publication with a readership that includes diplomats and businesspeople. It is the sole English-language magazine dedicated to the Central Asian and CIS region. For the past 15 years, OCA Magazine has been promoting diplomatic relationships and international partnerships between Eurasia and the global community.
The list of contributors to OCA Magazine is extensive and includes heads of state, ambassadors, ministers, celebrities, academicians, businesspeople, and others. In 2024, the magazine will celebrate its anniversary with both new and traditional special editions, as well as international events that will bring together readers, contributors, and partners of the publication.
A special issue, OCA: Creative Industries & Tourism Expertise, has already been published as part of the celebrations. The edition includes articles about the best tourist experiences, modern projects, and key challenges in the creative economy for Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Belarus, and other countries. The articles are written by experts from various countries, including the UK, Spain, and Russia. The text presents different aspects of tourism, such as destinations, innovation, environmental sustainability, and the impact of tourism on the economy and culture. The first edition was presented to the audience during the OCA Zoom International Conference on ‘Sustainable Development of the Creative Economy: a New Model for Tourism in Central Asia’.
The conference brought together tourism experts from Central Asia to discuss current issues and trends. The speakers included Gulchekhra-begim Makhmudova, Artem Klykov, Irina Kharitonova, Gareth Stamp, and Gregory Schaefer. The conference was moderated by Marc David Miller, who utilised his expertise and knowledge of the subject to facilitate communication between the experts. The conference addressed significant trends in tourism development resulting from changes in the global situation.
During the Zoom session, new opportunities for Eurasian creative tourism were discussed by the experts. Ms. Makhmudova proposed the creation of an edutainment park called SILKROADLAND, and also suggested the production of attractive video content based on her children’s books about the legends of the Great Silk Road. Ms Makhmudova noted that while many are familiar with Western cartoon characters like Aladdin, there is a great opportunity to showcase the unique and diverse culture of Central Asia through animation. Additionally, she suggested that Pixar Studios could consider creating an animated film featuring Central Asian characters such as Khodja Nasredin. During the conference, Mr Gregory Schafer discussed sustainable cultural tourism and its management. He highlighted the significance of preserving cultural authenticity, promoting eco-friendly practices, and even exploring gastro-tourism.
During the discussion, Ms Irina Kharitonova brought up the topic of developing the creative economy and related industries. She noted that some individuals may not be familiar with terms such as ‘creative tourism’ or ‘creative industries’, and the aim is to promote better understanding. Mr. Artem Klykov, a professor at Silk Road University and SWISS University, highlighted the significance of human capital as the basis for sustainable tourism and the creative economy. “Increasing the competitiveness of tourism requires effective management of human capital,” stated Mr Klykov.
Despite the business-oriented nature of the conference, there was still an opportunity for celebration. Marat Akhmedjanov, the founder of Silk Road Media (UK) and publisher of OCA Magazine, congratulated everyone on the 15th anniversary and expressed gratitude to all participants for their warm wishes.
Later this year the OCA Magazine community will see several more special issues and related Zoom conferences such as the 4th OCA Magazine: Education (a special opportunity for universities, experts and media representatives to promote education and research opportunities inside the region and abroad), the 5th OCA Magazine: People (40 interviews with outstanding creative people of Eurasia), the 4th OCA Magazine: North America Edition (a special edition observing the wide range of issues related to Central Asia, the CIS, the USA and Canada) and the 1st OCA Magazine: Real Estate (new and exciting opportunities for international investors).
The year’s activities will focus on the OCA Dialogue Forum ‘New Dimensions of International Investment Attractiveness of Eurasia. Global ReFace’ as the main event, scheduled to take place in London in November 2024.
Please find the video of the OCA Zoom International Conference ‘Sustainable Development of the Creative Economy: a New Model for Tourism in Central Asia’ available by QR code.
If you have any questions, please contact us using the details below.
Taina Kaunis,
Vasir/Advisor to the Silk Road Media Ltd (UK),
t-kaunis@ocamagazine.com
Instant messengers (WhatsApp) +44 7938 823815
Reference:
OCA Magazine – is a quarterly independent magazine published in London since 2009 by Silk Road Media Group with the support of the Eurasian Creative Guild (London). It is aimed at an English-speaking audience and those interested in or living in the former Soviet Union and Eurasian region. Over 50,000 organisations subscribe to the electronic version of the journal, and the print run varies between 2,000 and 5,000 copies, depending on the subject. We accept articles in English of up to 1,000 words on significant events and phenomena in the region. Advertising and PR materials are also available.
OCA magazine contributors and interviews (selected)
(2009-2024)
Editor in chief: Nick Rowan
Guest Editors: Stephen M. Bland, Gareth Stamp, Matthew Traver, Jack Hemsley
UK
Baroness Alison Suttie (House of Lords, Liberal Democrat)
Dame Margaret Hodge (MP, Labour)
Lady Judge (Chairwoman, UK Atomic Energy Authority)
Baron Laird (House of Lords, Ulster Unionist Party)
The Viscount Waverley (House of Lords)
Wendy Morton (MP, Conservative)
Charles Hendry (Minister of State for Energy and Climate Change, MP)
HE Robin Ord-Smith (British Ambassador to Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan)
HE Tim Torlot (British Ambassador to Uzbekistan)
HE Thorda Abbott-Watt (British Ambassador to Turkmenistan)
HE Fionna Gibb (British Ambassador to Belarus)
HE Kathy Leach (British Ambassador to Kazakhstan)
HE Mike Gifford (British Ambassador to Kazakhstan)
HE David Moran (British Ambassador to Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Armenia )
Prof. Luca Anceschi (University of Glasgow )
Nandita Parshad ( Managing Director Sustainable Infrastructure Group, EBRD)
Peter Bonfield (Vice-Chancellor and President, University of Westminster)
Denise Waddingham (Director, British Council Uzbekistan)
Richard Everitt ( British Council, Imperial College London)
Prof. Saxena (Cambridge University)
Dr. St John Simpson (British Museum )
Dr. Michael Erdman (British Library)
Dr. Anna Matveeva (SOAS)
Dr. Razia Sultanova (Cambridge University)
Dr. Jonathan Fryer ( Liberal Democrat Party, SOAS)
Hamid Ismailov (Head of BBC Central Asia)
Prof. Shirin Akiner (SOAS)
Peter Lindsay (President CATBG/ British Expertise)
Dr. Robert Mead (Slade School of Fine Art /UCL)
Nick Kochan (Cosmos Communications)
Nicholas Rutherford (AIDEX)
Uzbekistan
HE Said Rustamov (Uzbek Ambassador to UK)
HE Gairat Fazilov (Deputy Foreign minister, Uzbek Ambassador to Belgium)
Prof. Akmal Saidov ( MP, First Deputy Speaker)
Prof. Iskandar Abdullaev (Justus Liebig University Giessen)
Dr. Saidakbar Rizaev (Sharaf Rashidov fund)
Prof. Gulchekhra Rikshieva ( rector of Tashkent university of Oriental studies)
Dr. Bakhtyor Makhkamov (rector of TUIT)
Dr. Iskandar Muminov (Sharaf Rashidov fund)
Dr. Farkhad Tolipov (National University of Uzbekistan)
Eldor Tulyakov (former MP, Director at Development Strategy Center)
Akmal Burkhanov (former MP, Director State Anti-corruption Agency)
LIKE A MOVIE. A NEW MODEL OF DESTINATION MARKETING
Today, tourism and migration have become part of modern life. And since the laws of economics dictate that where there are people, there are finances and other resources, the ability of a city, region or even an entire country to attract and retain tourists, investors, businesses, workers, etc. comes to the fore. Cities for education, cities for leisure and tourism, cities for family life – they all need their own brand. Cities with a rich historical heritage of architecture, museums and legends, megacities with an open labour market, or resorts where the sea splashes or healing springs flow surely have more ways to build a promotional strategy. But what can the rest of us do?
One of the best options is to attract talented and creative people who will do the rest. Think of a place you’ve never been but would love to visit. Why would you want to go there? You may not be attracted by a specific destination, but by a romantic image of that place, such as Paris – the city of love, Rome – the Eternal City, New York – the city of business, Bali – peace and harmony. This list could go on and on. And we are not talking about specific indicators, but about the image of different places that is used as a kind of cliché in books, films, music videos, photo shoots for fashion magazines and even on the wallpaper of mobile phones and the covers of notebooks.
Today, the most effective medium is video in the broadest sense of the word. Films, series, TV shows, vlogs, stories, riles – all have become part of visual storytelling. The more interesting video content that is made about a place, the more likely it is to be popular with tourists. Hertfordshire Press has a successful case study of this format in its history. In 2013, the book “Igor Savitsky: Artist, Collector, Museum Founder” dedicated to the Savitsky Museum in Nukus, Uzbekistan, was published. The museum is located “in the middle of nowhere”, in the desert, and at the time of the book’s publication it was going through some bad times. But everything changed when Amanda Pope and Chavdar Georgiev got hold of the book and turned it into a beautiful film, ‘The Desert of Forbidden Art’, which drew the world’s attention to this treasure trove of unique examples of culture and art. Today, the Savitsky Museum in Nukus is one of the most sought-after destinations in Uzbekistan, especially among connoisseurs of Orientalism and the Soviet avant-garde.
Incidentally, one of the key factors in the case of video content is the presence of celebrities involved in the project. In the case of “The Desert of Forbidden Art”, the initial “star” cast of Edward Asner, Sally Field and Ben Kingsley, as well as directors with a name in the industry, was an advantage. But not every city can afford to host a Hollywood film crew. But it can pay for the travel, accommodation and fees of just one person, without whom no video sequence can capture the viewer’s attention. And that’s… a writer.
Popular writers attract no less attention than film stars, and the format of film adaptation is not losing its relevance. So, creating a whole event around the arrival of a famous writer, the writing of a story, the filming of a film or TV series (fortunately it is possible to find a film crew in almost every region) and its release will in itself draw attention to the destination.
Hertfordshire Press, in partnership with the Eurasian Creative Guild (London), has already launched the ‘Like a Movie’ project and is ready to work with the regions. If you would like to be involved in this project, please send your application to t-kaunis@ocamagazine.com.
Following the global pandemic, alternative accommodation projects have become increasingly popular in Central Asia, with a variety of unique accommodation options now available in some of the most pristine locations. Visitors can now enjoy the comfort of staying in yurts, dome houses, and even 5-star international hotels.
It is not to suggest that these amenities did not exist before, but heightened competition has compelled all ‘alternative’ hoteliers to enhance the quality of their services and compete with traditional hotels. Consequently, certain alternative accommodation projects have incorporated features such as a shower cubicle, a washbasin with a mirror, a toilet, a dressing room, a bedside table, a tea set, and other attributes commonly found in 3-4 star hotel rooms into their facilities.
Limited resources necessitate this trend in the development of tourism. Alternative accommodations are increasingly offering organic and sustainable tourism formats to fulfil the traveller’s dream of being as close to nature and attractions as possible. Today, many travellers seek breathtaking views from their hotel room windows. Such formats include eco-trails, hiking, and national masterclasses. However, tourism also offers new experiences and skills, which are the primary benefits of travelling today.
During the recent 25th Session of UNWTO, a new trend in sustainable tourism development was identified and supported by the organisation’s leadership. This trend is the ‘As a Nomad’ project – a network of yurt glamping sites (camping with all amenities) along the Silk Road. The project aims to establish a contemporary and authentic tourism infrastructure along the Great Silk Road while developing sustainable and responsible tourism products. Currently, the network comprises seven glamping sites in Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, and Russia.
‘As a Nomad’ is a collection of luxury yurt glamping venues situated in the most popular tourist destinations of these countries, preserving the heritage of the Great Silk Road. The network operates under a single brand, management, and service standard.
“Just bring us guests”. It’s a familiar phrase among tourism providers in countries developing tourism. But are they ready for the guests? Barnaby Davies and Sjannie Hulsman, co-owners of EastguidesWest, a Dutch training and consulting company, have just returned from speaking on sustainability at Samarkand Tourism Forum (STF). They have insights into the key changes and challenges in the tourism sector.
On the plus side, Uzbekistan is growing on world travellers’ radars. Relatively unknown in 2018, the National PR-Centre under the tourism committee has done wonders in promoting ancient cities and beauty ; Uzbekistan has a striking presence at World Travel Market, London ; and Joanna Lumley has waxed lyrical in her 2018 documentary Silk Road Adventure. Despite the positive PR and statistics, a key challenge remains : perceived safety. Davies, from UK, texted his 13-year-old son while in Samarkand. “I’m training local guides in Uzbekistan this week. Here’s a photo of Registan Square – isn’t it stunning?!” Five minutes later a response comes back : “My mum says it’s dangerous there.”
This is an ongoing hurdle for the Stans. But not an insuperable hurdle. Word of Mouth and an increase in first-hand experiences in Central Asia are proving powerful. Davies’ simple Facebook post promoting safety and beauty elicited a barrage of positive responses from UK travellers with Uzbekistan firmly on their bucket lists.
What about infrastructure? It’s often regarded as crucial for tourism to thrive, and many locals pointed out poor roads and slow, local trains as an obstacle to growth. But EastguidesWest disagrees. It’s about managing expectations. Get that right, and guests will happily go to the ends of the earth on poor roads, sleep in simple accommodation and eat with their fingers. An off-the-beaten-track adventure, all without precious Wifi.
However, entice guests with a glossy brochure and then disappoint them? That’s where tours, reputations, and referrals drop off a cliff. Tourism is a fragile industry.
In Samarkand there were multiple communication issues, the first being language. Davies and Hulsman hooked up with Floridian Gregory Schaefer, operator of Basque Bites, a food tour company in San Sebastian, Spain. There were other Europeans and Americans there too.
Attending breakout workshops, they were disappointed that the sessions were in…Russian. While the perfect bridge language in the region, if the goal is to attract more Western guests, then English is essential. Fortunately, Ravshan Turkalov, co-founder of STF and owner of Silk Road Destinations has understood this issue. STF in February 2025 is already being planned to be more attractive for Western buyers and speakers.
Another key challenge is communication of itinerary and timings. STF side events were written as messages on Telegram, accessible to some, but not all. For foreigners there was an air of uncertainty on what was happening and where.
While it may appear romantic for a tour to start ‘at some point’ from a caravanserai in Central Asia, this approach alienates many Western guests. Davies and Hulsman have led thousands of tours in Europe as tour directors for Europeans and Americans. If a bus is scheduled to leave at 8am, wheels are rolling at 8am. Guests are boarding 10-15 minutes before in anticipation.
In Central Asia, “we are leaving at 8am” often turns into 8.30am or later. The result? The guests that were ready at 7.45am are now fed up and are already thinking about bathrooms. When are the bathrooms? How long is the drive? All of this information – effectively tackled in a Welcome Briefing – is lacking throughout Central Asia. But it is an easy fix. Training in a Western mindset, training in guest expectations and training in service excellence.
Meeting these challenges head on is Turkalov. Not only has he co-founded STF, but he has set up the Silk Road Training Academy for tour guides in Samarkand. Using the Blue Badge Guides in London as a yardstick, there is still a long way to go in levelling up soft skills. But the journey has started.
The ongoing challenge now is sourcing top-down support for training from the government, not just in Uzbekistan but throughout the whole region. Practical education in service excellence, plus international consultancy and destination promotion, can’t be funded by the private sector alone.
by Barnaby Davies, Founder of EastguidesWest consulting company
Culture is what people PRACTISE, NOT what they believe. – I. A. Rehman
The sheikhs of the United Arab Emirates paid France $525 million to rent the name “Louvre” for the museum in Abu Dhabi. The cost of organised tours of museums, galleries and unique architectural sites can easily reach $80,000, as can specialised creative and educational tours for artists, architects, fashionistas, history buffs and many other ‘creative tourists’. Art tours are no longer uncommon, but the real popularity of this tourism trend is yet to come – as more countries open the doors of their authentic culture to travellers, the demand for creative tours will increase.
Artist-in-residence programmes occupy a special place among art tours. Such residency programmes can be very different, but they have one thing in common – the resident must create (or prepare to create) a specific creative product. They can be funded by the state or by foundations, offering creative people a kind of scholarship or grant programme, or they can be 100% funded by the residents themselves, as a kind of break from routine and a change of scenery for a new dose of inspiration. An artist-in-residence is usually a special place – an office or a whole village of houses – equipped for the creative process. At the same time, the format of the work is different. Sometimes it is active networking, communication with colleagues and experts, active participation in events and the creation of collective projects. Sometimes, on the contrary, the resident is given the right to complete solitude and concentration on his or her individual projects. In some programmes, a significant part of the time is spent on research, training and working with experts. Often, residencies end with an exhibition, presentation or concert so that the residents can share the results of their work. The art residency format is very common in European countries, but for the CIS and Central Asia it is still quite new and its adaptation to real conditions, colour and mentality is only now gaining momentum. Since 2021, ECG (London) has been running the ECG HORIZONS art residency – a unique space for writers, artists, musicians, filmmakers and other creative people. It includes a showroom and co-working zone, library, music corner and indoor art gallery. Residents can discover breathtaking views of mountains, forests, lakes and rivers around Shchuchinsk. Astana and Kokshetau also offer museums, theatres and art galleries.
The original idea behind the HORIZONS residency was to create a platform for experimentation, where creative people from different disciplines, countries and cultures could meet and create a new creative product. The festivals and other events organised by ECG (London) each year have already seen such collaborations, with writers creating performances with artists, filmmakers from the UK making a documentary about the local community, and currently a unique project called ‘Elish and Superheroes’ is based at the residency. Timur Akhmedjanov (UK), the author of the graphic adaptation of Azerbaijani writer and psychiatrist Kamran Salayev’s “Elish and the Wicker Tale”, with the support of ECG Guardian Saltanat Khamzeyeva, will create the third part of the graphic novel with talented children from Shchuchinsk and the Burabay region. Earlier, the project of the world’s first comic museum “Elish and Superheroes”, dedicated to the theme of inclusiveness, was created on the basis of the residence. Details of the project can be found through the QR code.
The Residence organises performances and master classes several times a year, also with the support of embassies and cultural centres. This activity makes it possible to introduce foreign guests not only to the hospitality sphere of the Burabay region, but also to its cultural life.
In addition to the space for creativity, the ECG HORIZONS residence also houses a number of cultural and tourist facilities. The first is a showroom of exclusive and antique souvenirs – books (many of them autographed), paintings, handicrafts and so on. The second is the library, which presents a unique collection of books in various languages, revealing the rich heritage of Eurasian countries. Many books are only available at the Residence. The most impressive part of the Residence is the Wall of Memory, on which plaques are placed each year in honour of deceased members of the ECG (London) who have left their mark on the history of art. In 2023, the wall was adorned with a mural of a starry sky, on which each resident was invited to leave a star. The mural was opened in person by the British Ambassador to Kazakhstan, Kathy Leach.
Now the plan is to develop the residence and increase international tourism, as the Burabay region has only domestic tourists. Priority will be given to MICE tourism (as part of ECG events) and media support for the projects.
by Taina Kaunis, ECG HORIZONS Burabay General Manager
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 great fun discovering them. While in central Asia and Kazakhstan, I noticed several histories that could have been the origin of British legends. Some of these legends and histories were obvious and some were more subtle. The emergence of central Asia is bringing some of these legends to light. I will mention a few of them in this article.
St. Andrew and St. Mathew St Andrew is famous as the patron saint of Scotland. Less well known is that Saint Andrew is the patron saint of Scythia. Where is Scythia? Scythia is a group of nations, or nation, that existed on the central Asian steppe, Kazakhstan, and northern Eastern Ukraine/Russia starting hundreds of years before the time of Christ. The origin of the word Scota is Scythia or Skythai. According to several old documents, including the declaration of Arbroath, the Scottish were Scythian.
St Andrews remains where moved from a burial site near the northeast Caspian Sea to Scotland. Interestingly Saint Matthew was also rumoured to be buried near lake Issykkul. A map called the Catalan map, held in the Bibliotech National de Paris, clearly shows a monastery on lake Issyk Kul which is marked as the burial site of Matthew. I have been there myself. It was covered in Jerusalem roses, and you can still get into the catacombs, though they clearly haven’t been renovated since construction. The entrance was small and I only went in because a woman went first like a rabbit. “The spot is named Isikol. Here is a monastery of Armenian brethren, which is said to possess the relics of Saint Matthew the Apostle and Evangelist”, reads the caption to a building in the oriental part of the Catalan atlas. St Matthew and Saint Andrew therefore seemed to have met their end in central Asia and Kazakhstan. I have sometimes heard that Saint Matthew died while visiting India. At first this confused me, but then I realised that the Tienshan mountains were, once upon a time, the border with greater India. Maybe the legends of Jesus spending his younger years in India are true, but that’s another story.
Princess Scota Princess Scota, married to a Scythian Prince called Gaythelos, was the daughter of an Egyptian pharaoh. Both Scota and Gaytheloss fled Egypt in exile around 1,300 BC, after losing a civil war in Egypt. First sailing to Spain, then to Ireland, according to various sources and ancient texts. Gaytheloss is said to have brought one of the ‘post confusion’ 72 Tower of Babel languages with him to Ireland; Gaelic. Gaytheloss was a Scythian prince, the Scythians being strongly linked to Scots. With strong links to Hebrew, Gaelic was likely descended from Egyptian, or at least had strong links. Princess Scota is said to have died while fighting a battle with the legendary Tuatha Na Danan in the south of Ireland. You can still visit her burial site today. The Tuatha Na Danan, along with the Picts of Scotland, were also supposed to be descended of the Scythians The Tuatha Na Danan were also known as the tribe of Dan from Israel. Several rivers, such as the Danube, were also named after them in Central Europe and Ukraine.
The Stone of Scone Famously, princess Scota is supposed to have brought the stone of scone with her from Egypt. The stone of scone, or the stone of destiny, is famous because all English and British royalty is crowned while sitting on the stone. The stone is said to be an object of contention between England and Scotland, changing location between England and Scotland several times. Princess Scota and her descendants established themselves in Ireland. Eventually her Descendants went on to conquer Scotland from Ireland, where it is known to this day.
Gog and Magog In guildhall in the centre of the city there are two giants; Gog and Magog. Gog and Magog are virtually described as individual tribes or lands in the North beyond the gates of Alexander. They are often associated with the Scythians or the Goths. Some of you may remember from your history lessons that Rome fell to the goths, such as the visigoths and ostragoths. Each time there is a march upon an election of the Lord Mayor of the city of London, the traditional giant guardians of the City of London, Gog and Magog (or Gogmagog) are carried at the head of the procession. Said to accompany Brutus who fled from the fall of Troy, in one legend, Gogmagog were throne to their death off the cliffs of Cornwall and Brutus founded new Troy, otherwise known as London. Gog maybe another way of pronouncing goth, with Magog meaning ancestor of goths in the same way that almati is the ancestor of apples.
Iron Curtain The iron curtain was said to be an imaginary line dividing Europe between Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union and western Europe and the UK. It was first coined by Winston Churchill in a speech in 1946. Churchill was referring to the gates of Alexander as mentioned in the Quran, built to protect the south from barbarian hordes. I have often wondered where the gates of Alexander are, the location being lost in time. After much research I have to come to the conclusion that they may have been located in the Talgar pass, in Kazakhstan, but may also be the wall that linked the mountains to the Caspian Sea. The gates was supposedly built to protect the south from the barbarians in the North. The implication of Churchill’s reference was that the Soviet Union was the barbarian hordes.
The Saxsons and the Sax Chief of the tribes of Scythians, the Sax, had their capital city in Issik. I had the pleasure of visiting the small museum set up in several yurts dedicated to the ancient city of Issik. The old archaeologist pointed out several of the features in the landscape including the palaces of the horses. Set in a valley of geomantic circles, Issik was destroyed in a great flood. One of these geomantic circles can be detected around Talgar, Kazakhstan, in spring, and we visited one circle of special purple stones between Talgar and Issik. There is a stone circle like Stonehenge in the mountains above Issik, now closed to the public. The Saxons are the sons of the Sax, and the ancestors of the Anglo-Saxons. The Sax supposedly travel down from Siberia following a great global flood. They may have travelled from what was once known as Hyperborea. The Kazakh’s are the spirit of the Sax, the ‘Ka’ coming from ancient ‘Ka’ and ‘Ba’; the ‘Spirit’ and the ‘Body’. My own name means the ‘spirit’ of the Don, or people; ‘Gas’, or Kaz, ‘ton’.
Of course, the Anglo-Saxons are well known to British history being ancestors. The tribe of Dan, the Danish, Denmark, are also well known in the Tuatha Na Danan, or ancestors of the Irish. The Angles, or angels, are another story for another article, as are the Jutes, who also have Central Asian roots.
Although these legends are just that, legends, they each have multiple sources in historical and old documents. Many British legends have self-evident central Asian sources, even if these sources are not recognised as fact, or even at all. They have been fascinating to discover and reveal that the world was once interconnected more than we realise.
Silk Road Media and the Eurasian Creative Guild (London) have been developing the tourism potential of the Eurasian region for 15 years through creative and business events, including literary festivals, art exhibitions, business forums, as well as road shows, creative meetings and much more. Thanks to these events, not only the direct participants, but also the general public learn about amazing places, and the destinations themselves become part of world culture.
The effectiveness of creative industry tools for destination marketing is undeniable. With relatively low direct costs, a strong PR effect can be achieved if you know how to create the right agenda and skilfully avoid ‘bottlenecks’. If you are planning an event that will increase the tourist appeal of your destination in the near or distant future, it is worth starting with a checklist of “ingredients”. Without them, the event will be “unpalatable” and will not have the desired effect.
Firstly, as strange as it may sound, you need a theme that appeals to the segment of tourists you want to attract to the area. The business community is attracted by business forums and conferences, while travellers are attracted by iconic events, places or famous (even in narrow circles) personalities. For example, Rio de Janeiro has chosen a cultural theme, while Abu Dhabi has chosen a business theme, and the mix of travellers will be appropriate in both cases. ECG (London) specialises in attracting artists and cultural figures who not only come in person, but whose work creates a romantic image of a city or even a country, which ultimately attracts a much wider audience than, say, the literary festival itself. How many people are attracted to Paris, London, New York and other places mentioned in hundreds of books, songs and films? Such themes and the composition of the participants allow even small events to be really effective.
Secondly, the duration of the event. In order for an event to be really effective in attracting tourists, it makes sense to plan it to take place on a regular basis, once a month, once a quarter, once a year, once every two years, and so on. This allows audiences to plan their itineraries in advance, prepare and make an effort to get to the event. The Cannes Film Festival, Milan Fashion Week, the Paris-Dakar Rally, the Brazilian Carnival – all of these events attract millions of tourists each year and generate hundreds of thousands of dollars for their local economies. ECG hosts four major festivals each year – the ECG Film Festival (since 2019) in London, the Voices of Friends: Poetry & Art Festival (since 2021) in Burabai, Kazakhstan, and two travelling events – Open Eurasian Literary Festival & Book Forum (since 2012) and Eurasian Creative Week (since 2016). Even during the pandemic, the festivals were held in hybrid formats, which helped to keep the events attractive to international audiences.
The third “ingredient” is the keynote speakers. The more prominent the speakers, the more attention the event receives. Speakers at ECG events have included popular writers Elchin Safarli and Janusz Wisniewski, Australian composer Warren Wills, Cannes winner and living legend of Polish cinema Krzysztof Pius Zanussi and British director and jury member of many international festivals Ovidio Salazar, as well as ambassadors and consuls of various countries and even the President of Kyrgyzstan Roza Otunbayeva (she opened the 2012 festival in Bishkek). For the growth of domestic tourism, however, it is enough to create an opportunity for personal interaction with international participants, even if they are not A/B stars. This is the basis for the attractiveness of the ECG festivals, which each year attract delegations from dozens of countries.
Factor #4 – Partners. No event can do without partners in various fields, from the venue to the video shoot. It is thanks to a network of partners that it is possible to produce a quality event within a reasonable budget. The team at ECG (London) has repeatedly demonstrated its ability to organise and deliver an international level event in a short space of time with minimal resources. It is important to understand what the partners will get and to build partnership into the project idea at the planning stage.
The “fifth element”, without which the event makes no sense, is of course information support. It is this that provides the relevant PR effect. And it is often the most problematic area of any event. The ECG (London) team is confronted with problems in this area every year. And the problem is not the lack of journalists at the events (there may be no journalists at all, nowadays you can take photos and videos with your mobile phone). The problem is that the participants and partners of the event are not always aware of their responsibility and their contribution to the wow effect. At our festivals, we often see that the partners practically disengage themselves from the process of reporting and attracting guests (even though it seems to be their direct interest), and often even hashtags for promotion on social networks are invented by the festival participants themselves (needless to say, this significantly reduces efficiency).
In addition to the nuances directly related to the event, there are other factors to consider in promoting the region. Logistics and cost are often the biggest concerns. Logistics refers to the accessibility of the destination (how easy it is to get there from the airport or other hub), the availability of visas for delegates, local hospitality and local infrastructure.
Cost is another stumbling block. On the one hand, there is a limited budget and it is worth detailing the financial and business model of the event at the concept stage to minimise unforeseen costs and perhaps focus more on working with partners and sponsors. On the other hand, there are the costs of visas, tickets, accommodation, meals, etc., and the value of your event to the audience should definitely be greater than the amount spent to attend. This is a subtlety that is often forgotten at the event planning stage.
The overall destination promotion policy is also important. Local authorities and tourism industry representatives should also be interested in the success of the project. If there is no one to talk about the region, give a tour, show a guide or at least welcome guests to their territory, the PR effect in terms of destination marketing will be zero.
Well-constructed events that work on the development of the territory’s brand often become an independent source of attracting tourists, financial, business and other projects, and their positive effect extends to all spheres of life in the region. Therefore, this type of tourism should definitely be considered as an investment project.
Many famous explorers began their journeys after reading books. The travel notes of merchants, seafarers, warriors, and minstrels are helping us reconstruct the history of the Great Silk Road. The impact of literature on the development of the tourism sector cannot be overstated. But how are such books created? OCA Magazine’s editors interviewed Nick Rowan (NR), author of two books about travelling the Silk Road, and Gareth Stamp (GS), a teacher who has travelled the world through his work.
What was the reason to write a book? Why couldn’t you just travel or show your route in your social media accounts? NR: When I made my travels along the Silk Road in 2006, Social Media was a thing of the future. Even phones had little internet connectivity almost 20 years ago. On my travels I started to write a daily blog, as well as a diary, and I used to have to find Internet cafes in the towns and cities I visited in order to log on and update folks at home about my travels. I also posted the blog on my website that I used to promote my travels along the route. At the time it felt like we had made huge technological advances, but looking back now it all feels rather primitive compared to today. I’m glad, though, because today I would spend much longer looking at my phone rather than looking at my surroundings and interacting with the people and places I came to encounter.
Writing a book was not intentional. I had a number of sponsors who helped pay for my trip and for whom I needed to write a report about my travels. However, when I got down to writing it I quickly realised that I had so much to say about the people I met and their history that one page became ten pages, which then became ten chapters! It took me about two years to write the book and four years to edit it before my publisher told me to just let him send it out to print! That was Marat Akhmedjanov (Deputy Chairman of ECG) who was also one of the characters I encountered in my book!
GS: They say that everyone has a book in them – and I would more than agree with that! I meet so many people with interesting stories to share about their travels and experiences and I meet so many excuses for not writing ‘the book’!
I never used to think of myself as a traveller let a lone a writer but I have always been an observer, seeing the details, the absurd, the humorous and the emotional. I have always had the verbal words to tell stories weaving them into tales but it has only been later in life that I have had the courage and the encouragement to write them down and compile them into a book.
I have always taken pictures and posted them on social media but although a ‘picture can be worth a thousand words, it can’t convey the emotions, relationships and the inner most thoughts – or the times when you don’t have a camera! I am not the sort of travel writer who has a ‘journey’ to record. It is more journalism, listening and viewing people – usually ordinary people who have extraordinary tales to tell.
How has the culture of the Central Asian countries impacted you? What was the most challenging thing? What impressed you the most? Tell more about your experience, please. NR: The culture of the Central Asian countries impacted me deeply. I fell in love with the region, but especially its people. Their traditions and culture have been moulded by millennia of trade and transfer of both religious and scientific knowledge across the Silk Road’s lengthy and winding history. Hospitality and generosity are two things that have been bestowed on the region’s culture as a result. You find it equally in the bustling cities and in the yurts in the steppes and mountain pastures. Although I travelled on my own, I never felt alone and could always find curious new friends to spend an afternoon or evening with. I often found that the people who had the least material wealth had the highest degree of kindness and generosity to strangers. It’s something that Western civilizations have tended to forget and would do well to rediscover.
In terms of challenging times, it was a difficult journey at times through some very unknown countries with a lot of bureaucracy. Officialdom often made it difficult to travel, be that at borders or having my movements closely monitored by the authorities in some places. It wasn’t always possible to just wander around as I would have liked or visit some of the really remote places. I also experienced guns pointed directly at me a couple of times in both Turkmenistan and Iran – the latter when I accidentally found myself stopped outside the Natanz nuclear facility without realising what it was!
GS: When I first arrived in Kazakhstan I felt like I was ‘home’, a deep rooted connection with the people, place and culture. There were challenges – language was the first one! But I am now an extrovert (something else Central Asia caused me to become!) and I am confident enough to shop in markets through mime and lots of pointing. There is always someone who wants to help, an innate yearning to help those in need.
Even the climate was not really a challenge – dress for it and get on with it! Why worry abut things you can’t change. This is a philosophy that has faired me well through my later travels too. My latest book (The Land of Frozen Tears) is a collection of these stories, experiences and people. There are some ‘travel’ tales – the train from Shymkent to Astana for example but the most impressive part of my experiences has been the people – resilient, determined and proud people.
How do you think travelogues impact the tourist traffic? What advice can you give to people who want to follow your route? NR: I wrote a travelogue because I wanted to encourage people who might not immediately be so keen to travel through Central Asia to join me on my journey and see that it is a region of immense history, culture and wonder. By seeing the journey through my eyes you meet the people and places as I met them and can understand both the joys and frustrations of travelling through the countries I did at the time I did.
For any budding adventurous travellers, I’d certainly encourage them to follow my route. But the beauty of the Silk Road is that it was never one road so you can map out your own route through the countries and places that interest you and still be on the Silk Road and benefit from its rich history and wonderful people. Just make sure you grab a fistful of visas and a few words or Russian as you will get a lot more out of it if you can communicate a little with your hosts. Then come back and share your amazing stories with our community!
GS: I think travelogues are good indicators of what to do in a country but I feel that everyone has a different experience depending on the time of year, how they travel and even the mood the writer is in. I feel much happier reading stories, especially well written. I dont want to follow a map but to come across something that resonates with a tale that I have read. The photographs are enticing and gift an impetus to see it for yourself but my advice to people going to Central Asia for the first time is to go there with an open mind and an open heart. Give freely of yourself and you will receive ten times more in return from the amazing region and it’s people.
The pace of development of the tourism industry in Central Asia is impressive, and the international community is supporting these processes, sharing professional experience, discussing challenges and rediscovering the treasures of the Great Silk Road. Uzbekistan is increasingly hosting international events dedicated to the development of the hospitality industry.
For example, the 25th session of the General Assembly of the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) was held in Samarkand from 16 to 20 October. For the first time in history, Uzbekistan hosted this important biennial gathering of UNWTO Member States and Associate Members from some 159 countries. Travel agency heads from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Saudi Arabia, Albania, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Bahrain, Côte d’Ivoire, Guatemala, Haiti, Indonesia, Monaco, Niger, Panama, Portugal, Sierra Leone, Ukraine, Uruguay and Yemen visited the ancient city of Samarkand.
The new year 2024 began with the third independent Samarkand Tourism Forum on 9-10 February. It is a private initiative created by travel industry enthusiasts: event and MICE practitioner Sergey Makarov (Bishkek), travel entrepreneur Ravshan Turakulov (Samarkand) and tourism development expert Mikhail Shamshidov (Tashkent). In 2024, STF supported and co-organised the USAID Entrepreneurship and Business Environment Development Project, and for the second time, the Samarkand State Institute of Foreign Languages was the official partner, hosting most of the Forum’s business events. STF 2024 was dedicated to sustainability practices in tourism. The programme opened with a panel discussion with business and public sector representatives on “How to Make Public-Private Partnership in Tourism in Central Asia” and continued with round tables and discussions on “How to Become an Agritourism Destination”, “Tourism Development in Border Regions” and “Women’s Entrepreneurship as a Sustainable Practice”. The STF also initiated a “Negotiation Table” for Central Asian tourism associations on “Harmonization of Goals of Central Asian and Silk Road Tourism Associations”, which was attended by the Hospitality Association of Uzbekistan, Zarafshan Tourism Development Association, Sustainable Tourism Association of Uzbekistan, KATO and TACBT. The Forum gathered more than 200 participants and 60 speakers from 17 countries: Belgium, Bulgaria, Egypt, Germany, Israel, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Maldives, Pakistan, Russia, Spain, Switzerland, Tajikistan, Turkey, Uzbekistan, United Kingdom and United States.
From 29 February to 1 March, the Hotel Business Forum was held in Tashkent with the international participation of representatives of the Swiss and German embassies, international and regional public and private organizations and companies involved in the hospitality sector. The event was organized by the Association of Hoteliers of Uzbekistan with the official support of the Committee on Tourism of the Ministry of Ecology, Environmental Protection and Climate Change of the Republic of Uzbekistan. The Forum discussed a number of applied issues of development of hotels as business entities in Uzbekistan, measures of state support for investment projects, statistical data of research in this field. Special attention was paid to the topic “Green economy in the development of the hotel sector: global experience”, where international experts presented the best practices and cases in the field of environmentally sustainable development of the hotel business. The forum brought together leading experts in hospitality, tourism and related industries from Switzerland, Germany, Azerbaijan, Russia, Georgia, Kazakhstan and other countries. Regional representatives of international brands such as Hyatt International (Europe Africa East) LLC, Hilton Worldwide, International Hotels Group, Radisson Hotel Group, Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, Dedeman Hotels & Resorts, Accor Hotel Group also acted as speakers. In total, more than 1,300 investors and market participants attended the event, which once again underlined the importance of the topic for the region and Uzbekistan’s readiness to increase the investment attractiveness of the tourism sector. Another highlight was the first Central Asian women’s forum “Be woman”, also held in Tashkent on 5 March. And although the forum was not directly dedicated to tourism issues, but to women’s leadership, the integration of creative industries and tourism (especially the MICE sector) was clearly visible in the speakers’ reports. For example, a panel discussion entitled “Culture and Creativity: Uniting Central Asia’ was held as part of the forum.
In addition to major events, Uzbekistan regularly hosts exhibitions, meetings and other events dedicated to the development of tourism and the creative economy. The Editorial board of OCA Magazine notes that the growth in the quantity and quality of such events has increased several times compared to the period up to 2019, despite the pandemic and, in a way, thanks to it. Today, the tourism industry is one of the most attractive sectors of the country’s economy in terms of the investment climate.
From 25-30 September 2023, the resort of Burabay (Kazakhstan) hosted four ground-breaking events: Poetry & Art Festival III Voices of Friends: Poetry & Art, Literary Festival XII Open Eurasian Literary Festival and Book Forum, Burabay Social Film Festival (II BISFF) and Discovery Travel Forum dedicated to creative industries in tourism.
The festivals are organised by the British non-profit organisation Eurasian Creative Guild (London) with the support and participation of the hotels Rixos Borovoe, House by the Lake, Wyndham Garden Burabay, Park Hotel Kokshetau, Park House, as well as with the volunteer and technical support of the Higher Pedagogical College of Shchuchinsk.
This year’s important event brought together more than 60 poets, novelists, artists, musicians and filmmakers from 18 countries, making it the largest of the ECG (London) festivals in the last three years and possibly the largest ever held in the history of the Burabay region. Delegates came from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, the UK, Poland, Lithuania, Israel, Russia, Finland, Australia, Uzbekistan, the USA, Georgia, Bulgaria, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Pakistan, Germany and Belarus. This is the third time the festival has been held in Kazakhstan, and each time the participants take home the warmest memories. It is very encouraging that many of them keep coming back to the festival.
The festival programme began in the city of Shchuchinsk, at the ECG HORIZONS Burabay creative residence. On Monday, 25 September, there was an introductory meeting for the participants of the festival, where the guests could learn more about the rich programme of the festival period. The next day, the programme kicked off – this year it included more than 25 personal presentations, an art exhibition, an art performance, the traditional Voices of Eurasia creative marathon, screenings of seven films and panel discussions with their directors, the Blue Diamonds of Eurasia assembly and other key events.
After the opening ceremony the delegates returned to the premises of the “House by the Lake” and “Park Hotel Kokshetau” hotels, where most of the speakers’ performances took place during the festival and which became a kind of creative centre for the festival period.
The main event of the competition programme, the Eurasia Voices Marathon, took place on 27 September at the House by the Lake Hotel. The event was moderated by Anna Lari, Director of the Festival Department and co-founder of ECG. Each delegate introduced themselves and shared their creative products with their colleagues, who evaluated the performances and works of the participants, adding fractions of a point, which was decisive for some participants.
After the marathon, the festival participants moved to the creative residence of ECG HORIZONS Burabay, where the flags of Great Britain, Kazakhstan, Israel and, for the first time, Armenia were ceremoniously raised (the tradition of raising the flags of the participating countries was established last year, when the flags of Russia, Belarus, Wales and the personal flag of Hélène Corot were also raised). The flag raising ceremony was followed by the unveiling of a new plaque on the Wall of Remembrance in the Residence, which is dedicated to the memory of Guild members who have passed away or who have had a strong influence on their work. This year, the ECG Executive Committee unveiled a plaque in memory of the Guild Guardian who passed away last year – a beautiful young woman and writer, Torgyn Zholdasbekkyzyzy.
Baktygul Makhanbetova, a literary agent, gave a speech in her memory that moved everyone present to tears.
The busiest and most active day of the festival was 28 September, when three events took place simultaneously in the morning. The hospitable auditorium of the Shchuchinsk Higher Pedagogical College became a platform for the screening of festival films and panel discussions with their directors. The moderator was Timur Akhmedjanov, a film director and illustrator from the UK. The audience had the opportunity to interact with British directors Sohail Loun and Kerry-Anne Kendall, as well as with the winner of the Eurasian Film Festival in London, Kazakh director Zhorabek Mussabayev.
Hotel “House by the Lake” gathered at the round table participants of Discovery Travel Forum, experts in tourism and creative industries from Poland, the UK, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and the USA – the discussion on the problems of tourism development in the Burabay region and presentations of experts from Kyrgyzstan, Marina Bashmanova and from the USA. Andrew Wachtel did not leave without making a lasting impression, stressing the impact of the meeting on rethinking key aspects of doing business.
The highlight and the most awaited event were undoubtedly the award ceremony of the festival and competition “Voices of Friends: Poetry & Art” festival and competition “XII Open Eurasia: Super Cup 2023”, which this year was held in a unique format: the best of the best – finalists from previous years – competed for the first places.
The awards were not just for the winners of the competition. Medals were also awarded for the contributions of the delegates. For example, Azim Akmatov, son of the Kyrgyz classic Kazat Akmatov, presented medals donated by Askar Aitmatov, son of Chingiz Aitmatov, a legend of the Eurasian and Kyrgyz literary world. The medal was created in honour of the 95th anniversary of the writer’s birth. Medals and certificates named after Barbara Jurkowska-Nawrocka were presented by Adam Semenczyk, head of the Polish-British organisation Poezja London.
Zhangeldy Meiramuly Tulegenov, Deputy Akim of Burabai District, gave a welcome speech to the festival participants.During the ceremony, Svetlana Yudina and Saltanat Khamzeyeva were honoured as members of the ECG’s highest governing body, the Guardian Council, and Kuralay Avutova, founder and author of the Inspire women’s education programme, was elevated to the rank of Ambassador. The gala evening concluded with a musical lounge by Warren Wills.
The next day, 29th September, foreign guests were able to immerse themselves in Kazakh national colours. On the premises of the ECG HORIZONS residence, there was a presentation of the world of Kazakh literature moderated by Baktygul Makhanbetova, a presentation of the public organisation “Novis” and the creative community of the Burabai region. Then a real holiday awaited the guests: a member of the Guardian Council from Israel, Alexander Kazarnovsky, immersed all present in an incredible atmosphere of celebrating the Jubilee of the future – the Jewish national tradition of Sukkot. In the evening, the guests were welcomed by a gala concert, where they were inspired by journalist, singer and producer Marina Bashmanova (Kyrgyzstan), composer Warren Wills (Australia) and the vocal-choreographic ensemble “Zvonnitsa-Naslediye” (Petropavlovsk).
The second international film festival BISFF ended on 30 September. The festival ended with a screening of Heavenly Team by Belarusian director Vladimir Alenikov at the Wyndham Garden Burabay Hotel, the festival’s partner in the village of Burabay. The audience enjoyed not only the film but also the new location. The winner of the Cannes Film Festival, the living legend of Polish cinema Krzysztof Pius Zanussi and the British director Ovidio Salazar, a jury member of many international festivals, sent their greetings to the audience.
The opening of the mural on the memorial wall of the ECG HORIZONS residence (Burabay) by the British Ambassador to the Republic of Kazakhstan, Casey Leach, was a beautiful final chord that summed up the whole festival. The Ambassador noted the importance of such events and wished the participants further success. The mural was created during the festival by wonderful British artists Natalie Bays, Charlotte Trower, Kerry-Anne Kendall and Hannah Davies. As Natalie Bays, head of the delegation and director of the NGO NO Collective, pointed out during the presentation, the idea behind the mural was to demonstrate the unifying power of Eurasia. For example, tea with milk is both a very British and a very Central Asian drink, the tea set is decorated with national patterns of different countries, and the night sky is placed behind the composition. “Wherever we are, let us remember that we are all looking up at the same stars,” she concluded. Everyone at the ceremony, including the Ambassador, left their “star” in the night sky of the mural.
ECG would like to thank the general partners of the festival: Rixos Borovoe, House by the Lake, Wyndham Garden Burabay, Park Hotel Kokshetau, Park House Kokshetau and the Higher Pedagogical College of Shchuchinsk. Special thanks to the team of volunteers from the Shchuchinsk and Burabay settlements and the Central Asian Book Publishing House.
THE WINNERS OF THE CONTEST “XII OPEN EURASIA: SUPER CUP 2023”: THE WINNERS OF THE PROSE CATEGORY ARE 1st place – Lusine Aleksanyan (Armenia) 2nd place – Murat Uali (Kazakhstan) 3rd place – Sergey Listvin (Lithuania) and Olga Shpakovich (Russia).
IN THE CATEGORY “SHORT PROSE” THE WINNERS WERE 1st place – Nurlan Toksanov (Kazakhstan) 2nd place – Nina Yagolnitzer (Israel) 3rd place – Rimma Ulchina (Israel).
IN THE “NON-FICTION” CATEGORY, THE WINNERS WERE 1st place – Marsel Salimov (Russia) 2nd place – Ludmila Voevodina (Lithuania) 3rd place – Irina Sapir (Israel).
IN THE CATEGORY “CHILDREN’S PROSE” THE WINNERS WERE 1st prize – Marina Alyasova (Kazakhstan) 2nd place – Lyubov Mosley (USA) and Afsana Lachin (Azerbaijan). 3rd place – Vitaly Lozovich (Russia).
IN THE CATEGORY “TRANSLATION” THE WINNERS WERE 1st prize – Bakhtygul Makhanbetova (Kazakhstan) 2nd place – Oleg Kunitsky (Belarus) 3rd place – Esenzhan Abubakirov (Kyrgyzstan).
THE WINNERS OF THE COMPETITION “VOICES OF FRIENDS: POETRY & ART” IN THE “POETRY” CATEGORY: 1st place – Andrey Grodzinsky (Uzbekistan) 2nd place – Elena Makarova (Uzbekistan) 3rd place – Alexander Kazarnovsky (Israel) and Gennady Gorovoy (Israel).
WINNERS IN THE “PAINTING” CATEGORY: 1st place – Sergey Babyakov (Kazakhstan) 2nd place – Anastasia Kalinovskaya (Russia) 3rd place – Raisa Belenkaya (Great Britain) and Larisa Pak (Kyrgyzstan).
WINNERS OF THE “ILLUSTRATION” CATEGORY: 1st place – Andrey Gurgish (Kazakhstan) 2nd place – Oksana Gordiyko (Ukraine) 3rd place – Anton Farutin (Russia)
WINNERS IN THE “PHOTOGRAPHY” CATEGORY: 1st place – Maria Muchinskaya (Belarus) 2nd place – Tatiana Ivanova (Bulgaria) 3rd place – Maria Priznyakova (Russia)
THE MEDALS OF THE ISSYK-KUL FORUM CHINGIZ AITMATOV FOUNDATION WERE AWARDED TO: Theatre producer and composer Warren Wills (Australia), Journalist and writer Kuchkar Narkabilov (Uzbekistan), Artist and social activist Natalie Bayes (United Kingdom).
THE BARBARA JURKOWSKA-NAWROCKA MEDALS WERE AWARDED TO: Elena Bezrukova (Kazakhstan) Mikhail Kunitsky (Belarus) Lenar Shayekh (Russia – Republic of Tatarstan) Raza Syed (Great Britain) Daria Belkina (Kazakhstan) Klara Kabylgazina (Kazakhstan) Paulina Gable – Kravts (Israel) Saltanat Khamzeyeva (Kazakhstan) Shamsiya Zhubatova (Kazakhstan) Munaidar Balmolda (Kazakhstan) Andrey Grodzinsky (Uzbekistan) Anna Lari (United Kingdom) Temirbek Joldobaev (Kyrgyzstan) Natalia Korshun (Russia) Marsel Salimov (Russia – Republic of Bashkortostan) Lara Prodan (USA) Olga Egorova (Russia) Dilorom Nishanova (USA) Aijarkyn Kozhabekova (Kyrgyzstan) Asel Ayapova (Kyrgyzstan) Vlada Vityazeva (Georgia) Indira Laktaeva (USA) Marina Bashmanova (Kyrgyzstan) Bayangaly Alimzhanov (Kazakhstan)
BARBARA JURKOWSKA-NAWROCKA CERTIFICATES WERE AWARDED TO: Tigran Afyan Marat Akhmedjanov Sanzhar Dusenov
Gulchekhra-begim Makhmudova is one of the most important women in Uzbekistan and the CIS countries in the field of culture, beauty and perfume. She started in 1985 as a producer of the international tours for Uzbek creatives – InterDay of Culture, then ran her own BEGIM World with luxury perfume and cosmetics brands distributor in Uzbekistan in 1990, and now she is a successful businesswoman, writer, cultural activist promoting Renew Silk Road around the world and the Eurasian Creative Guild Guardian.
OCA: How did you come to work in such an amazing field as perfumery? Gulchekhra-begim Makhmudova: When I was a little girl, I accidentally broke a bottle of my grandmother’s Guerlain perfume. My grandmother was very upset and I cried with her, so I hugged her and said, “Don’t cry, please, when I grow up, I’ll give you a car full of perfumes! And in 1990, when the great couturier Yves Saint Laurent offered me a choice of many directions to become his official representative in Uzbekistan, I chose perfume. Then, of course, other brands began to contact me. My grandmother lived to be 102, and I kept my promise by giving her a car full of perfumes.
OCA: You produce your own BEGIM brand perfume in France, and it is not just about aesthetic pleasure or self-expression. It’s also about the knowledge of the great treasures of the Silk Road. What makes it so unique and sophisticated? GM: Story-perfume is a perfume that reveals the great treasures of world civilisations. That is very important. For me, it is about history and values, the history of culture. It includes the KohiNur diamond, which still shines in the crown of the United Kingdom, and the Temur ruby and many others. There are so many adventures. And for me, it’s deeply connected to the culture itself, like practices and ingredients. The team and I are looking for the very rare ingredients that our ancestors used thousands of years ago to heal pain, to bring happiness, to give peace or courage, and to inspire the great achievements of both ordinary warriors and great emirs. For some plants you have to go as far as the plateau of Machu Picchu because they grow nowhere else in the world. This is how my collection of paired perfumes from the ‘Begim Perfumes – Treasure Collection’ came about, including ‘Samarkand Spirit’, ‘Bukhara Spirit’, ‘Ruby of Temur’, ‘KohiNur Diamond’ and ‘Silk Road’.
OCA: You’re a successful businesswoman, running a big brand, developing perfumes and beauty products. And at the same time you’re writing books. How did the idea of becoming a writer come into your life? GM: I can’t help it. For me, there are books, perfumes and stones. When I work with perfumes, I understand that they are scents from the depths of our history. They open and refract in very different ways. For me, this is a fairy tale, so I write fairy tales, and mystery, adventure and romance, so I write detectives. Fragrances affect the subconscious very deeply, they create a strong reaction, starting with emotions and ending with new ideas and fantasies. I have a scientific education as an art critic and theatre expert with knowledge of the English language, I have completed international UN courses, and this has also inspired me to write a trilogy of detective novels about the historical treasures of the East “Flask of Crystal Hookah”, as well as four books of fairy tales for children “Adventures Of The Spirit Of Time” (journey along the Great Caravan and Maritime Silk Road).
OCA: What is your vision of your creative work as an author? GM: I would like to see the implementation of my ideas in the format of a large-scale immersive edutainment (education + entertainment) show. An edutainment theme park provides both the knowledge and the pleasure necessary for the growth of future generations. For me, as a mother and grandmother, it is very important that children know their history, their roots, and that they move forward to progress and peace. That is why I am now actively working on the SILKROADLAND project – an edutainment park similar to Disneyland but built around the oriental characters of the Great Silk Road. A memorandum on the project was signed in Qatar in February. Many countries have already shown great interest, and the project has attracted the largest company ‘Voltere by Egis’ (France) – the main consultants-managers of world-famous theme parks – who have drawn up the business plan and visualisation of SILKROADLAND. But that is only part of the plan. As with Disneyland, I also want to bring my characters to life, make animated films based on my children’s books and am now in talks with possible partners in various countries.
OCA: What helps you to be successful? What advice would you give? GM: First of all, every woman has to be in love. I even wrote a song for one of my anniversaries – ‘Put your love in a baby’s heart’, so that when they grow up they can share it with others. Always stay curious, try to know everything. Sometimes I get excited about all sorts of questions, like who was the first person to dig the Egyptian pyramids. It seems like but why do I need that? But I learned that Sheikh al-Mamun was the first to excavate the Egyptian pyramids and found a magical treasure, and that inspired me for another project I’m working on. Another important thing is courage. The ability to go forward with an open heart and give happiness to the people around you and to future generations is one of the most important qualities necessary to achieve success in life… My motto is AMORE-BONTE-CULTURE-BEAUTE!
“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 a series of celebrations marking the 15th anniversary of OCA magazine.
The event was moderated by Marat Akhmedjanov, founder of ECG and vice chairman, and began with a warm welcome speech by Marta Brassart, chairwoman of ECG. The celebration featured a range of captivating presentations and performances, including the book launch of “Ahriman, Lord of Darkness” by Gulsifat Shakhidi, a revered Tajik writer and guardian of Guild. Additionally, Nadejda Tanova, a Gagausian poetess from Moldova and Nurym Taibek from Kazakhstan presented their evocative poems featured in the current edition of the “Voices of Friends” poetry almanac.
The event also showcased the talents of Natasha Hart MBE, an ECG ambassador, who presented a moving song dedicated to mothers. Estonian singer Laura premiered two new songs dedicated to love and London, while Orzu Arts presented the enchanting performances of national dance by Yukutai Sharapova from Kyrgyzstan and music performance from Sherhon group, Uzbekistan.
Moreover, an exciting highlight of the event was the presentation of the new graphic book “Elish and Wicker Tale” created by Tatar-Uzbek artist, Timur Akhmedjanov. Raza Syed was honored with the Barbara Navrocka medal by the Londyn Poezia foundation for his unwavering support of creative individuals and excellence in reporting. The award was presented by ECG chairman, Marta Brassart.
The venue and hospitality for the event were graciously provided by the Yunus Emre Institute London, while the delicious cuisine was expertly prepared by Oshpaz and dedicated volunteers. The event attracted over 70 esteemed guests, creating an atmosphere of cultural exchange and creative enrichment. Follow us on Instagram @eurasian_creative_guild
Museums are an important point of attraction for many people for many reasons over the years. We used to visit them as a part of a touristic program as well as see them as an educational or entertainment venue in our everyday life. And the concept of what the modern museums should be like is very different from a decade ago and still dynamically changing.
Most people born in the USSR, or in the former Soviet countries in the early 1990s, can describe their experience of the museums in a ‘don’t touch it’ way. For a long time, a typical Soviet museum (and many other ones around the world) provided services like excursions and lectures in a highly formal way where visitors could only observe pieces of the exhibition and listen to the guide or teacher. It’s not good or bad, just a common model of classical education. It’s reasonable to say that this model is sustainable for museums of history, art and other directions related to fragile or unique exhibits – we definitely have to do our best to keep them untouched.
At the same time, the last twenty years gave us a new model’s explosive adoption and hybrid solutions for museums. Thanks to modern technologies and destination marketing programmes modern museums are more interactive and ready to provide the new experience in a practical way. Nowadays, school children can visit the museum of science not only to observe Faraday’s Cage, but to carry our experiments for example. Sometimes we see a whole show as a part of the experience. Experience has become the key aspect of the museum’s concept in comparison with simply content as it was thirty years ago.
Today we have a lot of things to try in many different ways outside the museums. And things we can see in documentaries and need not go to the museum to see it at all. It doesn’t mean that we need no museums, moreover we can say that it is an essential part of our life, but what is it indeed? We can see it in the example of libraries. Today many libraries in the UK, USA, EU and other countries are changing their main function from the resource centres to the community centres. People spend time reading and discussing books in a club format, join different events like author’s talks and public lectures. Libraries are social hubs. The same thing is happening with museums. The difference is that, unlike libraries, museums already have narrow themes and practical ways of interacting with their visitors, so we can’t just place a wide range of events into the shell of every specific museum. But it means that the museum can do what the library can’t do – create a holistic experience for changing our social lives.
This change is visible in the example of the ECG museum project called “Elish and Superheroes”. This is the first international museum, for children, dedicated to the exploration of autism and inclusivity through a unique medium. The project is not trying to just be a place for people on the autism spectrum but rather promoting the inclusion of such people into social, cultural and business relationships.
The philosophy of the project is built around the thesis that everybody can become a ‘Superhero’ – a valuable and significant part of a team or society. And even though the museum is oriented to children and teenagers it also will work with the aim of the inclusion of adults with autism in society.
That’s why this museum is not just an educational project FOR autistic people, but also a space for anyone to learn more ABOUT autism and its impact to human life. So, the key concept is to display Elish (a hero with behaviours that parallel autism) among other well-known faces, showing that not only is Elish like the rest but that his unique behaviour is a key factor in his success (as seen by many famous individuals with autism).
Autistic people live beyond the common feeling of time, they are more concentrated on the process and their inner world. This is why it’s so hard for them to be integrated in society’s idea of social relations. In support of the central concept of the museum we want to design the space to consider two main mechanics of interaction between the museum and the visitor – slow down the rhythm of activity and make the interaction more tactile.
The first mechanic is about changing the speed of moving inside the space of the museum. The structure of the museum building is built on the principle of a labyrinth, so visitors can’t walk as fast as usual, constantly making decisions as to where to go next. Obstacles, carefully placed, also help slow visitors down, while laser lights focus the attention.
The second mechanic is concentrated at all of the five feelings instead of just one – visual perception. White noise like sounds of rain, symphonic music or other sound effects are absolutely necessary to develop the concept of the museum and the exhibition. The sense of touch is probably the most important channel of perception for autistic people and people with HIA in general. Different materials on surfaces, the curves of the space and natural elements like rocks, water and plants will make the experience deeper and brighter.
Smell and taste may be overlooked yet they are very influential senses. We want to include a ‘superpower cocktail’ with the admission ticket to welcome visitors and create a good mood from the very beginning.
The first museum of its kind is planned to be built in the city of Schuchinsk, Burabay National Park (Northern Kazakhstan) in the summer of 2024. It will be a part of the ECG HORIZONS Burabay Creative Residence of the Eurasian Creative Guild. The complex will include not only the museum itself but also a playground equipped for HIA children as well as appealing to all the local youth. The playground will be related to the museum, being themed as a superhero’s workout. The museum will become a venue for cultural and educational events, showing the creativity of people with HIA to the ECG international audience.
So, the point is that visiting the museum of a new concept is not only about learning or trying something new but about becoming someone new throughout the unique experience. It’s like a quest when you need to take a sword out of a stone to become a king and hero – a quick transformation based on the very artificial environment.
IMPROVING EDUCATIONAL NEEDS FOR AUTISM IN KAZAKHSTAN
The number of identified cases of autism in children in Kazakhstan has increased fivefold over the past 7 years. In the Republic of Kazakhstan according to information of the Ministry of Education (until June, 2022 of the Ministry of Education and Science) there are more than 8,000 children with autism, and according to the Ministry of Health the figure was about 5,000 children as of December 31, 2021.
According to independent estimates by Dr. Eric Von Bonn, director of the Autism Institute at Oregon State University (USA), in Kazakhstan there are 59,000 children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). According to the official data of the international organization “Autism Speaks”, in 2020 every 54 children in the world have been diagnosed with autism. If one was to rely on this statistic, in Kazakhstan more than 116,000 children under the age of 18 have ASD, suggesting that the official figures may be under representative.
In Kazakhstan, the issue of autism falls under the jurisdiction of three ministries – the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection and the Ministry of Education and there is already different data on the number of children with ASD in Kazakhstan.
In the initial assessment of a child with ASD, parents face problems such as late diagnosis, lack of information and specialists, and societal prejudice. The latter directly affects and complicates the collection of statistical data, as parents of children with ASD at an early stage often deny the diagnosis, do not register with doctors in time and the child is not listed anywhere as a child with ASD until preschool age.
In Kazakh health care institutions it is necessary to introduce a system of early diagnosis of ASD recognized at the international level as the “Gold Standard” – ADOS. As practice in Kazakhstan demonstrates, parents more often learn that a child has ASD not from doctors, but from specialists working in the field of correctional care, or from parents raising the children with the same diagnosis.
Owing to the persistence of families and non-governmental organizations, currently a system of education of children with ASD in schools has been established. More than eighty amendments have been made to the laws of Kazakhstan, in particular to the Law “On Education”, which allows children to be fully educated in the system of inclusive learning. In many schools in Kazakhstan, an international standard system of inclusive education has been implemented, inclusion support rooms have been opened, specialist teaching assistants have been introduced, psychologists, speech therapists, and defectologists also work with children. The state, together with private structures, develops programs to provide district and rural schools with the conditions of inclusive education.
The next stage is to transmit inclusive education system to secondary and higher educational organizations. Likewise, it requires alterations at the legislative level, preparation of educational institutions for admission of people with ASD, simplification of entrance exams to colleges and higher educational institutions and other related issues.
Regarding further employment of people with ASD, it is worth clarifying that in Kazakhstan there is a gradation of disability into first, second and third degrees. Since 2021, the diagnosis of autism has been moved to the second group of disability, without considering individual and intellectual abilities, self-care skills, etc. This means that upon reaching the age of 18, a person with ASD is automatically recognized as capable and therefore can lead an independent life and work. However, in order to employ people with ASD, it is essential to create workplaces with appropriate working conditions, determine the scope of their activities, introduce occupations and professions.
In recent years, support centers for children with ASD have paid attention to the physical development of children, and many centers incorporate physical therapy and sports activities. Sport is one of the important aspects in the life of all children, especially of children with mental disabilities, who in most cases have problems with gross and fine motor skills and body coordination.
For example, the sports-academic centre “Qadam special school” provides comprehensive support for children and teenagers – academic program includes preparation of children for inclusive education in school, after-school and sports program, where children play sports and attend various sections on a daily basis. Moreover, the program in “Qadam special school” is not limited only to academic knowledge, the centre conducts classes in social skills, music, drawing and socialization. In short, we attempt to cover all aspects of a child’s development and facilitate his comfortable adaptation in society. The centre has launched a rock-climbing section for children with ASD, a tennis section and in winter more than 20 children of the centre learned to skate and ski.
Sports improve the quality of life for the child and family, increasing not only the child’s physical activity and endurance, but also his academic performance and socialization. Moreover, the lives of families raising children with ASD become more diverse, which is the goal of our centre. In Kazakhstan, sports falls under the Ministry of Culture and Sports. Unfortuantely, mass sport in Kazakhstan does not consider people with mental disabilities, and sports people with ASD cannot be participants of neither the Olympics nor the Paralympics. As for the development of sports in the country as a whole, it is necessary to popularize it among children and adults with ASD, with the participation of government programs in the form of training specialists, advising sports federations for people with mental disabilities, subsidies, support and provision in general.
It should be understood that when sending a child with ASD to sports sections, which in particular take place in the form of group classes, the presence of a specialist trained coach is required.
As noted above, the issues of children with ASD in Kazakhstan fall under the jurisdiction of three ministries, and if you include the Ministry of Culture and Sports, then four. Each ministry develops its own programs, however it would be more effective to establish a single body covering the functions of all ministries. The objectives of this body would be as follows – to maintain proper and more accurate statistics; to enhance the identification of specific data on the demand for specialists and institutions; to organize negotiations with non-governmental organizations, parents of children with ASD and government agencies at various levels.
First and foremost, it is crucial to encourage children with ASD, taking into account their characteristics, capabilities and potential. Creating a system where parents of children with ASD can choose correctional centres, sports clubs and other educational institutions for their child with the funds allocated by the state would be the most fair and exemplary approach.
A child with ASD can be taught everything, if the support is timely and judicious. It is necessary to develop and teach these children comprehensively, in a word, all the colours of the rainbow should be present.
by Mazhen Aysulu Berikkyzy, Founder of the Qadam Special School Sports and Academic Center and Brand ambassador of “Qadam special school” and Nurlan Munbaev, Professor of Econometrics, Guardian of the Eurasian Creative Guild
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 (“Fund”) was re-established in early 2020. The Fund’s founders are Sharaf Rashidov’s children. The Fund is an NGO and operates on the territory of Uzbekistan and foreign countries.
The main goal of the Fund is to study the life and work, as well as to preserve the rich heritage of Sharaf Rashidov (1917-1983). The period of his leadership (1950-1983) is considered one of the best pages in the history of Uzbekistan. His huge contribution to the development of the country’s economy, national literature, culture, science, education, to the upbringing of the younger generation in the spirit of patriotism and a sense of responsibility for their homeland was the foundation of the prosperity of Uzbekistan.
The Fund carries out research and educational activities, organizes and conducts conferences, seminars, exhibitions, presentations, as well as publishes and distributes books by Sharaf Rashidov along with other printed material. The Fund conducts research work in the archives of Uzbekistan and plans to establish links with the foreign archives. The Fund supervises the work of the House-Museum of Sharaf Rashidov in Jizzakh. The Fund has initiated the following activities: In June 2021, the Fund hosted the conference “Sharaf Rashidov – the Man of the Epoch” in Jizzakh and Tashkent. The reports of Uzbek and foreign scientists comprehensively reviewed the legacy of Sharaf Rashidov, as well as events and phenomena related to his state and public activities through modern lens.
In March 2022, the Fund and the Uzbek company “Smart Chain” (innovative digital technologies) held the presentation of jointly developed educational content for schools using QR codes at school No. 10 named after Sharaf Rashidov in Jizzakh. The theme of the presented content was devoted to the life and work of Sharaf Rashidov. The use of QR codes makes it possible to present the subject to schoolchildren quite clearly and much more informatively than the traditional method. The QR code method is being introduced into the educational process in Uzbekistan for the first time.
In July 2022, the Fund with the participation of historians from the Academy of Sciences of Uzbekistan, university professors and teachers held in Tashkent the presentation of the Interactive Map as a database of collective memory of Sharaf Rashidov’ activities from 1950 to 1983. The Interactive Map is based upon reliable archive data, documents, film, photo, audio materials collected by the Fund’s employees. It reveals in detail the evolution of the administrative-territorial division of Uzbekistan over the specified period, milestones in the development of agriculture, industry, power generation, science, education, culture, art, and foreign policy activities. The Fund also presented the Interactive Map to scientists, faculty, students and labor veterans at Samarkand State University.
In November 2022, a photo exhibition “Sharaf Rashidov – Politician and Diplomat” was held at the House of Photography in Tashkent, timed to coincide with the 105th anniversary of his birth. The event dedicated to the foreign policy activities of Sharaf Rashidov included 82 rare photographs taken during official visits. During the photo exhibition, the Fund presented the 3D Museum of Sharaf Rashidov – the first of its kind in Uzbekistan. It includes rare pages of his life, which are unknown to the public.
Contact: Sharaf Rashidov International Public Fund 41-A, Passage 8, Rakatboshi Street Tashkent, Uzbekistan Tel.: +998951451065, +998781501065 Email: info@sharafrashidov.uz Web: sharafrashidov.uz
TRENDS IN RECRUITMENTIN INTERNATIONAL SCHOOLS SINCE 2020:INSIGHTS AND POSSIBLE CAUSES
Recruitment in international schools has witnessed significant shifts and trends since 2020. The global pandemic, coupled with evolving educational practices, has brought about notable changes in the hiring landscape of these institutions. In this article, we will explore the key trends that have emerged and provide three possible reasons behind these shifts.
One prominent trend in recruitment is the surge in demand for online teaching positions within international schools. The pandemic forced educational institutions worldwide to adopt remote learning, and international schools were no exception. As a result, schools have been actively seeking qualified educators with experience in delivering online instruction. This shift reflects the growing importance of digital literacy and the need for teachers who can effectively engage students in virtual learning environments.
Embracing technological advancements and enhancing online learning capabilities has become imperative for international schools to ensure continuity in education during unprecedented times. Hence, the demand for online teaching positions is driven by the necessity to adapt to the changing educational landscape.
International schools have long emphasised the value of diversity and inclusion within their communities. Since 2020, there has been a noticeable increase in the recruitment efforts to foster diverse and inclusive environments. Schools are actively seeking teachers from various cultural backgrounds, with diverse skill sets and experiences. This trend aligns with the growing recognition of the benefits that diversity brings to enriching the educational experience and preparing students for a globalised world. The events of the past few years, including social justice movements and increased awareness of systemic biases, have spurred many international schools to prioritise diversity, equity, and inclusion. By recruiting a diverse pool of educators, these schools can provide students with multicultural perspectives, promote empathy, and create inclusive learning spaces.
The global health crisis has highlighted the importance of mental health and well-being in education. The better International schools have responded to this by placing a greater emphasis on recruiting professionals who can provide holistic support to students. They are actively seeking educators with experience in areas such as counselling, psychology, and social-emotional learning. This trend reflects the recognition that addressing students’ emotional needs is crucial for their overall development and academic success.
The pandemic and its associated challenges have taken a toll on students’ mental health and well-being. International schools are proactively responding to this by prioritising the recruitment of staff members who can offer the necessary support. By investing in mental health resources, these institutions aim to create a nurturing environment that fosters resilience, emotional growth, and academic achievement. This said it is debatable as to how many new staff have these ‘new’ skills due to a natural lag between training development and the needs at the ‘chalkface’!
Recruitment in international schools has witnessed significant trends since 2020, reflecting the changing educational landscape and the impact of the global pandemic. The increased demand for online teaching positions, the focus on diversity and inclusion, and the heightened emphasis on well-being and mental health support are three key trends that have emerged. These trends demonstrate the adaptability and responsiveness of international schools as they strive to meet the evolving needs of students in a rapidly changing world. In my thirty years’ experience in the education sector, I believe that the rate of change and the renewed challenges affecting all levels of the international education sector are growing exponentially and within a few more years the sector will have evolved dramatically. The challenge for teachers is to keep abreast of these changes through training and skill development. For managers the challenges are even greater as they try to identify the ‘skills’ that potential candidates have and the overall mix of staff and resources needed for their students. The education sector continues to be one that Central Asian countries invest heavily in and it is important that the balancing act to provide the skills that their young citizens will require are provided for.
Gareth Stamp has been involved in education for over thirty years and has worked as an education manager and consultant in a number of countries around the world, developing curriculum, pedagogies and school structures.
“A lot has changed since I was first recruited to work at a new set of schools in Kazakhstan. To be honest I am not sure that the organisation really knew what they were looking for, just that they wanted ‘experts’ and ‘experienced’ teaching professionals. Fourteen years ago the recruitment process was very ‘traditional’ – I responded to an advert in an actual newspaper and had a face to face interview in London. In today’s hi-tech, Zoom fuelled globalised system many managers don’t meet the applicants and only the successful ones when they reach the airport. But at the same time computers can provide much more detailed information about candidates, schools and countries than it ever did before. If you did a google search for Central Asia fourteen years ago you got pictures of Yurts and rolling Steppe.
The blanket approach of recruiting from across the world (which in my opinion was both expensive and hit and miss) has thankfully changed. Schools are becoming more targeted to make a good ‘fit’ and candidates are also becoming more discerning. During the pandemic a large number of experienced teachers and educational managers returned home having been isolated from families and friends during lockdowns – many have not decided to continue the adventure or at least are looking closer to their home country. Others, especially with families have also re-evaluated their priorities. Age is also an issue, some countries in Asia specifically have introduced an upper limit of 55 – this is partly because in the past ‘experience’ was often measured by ‘age’ and in a few cases this caused added strain on insurance costs, specific medical requirements in one case accessibility issues.
The skills of the educational professionals in Central Asia have risen exponentially and there has been a move to local training and development of local staff. This is testament to the positive overall development in the education sector.
I visit lots of schools and universities across the region and I am happy to see that the majority of them have excellent provision for their students. There is also more of a willingness to share experiences. Each school is different but by working together and learning from each other the development of the next generation looks positive.”
by Gareth Stamp, Head of Creative Arts – Brookhouse Schools – Nairobi Kenya
PLAYING FOR A BETTER CENTRAL ASIA: INTRODUCING VOICES OF CENTRAL ASIA
Do you know what lies beyond the mainstream media’s headlines when it comes to Central Asia? Are you curious to learn more about the human rights issues in this region? If so, you should try out a new free game app, Voices of Central Asia.
The app has been created by the Central Asia Solidarity Groups (CAG), a non-profit organization based in Sweden working to promote active and inclusive civil society in Central Asia that supports human rights and social justice. The game is designed to raise awareness about human rights issues in the region. “The project was created to spread information about the region; what kind of organizations are there, and what type of topics and situations they are focused on – to spread and increase attention, and get more engagement from people”, says Tatiana Stebneva, who led and coordinated the process of creating the app. With its focus on questions related to gender equality, freedom of speech, migration, youth, environment, security and more, the app Voices of Central Asia aims to give voice to discriminated communities and shed light on local civil society initiatives.
Voices of Central Asia is part of information and advocacy work of CAG. Currently, Central Asia remains largely unknown to the European public. It is often overlooked and exoticized by international media, and when included, it is generally about gloomy causes – reinforcing a negative image of the region. “The app was made for Sweden to inform people about what is happening in Central Asia. But the app has now expanded its reach to other countries in Europe and Central Asia – spreading purpose and information related to our partner organizations”, explains Stebneva. The lack of awareness is reflected in the limited priority given to Central Asia by the general public, academia, and the international aid community, which leads to a lack of resources for the region. As a result, local civil society organizations struggle to get funding and support, while continuing to work with local communities and striving to influence decision-making processes.
For this reason, CAG takes a lot of effort in the organization’s information and advocacy project – to raise awareness about Central Asia in Sweden and beyond. “Using a game-based approach, Voices of Central Asia aims to encourage people everywhere to learn about human rights and Central Asia in an engaging way”, says Stebneva, and explains how the mission is to create a more informed and aware public that can take action to support local civil society organizations in Central Asia, and advocate for the human rights of marginalized communities.
The game contains seven storylines that invite players to take on the role of various characters, making choices that shape the outcome of their stories. The storylines are based on reports from local non-governmental organizations and CAG’s collaboration projects with civil society in the region, giving voices to the issues that they have raised. While navigating through the game’s stories, players are introduced to background information on each topic, which allows them to gain a deeper and more nuanced understanding of the current situation in Central Asia.
Storylines have a big potential to influence people’s attitudes towards an issue, owing to their engaging nature. “With Voices of Central Asia we aim to bring attention to pressing matters, such as the problem of bride kidnapping in Kyrgyzstan and water scarcity in the region. The goal is to not only make sure that the serious message gets through, but to also keep the players invested and engaged”, Stebneva explains.
By stepping into the shoes of different characters through the game, players can experience perspectives and contexts different from theirs, which gives them a better understanding of the complexities of human rights challenges in Central Asia, and encourages the players to reflect on their own privileges and biases. “An example of this could be playing a storyline focused on the environment”, says Stebneva, and explains how Central Asia is one of the global regions which are most severely affected by climate change. When the players navigate through the life of a character living in an area particularly vulnerable to the impacts of this global crisis, they can get a better grasp of its urgency and consequences. “In addition to bringing attention to these issues, we also highlight the initiatives aimed at addressing them”, says Sebneva. For example, the game features organizations that CAG has been working with to tackle environmental issues, encouraging players to support these initiatives and bring positive change.
CAG plans to update the Voices of Central Asia app with additional storylines in the coming months and years, focusing on more issues connected to gender equality, environment and climate, security and resilience, and democratic youth organizing in Central Asia. The goal is to reach a broader audience to drive change and promote democratic Central Asia and a more just world.
Voices of Central Asia is available in English and Swedish and can be downloaded on both Google Play and the App Store. It is a useful resource for everyone who wants to deepen their understanding of the civil society landscape and human rights challenges in Central Asia. Visit CAG’s webpage if you would like to know more about the work of the organization. Tatiana Sebneva encourages people to try the app and grow their knowledge: “Play now and become an informed advocate for a better Central Asia!”
The twenty-ninth film festival “Listapad” held from November 17th to 24th became a significant event of autumn and the film industry in Belarus. Such a large-scale event united a lot of film lovers, actors, directors and many others. The rich days of the film festival will be remembered by all participants and spectators who had the honor to be the first to watch the films.
A multi-genre program. Rich festival days, master classes, creative meetings, briefings. Interest in documentary films. This year’s show of animated films for the youngest ones aroused special interest: kids missed going to cinemas after the pandemic, and adults appreciated how animation and the use of neural networks have advanced. Pakistani Movie Day was held with the support of the Embassy of Pakistan. The screening of the movie “Kamli” was attended by the Ambassador of Pakistan – Sajjad Haider Khan. Days of Kazakhstan Cinema” and “Days of Uzbek Cinema”, screening of wonderful films of Russian directors and “ashes of the USSR collection” took place. The work of the jury was at the highest and professional level.
A breakthrough was the picture of a young and talented filmmaker – Kirill Khaletsky “Kinoshniki”.
Director of Belarusfilm Yuri Aleksei, while communicating with the directors, emphasized the desire of young people to develop and do everything for the benefit of the country and the film industry.
On the twenty-third day in the cinema “Tsentralny” there was a screening of the film “Khitrovka.Sign of Four”, which was presented by Alexander Oleshko, who came specially for the sake of the film festival, noting that every time he was glad to return to his beloved Belarus. Warm communication with the audience and stories brightened the end of the competition day.
The press conference in the press house gathered media and journalists from different editions and TV channels. During the communication Irina Driga (representative of the Ministry of Culture on the film industry) emphasized that it is worth developing and continuing to help young people discover their talents, as well as that the film industry is coming back after the pandemic.
The festival is notable for the fact that for the first time the Republic of Belarus and the People’s Republic of China signed agreements on cooperation and filming of a movie. Actor and producer Lei Hanyu was honored by the director of Belarusfilm Yuri Aleksei.
On November twenty-fourth the closing ceremony of the festival took place. All the busy days flew by quickly enough and here in “Doi Kino” the invited people gathered to enjoy the evening and the atmosphere, live music, photo zone, communication and new acquaintances, communication with the media and journalists, beauty around, and most importantly the announcement of the winners, which everyone was looking forward to.
Winners of the main competitions of Listapada:
Grand Prix “Gold of Listapad” for the best film of the film festival was awarded to “Tailor from Brooklyn” (Russia, directed by Evgeny Serov)
The Audience Award for Best Feature Film went to “Kamli” (Pakistan, directed by Sarmad Sultan Khusad).
The prize for the best movie was awarded to “Kamli” (Pakistan, directed by Sarmad Sultan Khusad). The Emperor” (Russia, directed by Alfiya Khabibullina) received the V.T. Turow Award for Best Film
Ada” (Russia, directed by Stanislav Svetlov) won the Audience Award of the “Cinema of the Young” competition.
The prize for the best film of the Animation Film Competition went to In the Shadow of Cypress (Iran, directed by Shirin Sohani and Hossein Molayemi).
The prize for the best non-fiction film was awarded to “God, I Feel Thy Approaching” (Russia, directed by Nikolay Burlyaev, Dmitry Chernetsov).
The Audience Award was given to the movie “By the Experimental Way” (Russia, directed by Vladimir Golovnev).
We congratulate the worthy winners and look forward to an even bigger and cooler thirtieth Listapad Film Festival.
After World War II, a massive expansion of higher education took place. What had traditionally been a privilege for a small percentage of the population gradually became an expectation for the majority, and by now almost two thirds of working-age Americans have some education beyond a high school degree. The skills of university graduates allowed them to join an expanding knowledge-based economy, and a BA degree became a ticket to the growing middle class. Without anyone fully noticing, however, the higher education system changed character. Most students enrolled not because they wanted to think deep thoughts about fundamental issues, but because they needed marketable skills and a credential. Universities catered to these desires because the resources brought by a lot of students allowed them to expand their faculty and research base.
@ javier trueba
Effectively they made a Faustian bargain – we give you skills that pave the way for employment and call it education; you put up with a small amount of fundamental knowledge in exchange for a credential that provides you with an economic leg up. It worked if most graduates could monetize their degrees. But as this has become more difficult, Americans are asking whether the cost of higher education is worth it, and enrollments are beginning to fall.
America’s lead was followed in many countries, taking various approaches. While the USSR also expanded the availability of higher education, it carefully controlled access, attempting to ensure that graduates could be absorbed by the economy. Although in the centrally planned but stagnating late Soviet economy a university degree did not necessarily provide great material advantages, it did confer social status and was highly prized. Recognizing the pent-up demand for higher education after the collapse of the USSR, most former Soviet republics allowed the system to expand enormously, with limited oversight. This led to significant increases in enrollments but did not produce commensurate economic benefits, neither for societies nor for individual graduates.
Beyond economics, three other global factors play into skepticism regarding the value of a BA degree: 1) the rise of sectors of the economy that do not demand a BA for entry — IT most visibly; 2) the accessibility of on-line courses that teach specific skills; 3) the global pace of change that causes students to doubt whether they should sit in one place for a long time.
In my view, the result of these trends will be a sharp split in post-high-school education trajectories, not just in Central Asia, but throughout the world. A small minority of the most ambitious students will wish and need to receive an updated version of the deep and fundamental education that universities traditionally provided. This education will not focus on skills and knowledge (although it will inevitably provide both) but rather on a deep understanding of the world and its complexity, on the ability to ask tough questions, to find unexpected answers. Students will “waste” a lot of time exploring various possibilities, and their education will only begin with a BA degree. The payoff will not be immediate, but if such programs are well implemented, they can potentially create a group of enlightened leaders who can solve the “wicked” questions plaguing humanity. Innovative projects to provide this type of education are currently ongoing, and I personally have been asked by Arsen Tomsky, founder of the company inDrive, to create one – inVision U will be up and running by 2025, beginning in Kazakhstan and then in multiple countries.
Most students, however, cannot benefit from this kind of education, nor can societies afford to provide it. Instead, students want useful knowledge and skills, and they need to be able to put them to work quickly and efficiently. For this purpose, the higher education system needs to stop producing ever larger numbers of BA graduates, but rather to build well-thought-out two-year programs that provide students with a skill set that allows them to join the workforce, create their own small and medium-sized enterprises, and grow and develop going forward.
My own experience creating and developing Compass College of Art and Design Professions in Bishkek (https://compasscollege.art/en ) shows how this can be done. A college in the former USSR offers three-year programs and accepts students after the 9th grade (at around age 15). Year one provides an accelerated path to complete high school, combing the final two years into one; it is followed by a two-year professional program. This is akin to a US associate degree program but is better, as we can use the high school year to open students’ minds and focus their attention on their future profession. We have discovered that if we offer a creative high school curriculum that concentrates on how to ask questions, how to think, analyze and present ideas, and how to use contemporary technology to find answers, we can quickly move students into design programs, allowing them to graduate at age 18 with imagination, curiosity, and highly marketable skills. They can enter the work force, start their own business, or skip one year of a European style three-year BA program or two of a US style four-year program should they choose to continue studying. Our programs are popular with students and parents because they do not waste time and they produce tangible results. While programs like this are not suitable for every field, most academic fields could be broken up into 2 + 2 blocks.
A major expansion of programs of this sort, with a clear credit transfer scheme for those who have a desire to eventually pursue a BA degree would be extremely beneficial for Central Asian countries. Kyrgyzstan, for example, which currently has approximately 250,000 students enrolled in mostly unproductive BA programs, would be able shrink them by around 60%, encouraging most students to participate instead in three-year open enrollment programs after 9th grade. Only a subset of the most ambitious, hardworking, and talented would later go on to bachelor’s level education. This approach would allow the state to invest its higher education resources more strategically, produce graduates whose skills and knowledge are linked to actual economic needs, and significantly amp up the intellectual requirements for those who ultimately wish to pursue a BA. There are many hurdles to overcome to achieve this outcome. But the work must be done to solve the significant mismatch between what the educational system needs to do to build the future economy and the current expectations of parents, students, and society.
by Andrew Wachtel Co-founder Director, Compass College, Director of Educational Programs, inDrive Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan
OCA #49 People edition Interview with MUKHAMEJAN ZEINELKHAN
TRADITIONAL KAZAKH EMBROIDERY “KESTE” AT THE INTERNATIONAL LEVEL
OCA Magazine: Tell us, please, about yourself and your creative activity / work Mukhamejan Zeinelkhan: I’m Mukhamejan Zeinelkhan, an artist. Born in Batam-Ulgiy region, Mongolia. Before school , l grew up in the countryside with my parents. I graduated from high school in 1974 and entered the Fine Arts school in Ulaanbaatar, graduating in 1978. I was taught by very talented teachers. The teachers who taught me at that time are now the leaders and masters of the Mongolian fine arts. The conversations of my teachers with students about creativity and what they taught us left a deep mark on my creative path. D.Amgalan – National Artist of Mongolia, Honoured Worked of Mongolian Art Purevsuh, Olziihutag, and my class teacher Ya. Tuyaa. One of them is a teacher of compounds, the other of painting and practical plain-airs for artists. And my other teachers are, of course, the history, legends and epics of my Kazakh people. For more than 30 years as an artist, I have been reviewing the forgotten Kazakh Art “Keste ‘’ in addition, l taught traditional art at the Academies of Arts and Art college. Many of my students are currently performing their art with the art of “Keste’’ and participating in exhibitions. My students Zeinelkhan Botakoz, Assel Abilkhay are famous among young artists for their unique handwriting.
OCA: How did you choose your path and who is your role model in the creative space or life? MZ: My creatime path began with the rich traditional crafts of the Kazakh people, including “Keste” embroidery, it was necessary to bring it closer to modern art. To adapt to a new direction, while retaining the features of the traditional embroidery art, which is almost lost. My first work, to the attention of an art critic.
OCA: What is your main achievement in 2022-2023? MZ: In 2022 years I became a “Diploma Winner “ in the nomination of Decorative Applied Artist at the UMAI NATIONAL Prize. In 2022, my work was published in the leading Art-Catalog “The Great Steppe Treasury” in London. In addition, I became the owner of the “KENSINGTON” diploma under the international program EAF Art REZIDENCE PROGRAM 2022-2023. I am also a member of the Eurasian Creative Guild.
OCA: What is the main feature that makes you and your art/work unique? MZ: In 1992 I moved to my historical homeland, to Kazakhstan, where the most successful periods of my work began. The traditional art of “Keste” (embroidery) opened a new breath in me. Now “Keste” (embroidery) is a modern genre in Kazakh art. Raikhan Yergalieva, a well-known Art-science Kazakhstan doctor, says about creative path: “It’s not simple in our temptations time after all research and delights of 20th century art to find your unique creative way among the many beaten tracks. To create a new art direction for modern culture especially seems almost unreal. However, it turns out that even now, when we often remember the words that “nothing new for the moon”, there is still opportunity for unique artistic discoveries. And this, of course, pleases, This helped me to step on the new international and application of traditional Kazakh crochet embroidery techniques, and then create on this basis a new direction, or even a kind of fine art. Most likely, it is an open-minded approach to the tradition, the new brave and unexpected view of things, the painstaking hard work and certainly the “smallness “ without which it is impressive – an artistic talent and taste.
OCA: Tell us, please, about the events of the Eurasian Creative Guild (London) and projects that you have already taken part in and how does ECG influence your creativity and success in your work? MZ: The Eurasian Creative Guild came to us bringing together talented artists. This opened the way to a deep acquaintance with the art of England. The publication of my creative work in London leading Art Catalog has changed my creative life. We have a dream in the future to present our work to the care that our dream will come true.
OCA: What is your motivation and the main aim of your creativity? MZ: My task is to raise the traditional Kazakh embroidery “Keste” at the international level.
OCA: What would you wish for the members of the Guild and other creative people, just starting their career? MZ: I wish the members of the Guild and colleagues great creative success!
In the Republic of Belarus, education is the basis of statehood; it ensures the reproduction of personnel and forms high quality of human capital.
Belarus has managed to develop the best traditions of the Soviet education system, while also balancing healthy conservatism and innovation. The country adopted the Education Code and developed the Conceptual Approaches to the Development of the Education System in the Republic of Belarus for the period up to 2030. The policy implemented in Belarus meets current demand in society for practice-oriented education as a condition for the subsequent competitiveness of the graduate.
In the media education is being positioned as an institution that plays an important role in the development of society through the prism of the transfer of knowledge, skills and values from one generation to the next. A large number of students are an evidence of the demand for education: 238 500 students and undergraduates received higher education in 2022/2023 academic year, 108 900 students received specialized secondary education, and 60 500 students received vocational education.
Progressive evolutionary development, constant mastering of modern approaches in combination with attractive tuition fees contribute to the popularisation of Belarusian education among foreign citizens. A significant rise in the number of foreign students has been seen from 26 000 in 2020 to 33 000 in 2022. This testifies to the recognition of Belarusian education in the world. At present, national universities are implementing more than 200 joint educational programmes with foreign higher education institutions. Interaction with China is actively developing – currently, there are about 550 cooperation agreements between Belarusian and Chinese universities.
As of 1 January 2022, the following Belarusian institutions were among the 5 thousand best universities in the Webometrics Ranking of World Universities (webometric ranking of universities by the Cybermetrics research group, which is part of the Spanish National Research Council): Belarusian State University (806 position), Belarusian National Technical University (3377th position), Francisk Skorina Gomel State University (3746th position), Belarusian State University of Informatics and Radioelectronics (3751 th position), Yanka Kupala State University of Grodno (3905th position), Belarusian State Medical University (4107th position), Grodno State Medical University (4775th position), Polotsk State University (4791th position), A.S. Pushkin Brest State University (4926 position), Belarusian State Technological University (4954 th position).
The 2022 QS World University Rankings (rankings of universities compiled by the British company Quacquarelli Symonds) include the Belarusian State University (295th position) and others in respectable places.
The Republic of Belarus continues to implement the course of adaptation of future generations to the latest trends in the educational and economic space, while preserving its national features and accumulated experience.
by Dmitry Shchepachev, Chargé d’Affaires a.i., Embassy of Belarus in the UK The article is based on materials provided by Belarusian Institute for Strategic Research
OCA #49 People edition Interview with KARINA MULIAR
MY GOAL IS TO MAKE PEOPLE THINK ABOUT HUMAN VALUES
OCA Magazine: Tell us, please, about yourself and your creative activity / work Karina Muliar: I was born and raised in Chisinau, Moldova. Graduated from the Kishinev Academy of Arts. In 1991, the family emigrated to Israel.
OCA: How did you choose your path and who is your role model in the creative space or life? KM: I started writing short stories in 2010. Classical literature served as an example for me. Of modern authors, the style of Arkady Arkanov and Victoria Tokareva is close to me.
OCA: What is your main achievement in 2022-2023? KM: Publication of my next book “Without Details”.
OCA: What is the main feature that makes you and your art/work unique? KM: My attempts to give sound to words.
OCA: Tell us, please, about the events of the Eurasian Creative Guild (London) and projects that you have already taken part in and how does ECG influence your creativity and success in your work? KM: Online meetings with Guild members, participation in contests, judging. The friendly and respectful attitude towards all members of the Guild is very attractive. I look forward to further cooperation.
OCA: What is your motivation and the main aim of your creativity? KM: My goal is to make people think about good and evil, love and hate and other human values.
OCA: What would you wish for the members of the Guild and other creative people, just starting their career? KM: I wish them more good stories, health, and happiness.
The British Council has been supporting systemic education reform and cultural relations between Uzbekistan and the United Kingdom for the last quarter of a century since the signing of a formal bilateral agreement with the Government of Uzbekistan in October 1996.
A key focus of the reforms over the past few years has been on the quality of education and its relevance to the needs of the growing market, more holistic approaches to reform, widening access to education opportunities, teacher education as well as English language teaching and learning.
2023 was announced by the President of Uzbekistan as the Year of Human Care and Quality Education and a number of new strategic directions for education sector development are being developed, including the Uzbekistan Partnership Compact for Education Reform, which was signed by all development partners in April 2023.
These priorities are shaping the British Council’s programme in Uzbekistan.
As part of the British Council’s Going Global Partnerships programme in Uzbekistan to contribute to large-scale higher education reform, in partnership with the Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Innovations of the Republic of Uzbekistan we launched a University Governance policy discussions series. The series aims to explore different dimensions of higher education governance, drawing from Uzbekistan’s and the UK’s experience to benefit national higher education governance system and structures.
This series, that has brought together around 500 academic leaders from all over Uzbekistan, focuses on higher education development priorities for Uzbekistan and covers the fundamental principles of Higher Education governance with a focus on a typical university governing body structure, its membership and national regulation. It also focuses on key relations between executive and Governing Boards and shares rectors’ and CEO’s perspectives on how the Governing Boards contribute to quality assurance and vision for university development and discusses the role of academic governance via academic boards. The series included the national Round Table on Nurturing Governance Culture in Universities on February 24, 2023 and focused on building and growing a governance culture and discussed how all stakeholders build and sustain effective governance within and across universities.
On May 7-10 2023 a delegation from Uzbekistan, including the Minister of Pre-school and School Education (Hilola Umarova), First Deputy Minister of Higher Education, Science and Innovations (Komiljon Karimov), Deputy Minister of Digital Technologies (Rustam Karimjonov) and the Director of the British Council Uzbekistan (Denise Waddingham) attended the Education World Forum in London – the world’s largest gathering of education and skills Ministers and education leaders. The visit programme included meetings with the UK’s education ministers, leadership of the British Council and the World Bank, heads of leading education institutions such as QAA, Advance HE, Ofsted, Cambridge Partnership for Education, Norwich Institute for Language Education and more than 20 UK higher education institutions as well as the opportunity to meet education ministers of other countries.
2023 has been the final year for the British Council’s Creative Spark five-year regional initiative to support international university and institutional partnerships to develop enterprise skills and creative economy through partnership with the UK. The programme in Uzbekistan was developed in response to large scale national reforms in economy and education and to support the national creative sector and a demand for entrepreneurship training leading to wealth and job creation.
At a national level the programme worked in close partnership with the Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Innovations of the Republic of Uzbekistan, El-Yurt Umidi Foundation, Art and Culture Development Foundation under the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Uzbekistan and major higher education institutions in Uzbekistan to develop innovative approaches to creative entrepreneurial education and make it relevant to the needs of the growing market. Over 5 years partnerships have been made with Goldsmiths University London, London Metropolitan Univerity and Queen Margaret Univeristy.
As a result of the programme, a Quality Practice Framework was developed, bringing together the work and best practice shared by Creative Spark partnerships, aiming to introduce creative enterprise education to universities in Uzbekistan. The Big Idea Challenge and Entrepreneurial University Awards schemes offered higher education students and academics, as well as young entrepreneurs, opportunities to develop and present their project ideas and get recognition for excellent business start-up or education reform work in their institutions.
Under the British Council’s Going Global Partnerships programme in Uzbekistan a college partnership was developed in 2022-2023 between Lincoln College, UK and two Uzbekistan technical colleges – Fergana City Vocational School and Tashkent Technicum of Economics and Industry. The partnership focused on quality assurance in vocation education and explored self-assessment reviews and planning documents used by the colleges in the UK. As part of the project in February 2023 Uzbekistan colleges and representatives of the Ministry visited Lincoln College to explore quality assurance processes and to share good practice. On May 14-20, 2023, Lincoln College visited Uzbekistan to engage with senior college managers as well as academic staff and practitioners around quality assurance and new teaching approaches to develop an action plan for further cooperation. On May 18, 2023, Lincoln College and Tashkent Technicum of Economics and Industry signed an MoU around further partnership and met with the Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Innovations to explore wider partnership opportunities with the vocational education sector in Uzbekistan.
In 2022 to support higher education reform in Uzbekistan and to contribute to the development of inclusive higher education, the British Council, Westminster International University in Tashkent and the University of Westminster in partnership with the Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Innovations of the Republic of Uzbekistan with support from the Legislative Chamber of Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan launched an Inclusive University initiative. A 2022 conference looked at the issues related to women’s empowerment and girls’ education, access to education for people with disabilities and those from low-income families. The Conference themes included: The Inclusive Curriculum, Inclusive Higher Education Leadership Development, Inclusive Student Support and Skills Development as well as Inclusive Institutional Culture.
As a result of the Conference, a national Inclusive University working group under the Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Innovations of the Republic of Uzbekistan was established to share good practice and coordinate the efforts around more inclusive higher education provision specifically focusing on: Embedding inclusion in university strategies Shaping a more inclusive curriculum Providing more relevant student support.
The group will take a systemic and consultative approach and among immediate steps, in 2023, has started a mapping of major inclusive education stakeholders and will aim to develop a Good Practice Guide based on the best national and international experience.
Making universities more inclusive will help attract talent, create an inclusive culture for all, diversify thinking and approaches, promote innovation and growth, diversify communities and create opportunities.
English Reform is central to work of the British Council in Uzbekistan. We continue to support reform of national pre-service teacher training (PRESETT) for future English teachers. To date 17 Universities in Uzbekistan teach to the modern curriculum developed in partnership between the Ministry of Higher education, Science and Innovations of the Republic of Uzbekistan and the British Council.
The British Council plays a convening role as co-chair with the Ministry of the English Reform Steering Group which aims to ensure a holistic approach to teacher education and the main drivers of reform, and to connect the Ministry to influential ELT networks, institutions and professionals.
Creative Economy Beyond education, the British Council’s arts and culture work includes supporting government of Uzbekistan efforts to introduce measures to support the growth and sustainability of cultural producers and creative businesses. More recently this has included specific measures to support the tourist industry and the traditional arts and crafts that help to underpin it, and to develop the night-time economy. As a contribution to this long-term process, the British Council commissioned a mapping of creative industries in Uzbekistan. The report offered a number of recommendations, highlighting in particular the need for more comprehensive mapping and data for creative industries, the need for a broader skills strategy (focusing especially on business, marketing and producing skills), and the need for more systematic co-operation between government and the creative industries. This study will inform the programme and themes of the upcoming World Creative Economy Conference, which will be held in Tashkent in 2024.
We support arts and creative industries in Uzbekistan with our own Creative Producers programme. It started in 2019 after a need was identified by the cultural sector in the country to have skilled arts practitioners who could go beyond their usual managerial duties. Throughout the past four years, UK trainers have worked with more than 30 emerging creative producers to develop a group of professionals who feel empowered to encourage artistic experimentation and work across artforms.
These are very exciting times in Uzbekistan, and we are delighted to work with our excellent partners and networks in the UK and Uzbekistan to create new opportunities for young people to realize their potential, to succeed and to shape the future.
by Denise Waddingham, Director, British Council Uzbekistan by Jamilya Gulyamova, Deputy Director, British Council Uzbekistan.
OCA #49 People edition Interview with AL ZATURANSKY
MY GOAL IS TO SPEAK TO MY READERS AT EYE LEVEL
OCA Magazine: Please tell us about yourself and your creative activity/work. Al Zaturansky: I am first of all a writer. Life doesn’t always allow us to fulfill our childhood dreams. Both of my parents were doctors and they wanted me to be a doctor as well. My new country, Israel, specifically wanted me to become a military doctor, and that is what I did. My dream, however, was always to become a writer, so that is what I eventually did. The main theme of my novels is the human being. I feel the joy, suffering, failure and revival of my characters along with them. As Gustave Flaubert once remarked, “Madame Bovary is me.”
OCA: How did you choose your path and who is your role model in the creative space or life? AZ: The urge to tell stories that came together with the faculty of speech. The urge to write stories came as I learned how to write. The decision to become a writer came when I immersed myself into the psychological depth of Dostoyevsky’s characters. As Dostoyevsky once remarked, “beauty will save the world.” Not the physical beauty, but the beauty of the human soul. Dostoyevsky became my role model in literature.
OCA: What is your main achievement in 2022-2023? AZ: I would say my short plays: “The Old Man and the Doctor” and “Crossroads,” which gained recognition at the “All the World’s a Stage” international competition. I would also mention my novel “Loving an Autist”.
OCA: What is the main feature that makes you and your artwork unique? AZ: All of the characters in my novels are realistically depicted, and each one has his or her well defined personality. What stands out in my work is that there isn’t one main character, they are all equally significant. Additionally, the end of my novels are always unpredictable and dramatic.
OCA: Tell us, please, about the events of the Eurasian Creative Guild (London) and projects that you have already taken part in and how does ECG influence your creativity and success in your work? AZ: I took part in the prose competition of ECG in 2022 with my novel “Loving an Autist”. Without any doubt the ECG influenced my life, opened new horizons, and gave me hope that my novels will reach a broad audience and will enjoy recognition. What more could a writer wish for?
OCA: What is your motivation and the main aim of your creativity? AZ: My goal is simple: To speak to my readers at eye level, about their love, their disappointments, their faith and their perception of good and evil. I am looking for a dialogue that will give us, my readers and I, a higher understanding of ourselves.
OCA: What would you wish for the members of the Guild and other creative people, just starting their career? AZ: I wish for all creative artists to master hard work with ease. I wish them a deep view into our time that changes every minute. They should always believe in success and never lose their Muse!
Education is one of Kyrgyzstan’s priority areas that will be a key factor in determining the development of the country. According to the UN Sustainable Development Goal until 2030, the provision of quality education is one of the most important components of development. Education in the Kyrgyz Republic is aimed at developing the abilities of its human resources, as well as performing two large-scale tasks. First, the preservation and further development of national identity, national values, cultural identity and diversity in the context of globalization. Secondly, integration into the world’s educational system, whilst retaining national identity.
In the context of globalization, the country’s education is already focused on training specialists who will be in demand not only in the domestic economy, but also in the global labour market. In this regard, the requirements for the quality of education are increasing in order to increase the competitiveness of the education system in the global educational space.
In recent years, the labour market has reacted quickly to the changes taking place in the world and places high demands on individual professions. These include professions in the following areas: robotics, biotechnology, IT technologies and nanotechnology. It is clear that it is urgently and decisively necessary to introduce cardinal changes into the education system. The whole world is looking towards “4.0 Industry” technology, where the boundaries of technological, digital and biological spheres will be levelled. “4.0 Industry” is the outcome of the third industrial revolution and the emergence of new innovations. For society to keep pace it must direct all efforts to develop its education system in a new direction. In this regard, the Kyrgyz education system is increasingly faced with the need to improve computer literacy among teachers and students, improve educational infrastructure (taking into account digital technologies), strengthen distance and other forms of education through a changing technological environment.
With this in mind, most recently, on August 16, 2023, a new law “On Education” was adopted in Kyrgyzstan, which aims to reform the institute of education to improve the quality of educational services provided to the population. According to the law, among the principles of educational policy are the independence of education from political and religious institutions and the secular nature of education in state and municipal educational organizations.
The new law makes primary and secondary general education mandatory levels of education for citizens of the Kyrgyz Republic until the 11th grade. If a student wants to leave after the 9th grade, they must enroll in a college or technical school. In order to prepare competitive youth, to master specialized skills when graduating from a general education organization, specialized training is included in school education.
Kyrgyzstan is a state with a young and educated population, where 30% are children under 15 years old. Every fifth able-bodied resident of the country has a higher or incomplete higher education, every eighth person has a specialized secondary education. According to the UN, in 2025 Kyrgyzstan will reach its maximum population growth at 5.92%. Accordingly, from 2028 the maximum burden will fall on kindergartens, and from 2032 the maximum burden will shift to schools of the Kyrgyz Republic.
Accordingly, the demographic situation will exert increasing pressure on the development of infrastructure, which will require a proactive policy of building social facilities to maintain the coverage of children and the population as a whole to improve the quality of education. An increase in the number of students inevitably entails an increase in the burden on teachers, which creates the need for a proactive policy of attracting and training teaching staff not only in quantitative, but also in qualitative areas.
Currently, there are 2,353 schools in Kyrgyzstan, 191 of them private, the number of students from grades 1 to 11 is 1.4 million children. The number of teachers is just under 83,000.
As part of the large-scale state support provided in recent years, intensive construction of new preschool institutions, secondary schools and higher educational institutions has been carried out in all regions of the country, growth points are being formed, infrastructure, including technological infrastructure, is being developed, the most modern information and communication technologies, schools and universities are equipped with modern computer technology and multimedia teaching tools. In the context of the formation of an industrially developed economy in the country, special attention will be paid to the support of scientific and technical initiatives.
Much attention is also paid to the quality and qualifications of the teaching staff of schools throughout the country. The prestige and role of the teacher increases. For the first time since independence, the salaries of the country’s teachers have been increased by more than double and the government doesn’t stop there. There are clear plans to further increase both the importance and prestige of the teaching profession in both public life and material encouragement.
An example of a new type of education is the presidential Lyceum “Akylman” in Cholpon-Ata, where the best students from all regions of the country study according to the most advanced educational methods. There will be more such educational institutions in Kyrgyzstan.
Favorable conditions are being created to support and stimulate talented young people in the field of science and technology. A centre for young scientists has been created. International scientific cooperation continues to be important. The education of the younger generation in the spirit of mutual respect and respect for other cultures is carried out through the teaching of national culture and intercultural international dialogue.
As for the higher education system, it is a network of 63 higher professional institutions, of which the share of private educational institutions is growing.
As part of the optimization of the activities of state universities and specialties in Kyrgyzstan, the process of consolidation of higher educational institutions has begun on the basis of the unification of several higher educational institutions. For example, the leading British universities – Cambridge and Oxford – are quite large, concentrating huge financial, material and intellectual resources. A large university always means more opportunities to create laboratories, to attract scientists, to recruit scientific personnel, to increase the publication activity of teachers, to participate in major projects, to improve the financial situation of the university. As a result the number of state universities has decreased from 33 to 28 universities to improve the economies of scale. Last year, 5 state universities of the country (KNU named after Zh. Balasagyn, KSTU named after I. Razzakov, KNAU named after K.I.Scriabin, KSMU named after I.Akhunbayev and OSH State University) received special status, including providing them with broad organizational, financial and academic autonomy. The ambition is the entry of universities into the top 500 international rankings within 5 years, the passage of international program and/or institutional accreditation, and the establishment of universities as research centers to stimulate economic development in relevant industries with the integration of education, science and production.
For its part, the State promotes the expansion of opportunities and access to education within the framework of more than 28 intergovernmental commissions, about 10 intergovernmental agreements annually provide Kyrgyz citizens with free education abroad. To date, solid ties have been established in the educational sphere with more than 70 countries of the world, including the UK. Kyrgyzstan is also becoming a regional educational hub. With a total number of students of more than 230,000 people, more than 80,000 of them are international students from more than 70 countries. In order to integrate Kyrgyzstan more widely into the global educational space, the priorities are to further improve the quality of education, create and provide adequate infrastructure and educational services, improve the environment for foreign students, expand and develop interuniversity contacts with leading foreign universities.
His Excellency Mr. Ulan Djusupov Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Kyrgyz Republic to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
OCA #49 People edition Interview with LIUDMILA LARKINA
EACH PERSON FOR ME IS NOT A WRITTEN BOOK
OCA Magazine: Please tell us about yourself and your creative work Liudmila Larkina: I am writing about the fate of Russian-speaking emigrants living in Australia. In Australia, there is a most valuable layer of Russian history, completely unexplored, covered with the dust of oblivion. Many Russians scattered around the world after revolutions and wars settled on the 5th continent. I record interviews with representatives of the first waves of emigration, whom I still managed to catch, archive their memories, analyze, and study. In 2009, I created the magazine “Australian lampada” – a chronicle of Russians in Australia, which is published to this day. I have published 18 books in the 20 years of living in Australia. All my books are not fictitious stories, novellas. A series of my books is called “Non-Fictional Stories from the Life of Russian Emigrants in Australia’’. My books are being translated into English at the State University of Queensland and in America. There are stories that have been translated into Italian and German. I also draw. In my paintings there are landscapes of Russia and Australia. There is a series of paintings “Temples of Russia”, which is very popular with Australians, and they buy paintings for their interiors.
OCA: How did you choose your path and who is your example/teacher? LL: As a child, I loved to participate in poetry reading competitions. After one such inter-district, children’s competition, at which I read poems of my own composition, a correspondent from the local newspaper Svetly Put came to our school, and for the first time I gave him an interview about how I write poetry. My poems were published in the newspaper. I was very inspired by the attention of adults to my work, and I began to write more and more. My poems and stories were systematically published in local newspapers. During my student years, I was the editor of the student newspaper Juventus. Working as a researcher in Russian museums, by the nature of my activity, I had to write a lot of articles, reports, and describe scientific research about ethnography. Over time, I realized that I could not live without writing.
OCA: What do you consider your main achievement in 2022-2023? LL: In 2023, I became a member of the International Eurasian Creative Guild and met many talented authors personally. I am very glad that the International Eurasian Creative Guild entered my life.
OCA: What do you think is the main feature that makes you and your art/work unique and valuable? LL: I really like to communicate with people. Each person for me is not a written book that needs to be written in time, to learn from the experience of a person who can leave with his knowledge and experience tragedies. It is important to have time to write down and pass on their wisdom to others. The experience of people is the most valuable thing we have. Studying the life of one family, we study the life history of entire generations. Their experience can prevent troubles, wars, catastrophes.
OCA: Please tell us about the events of the Eurasian Creative Guild (London) in which you have already managed to participate and how ECG(London) has influenced your life? LL: In December 2022, the International Conference of the Eurasian Creative Guild was held in the Australian city of Melbourne, where I attended as a delegate, speaker, and became one of the winners in the Heritage nomination. I met writers, poets, artists from Israel, America, England, Russia, Uzbekistan and many other countries. This expanded the boundaries of communication, gave new strength, set new goals. I am very grateful to the creators and leaders of the creative guild for their work, for the inspiration they inspire, for the way they treat authors, literature, history, and publishing.
OCA: What is your motivation and what is your goal? LL: My goal is to record Russian history in Australia while there are still people alive who can tell about it first hand. In my books, the story is about how emigrants built Russian Orthodox churches on the 5th continent, nursing homes, Russian clubs, schools, libraries, how they preserved culture, passing on love for the Motherland from one generation to another. Much can be learned from these people who have suffered terrible hardships, forced to leave their native lands after revolutions and wars, but have forever preserved their love for their Motherland and built their little Russia on the 5th continent.
OCA: What would you wish to members of the Guild and other creative people who are just starting their journey? LL: I wish prosperity to the Eurasian International Creative Guild and your magazine. To all authors, artists of new creative finds. As long as there are such guilds and authors who are willing and able to create beauty, the World will live.
PRIMUS INTER PARES. KAZAKH ABLAI KHAN UNIVERSITY OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS AND WORLD LANGUAGES IS THE FLAGSHIP OF FOREIGN LANGUAGE EDUCATION
INTERVIEW WITH SALIMA KUNANBAYEVA
For 80 years, the Ablai Khan Kazakh University of International Relations and World Languages (KazUIRaWL), which has vast experience and a rich history, remains a leader in higher education, offering innovative solutions in the training of specialists. Dr Salima Kunanbayeva, the Rector, an Academician of the National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Kazakhstan, and a member of the Academic Council of the University of Oxford, tells OCA Magazine about the university today. OCA Magazine: Your name is associated with the transformation of the Almaty Pedagogical Institute of Foreign Languages into the Ablai Khan Kazakh University of International Relations and World Languages with its entry into the international educational space. How do you look back on this achievement?
Salima Kunanbayeva: Today, the university is a large scientific and educational complex specializing in training people in humanities, foreign languages and international profiles. This is the only university in the country that provides vocational training in 17 world languages. The range of specialties, primarily international ones, has been expanded, university faculties have been opened, and a cluster system has been thought out for the pedagogical direction of foreign languages, which includes a linguistic lyceum college, a college of international tourism, a college of international service and management, and a pedagogical college of foreign languages. Currently, the university has 7 basic faculties: the Faculty of Translation and Philology, the Faculty of Education, the Faculty of Management and International-Native Communications, the Faculty of International Relations, the Faculty of Oriental Studies, the Faculty of Additional Education and the Faculty of Economics and Law. Training at the university is conducted in 11 world languages; there are masters and doctoral studies.
OCA: The offered professions that can be obtained are undoubtedly still in fashion to this day – in fact “foreign language” professions are highly regarded, even more so today. How have your graduates fared since graduation?
SK: The main criterion for the activity of any educational institution is the demand for its graduates. Graduates of our university are competitive and in demand due to the high assessment by employers of the quality of their education. A qualified teaching staff, modern content of educational programs, the availability of a material and technical base and a well-thought-out organization of the educational process provide this quality. The demand for our graduates in the labour market is evidenced by the fact that more than 85% are employed within a year of graduation. We have many successful graduates, we are very proud of all of them. I will not list any by name, I will only note that they work in the presidential administration, the deputy corps of the Parliament, in international organizations, and in the embassies and diplomatic corps of various countries. Of course, among our former students there are many authoritative, talented teachers of foreign languages in the field of education.
OCA: If a young student enters your university. What opportunities do they open for themselves, in addition to the knowledge gained in the classroom and at lectures?
SK: The opportunity to try out research work in the form of various scientific societies and conferences, as well as the opportunity to participate in international native student exchanges and foreign internships. They are also provided with diverse cultural, sports, and leisure activities as part of their student life. The university gives students the exciting opportunity to live in university dormitories. Consultations on employment and holding career fairs, visa support for students leaving to study abroad, cultural programs for students and teachers from foreign partner universities are provided. Textbooks available to students and textbooks prepared by university teachers, monographs and collections of articles are also available.
The university is well equipped, with modern multimedia technology in use throughout. All lecture rooms are equipped with video demonstration equipment that visualizes any lesson. There are specialized language and multimedia classrooms with software, including software specifically for writers, which makes it possible to use the most modern information technologies. At the same time, we all understand that the level of a student depends not only on the services of the university, but also on their own contribution, on their motivation, diligence, and previous training.
OCA: Could you elaborate on what innovations you see developing within the university?
SK: Innovations affect every area of the university, because they are aimed at developing and implementing mechanisms that increase the real competitiveness of the university by improving the quality of all types of its activities. The main task of an innovative university is the high-quality training of innovation-oriented specialists. The training of specialists for the innovative economy requires the formation of an innovative environment of the university, including the appropriate qualifications and culture of its teachers. The University has developed and tested 4 innovative educational programs in teacher education, theory and practice of simultaneous translation and foreign philology. The basis of innovative educational programs is built on the principles of dual education as the interaction of two organizationally and legally independent spheres within the framework of officially recognized vocational training – production and higher education.
OCA: What kind of external connections are held with the business community?
SK: There is constant systematic work is going on here. For example, holding presentations of various companies at the university, carrying out research projects commissioned by companies, organizing business seminars, professional retraining and advanced training courses. We study the best domestic and foreign experiences.
For example, business or science parks are common in European countries. These are organized with the participation of local authorities based on universities premises equipped with the necessary equipment, which are rented to start-up companies. At the same time, universities provide these companies with access to their information resources, means of communication, and allow the involvement of faculty and students. These services cannot be classified as educational, but they provide universities with additional income, which is used to develop and improve the quality of educational services.
OCA: What do you see as the main aim and outcome of any university? Perhaps its graduates? Competitiveness? Prestige? Demand?
SK: The product of the university is its educational programs. An educational program is a complex of educational and related products and services aimed at changing the educational level and professional training of the consumer and provide them with the appropriate resources of an educational organization. Choosing a particular university, the student, in fact, chooses their educational program. The increase in education or qualification that a student hopes to gain because of mastering it is a measure of the quality of an educational program, so the programs of certain universities are more popular with consumers than other programs, even if the result is a standard certificate or diploma. The educational program is the product with which the university enters the market. After all, the university offers its educational programs both to their direct consumers – students and listeners, and indirectly, through its graduates, to the labour market. Thus, the consumers of educational services of the university include, on the one hand, students, and on the other hand, companies and organizations whose staffing situation the university seeks to satisfy.
OCA: Summing up our conversation, what therefore is the main mission of Ablai Khan Kazakh University of International Relations and World Languages?
SK: The university carries out its activities in the interests of increasing the educational and intellectual potential of the population of the Republic of Kazakhstan. The university is the country’s leader for innovative development of the foreign language education system. It has an effective system of strategic management and trains highly educated, competitive, intelligent professionals in accordance with international educational standards.
We co-operate with a number of foreign universities within the framework of bilateral agreements. More than 300 people from among doctoral students, undergraduates and postgraduates are sent to foreign universities annually. The exchange of students is carried out especially intensively with the universities of South Korea, Germany, Russia, the Czech Republic, China and Malaysia. Student mobility to other universities might be manifested from 1 semester to 1 academic year, as well as summer schools, including education during the summer holidays. Foreign students also have the opportunity to study at the university on an ongoing basis, within the framework of summer schools, to study Kazakh and Russian languages at the preparatory department of the university. As part of the program to attract foreign scientists, the university invites professors from other countries to give lectures and conduct scientific consultations on doctoral and master’s theses. The mission of the university is a contribution to the common task of forming a highly intellectual nation and providing the country with well-trained personnel. We are working hard through setting serious and ambitious goals.
Tajikistan has a long and rich history that dates back as early as the sixth century B.C. As a nation descended from Bactria and Sogdiana, its ancient culture and traditions set the groundwork for both ancient and modern civilization.
Tajikistan marked the 32nd anniversary of its independence this year. Notwithstanding Tajikistan’s young age, its colourful history, language, culture, literature and customs have contributed significantly to the development of ancient civilization in Central Asia and beyond. During the sixth to fourth centuries B.C., the territory of modern Tajikistan was inhabited by Eastern Iranian peoples, and Bactria and Sogdiana were the most ancient states within the Achaemenid Empire. At the end of the ninth century, the first Tajik state, known as the Samanid state, was formed independently from the Baghdad Caliphate. These were the brightest times and the period of highest prosperity for the Tajik people.
Today, Tajikistan is a sovereign, democratic, legal, secular, unitary state with a presidential form of governance. Since gaining its independence, Tajikistan has pursued policies aimed at preserving and enhancing state sovereignty, maintaining national security, and fostering friendships, collaboration, and trust with other nations of the globe based on shared interests.
The “Open Doors” policy and the multi-vector strategy are the cornerstones of Tajikistan’s foreign policy. The country’s President, H.E. Mr. Emomali Rahmon, stated in a recent speech to parliament that “the main principle of the Open-Doors policy, which we adhere to and implement in our foreign policy, is aimed at establishing and developing relations of friendship, good neighbourliness, partnership, and fruitful cooperation with foreign countries, international and regional organisations, and international financial structures.”
Tajikistan is recognized by 192 countries of the world, and diplomatic relations have been established with more than 180 countries. Furthermore, the country is a full member of major international and regional organizations and is a party to more than 170 international and regional treaties.
With a population of over 10 million, the country shows tremendous potential in a variety of sectors, from energy and industry to tourism and transportation as well as many other areas of the economy. Boasting a 7.5% GDP growth rate for 2022, a stable political atmosphere, advantageous geo-strategic location, business-friendly environment, a population largely comprised of individuals under 35, and plentiful natural resources, Tajikistan is set to experience ongoing economic success in partnership with its European counterparts.
Bearing in mind its unique historical background, its mountainous surroundings, glaciers and thousands of rivers, the government is devoted to long-term sustainable tourism development. The nation takes great pleasure in being a premier destination for world-class adventure and eco-tourism. Opportunities for hiking and mountaineering are plentiful and exciting. The importance of community-based tourism initiatives cannot be overstated, since they make it possible to grow tourism in rural regions in a way that incorporates and benefits locals.
The government is improving Tajikistan’s tourism appeal by giving infrastructure projects a higher priority, assuring services for human capital and making investments in the private sector.
There are over a thousand hotels in Tajikistan that cater to both domestic and international tourists as well as inhabitants of the country. Additionally, the country’s cultural and recreational parks and its vibrant fountains have developed into gathering spots for locals and tourists. Today, visitors to Tajikistan delight in the country’s sights, including its quaint and orderly streets, floral gardens built in a modern and traditional style, and, of course, the excellent Tajik hospitality.
The culture of the Tajik people goes back to antiquity. Most traditions and rituals that are being practised now and are still incorporated into Tajik culture have been preserved. Thanks to its lengthy history, Tajikistan has a lot to offer. Ancient Panjikent is arguably the most fascinating from a sightseeing perspective. Constructions for homes and cults, astounding murals, and exquisite sculptures from the seventh and eighth centuries A.D. have all been uncovered by archaeologists.
Tajikistan’s stunning scenery and lofty mountains are a captivating mosaic of the beauties of nature. The Fann Mountains, with their pristine lakes and lush valleys, offer a surreal escape into untouched wilderness. The Badakhshan Mountains, known as the “Roof of the World,” dominate the horizon with their imposing peaks and ancient glaciers. Glaciers are the main source of drinking water in Central Asia, 60% of which form in Tajikistan’s mountains. Since more than 13,000 of Tajikistan’s glaciers have completely melted as a result of global warming up to this point, Tajikistan is committed to taking the necessary actions to draw attention from the international community to the preservation of glaciers.
In this regard, the global community has recognized the President of Tajikistan H.E. Mr Emomali Rahmon as the initiator of five great undertakings: «International Year of Fresh Water» (2003), International Decade for Action «Water for Life» (2005-2015), «The International Year of Water Cooperation» (2013) International Decade for Action «Water for Sustainable Development» (2018-2028), International Year of Glaciers’ Preservation (2025) and the proclamation of 21 March as World Day for Glaciers’.
Since Tajikistan has a youthful population (more than 70% of the population is under 35), the government has made delivering quality education a top priority. Tajikistan is using education as a driver for its growth. The nation has achieved outstanding success in recent years in raising the standard of education, utilising it to propel socioeconomic development, and increasing access to school with a primary focus on females, particularly those from rural regions.
Within 32 years of Independence, Tajikistan has built and commissioned 3,430 new educational institutions accommodating nearly 1.5 million students. This is compared to just 3,229 during the 70 years prior to independence.
Through the implementation of effective social and economic reforms, taking a multi-faceted approach, and engaging in global activities to bolster international security and stability, Tajikistan and its people will be able to make their nation more prosperous and advanced in the foreseeable future.
by Gareth Stamp, Chairman of Eurasian Creative Guild (London)
OCA #49 People edition Interview with MARAT FAIZULLIN
TREAT THEIR CULTURES CAREFULLY
OCA Magazine: Tell us, please, about yourself and your creative activity / work Marat Faizullin: I’m a composer, musician, performer, producer and publisher. Now I live in Bashkortostan, but have worked in Moscow and Saint-Petersburg for a long time. Symphony and chamber music, theatrical performances, cinema, ethnic and electronic music, live performances and studio recordings. You can hear my works in Russia, Germany, Spain and the USA. I’m producing my music project Marat Tauras, and also musicians from different regions in Russia (from Tuva to Kalmykia) under my label Aera records, Afarin records and Cinemusic records. I work with Café De Anatolia, the leading global record label of modern ethnic music.
Cinema is one of my favourite fields of activity. I wrote my first music for a film in 1999. Since then I have written music for more than 150 movies, won a few international and local film awards for the best music. One of my latest works is the music for children’s feature film “Chizhik-Pyzhik comes back” which was released on August 31, 2023. In addition to film music I’m producing films and music videos.
A big project I’m working on now is the autumn premiere of “Arctic Landscapes”. It’s the first symphonic work in the world that was made aboard an icebreaker. I wrote it during the Marine Integrated Arctic expedition. The project is multimedia and includes musical performance as well as video content that make an effect of being live in the Arctic spaces. Now we are preparing a photo exhibition that will be open before the “Arctic Landscapes” premiere. Besides, I’ve already published “Arctic Surrealist’s Diary” which I’ve been writing during the expedition where I describe what happens with the creative person in the extreme weather conditions and in the confined space of a ship.
OCA: How did you choose your path and who is your role model in the creative space or life? MF: Twenty years ago I saw a huge perspective in ethnic music and decided to learn to play folk instruments: Turkic, Russian, Asian. The same time I decided to spend most of my time working on academic music, and my spare time on ethnics. I have had academic music education, I’ve learned a lot and I continue studying folk music. It’s an endless important gold mine of ancestral knowledge where all codes of our future lay.
OCA: What is your main achievement in 2022-2023? MF: In November 2022 I held a big concert dedicated to the 25th anniversary of my creative activity where I performed the best works. In 2023 I launched a very prospective IT-project “Sounds.Music”. It’s a program for delivery of the music to video and audio editor programs by my own design. And recently I won a prestigious award as the best composer at the Film Awards “Golden plate”.
OCA: What is the main feature that makes you and your art/work unique? MF: Slavic and Turkic blood are mixed in me. According to the family legend, my paternal kind comes from one of the Gingiz Khan’s warlords when his army reached the foothills of the Ural Mountains. My maternal ancestors moved to the Ural region from Central Russia. Maybe that’s why a Bashkir quray sounds naturally in my soundtrack for a movie about the Russian North, and a Russian svirel in the orchestral score for a Bashkir folk melody.
OCA: Tell us, please, about the events of the Eurasian Creative Guild (London) and projects that you have already taken part in and how does ECG influence your creativity and success in your work? MF: My Music video “Ufa”, where I’m a producer, composer and performer, won the Audience Award in the ECG Film Festival 2020. The same year I became a member of the Guild. And then I was recommended for an Expert Council of Cinema and now I’m taking part in its activities and Guild’s events. Cinema, as well as music, is the unique language that helps to build a cultural dialogue and convey to the audience your message.
OCA: What is your motivation and the main aim of your creativity? MF: It’s very important to me to keep a dialogue with the audience during performances and promote the culture of my nation. I play more than fifty various instruments. I’m dreaming of the creation of the Live Music Museum where visitors could not only listen to the sound of instruments, but also try to play by themselves. The museum is going to consist of the stationary part of the exhibition and “mobile” part that we can travel to any audience with.
I practise interactive communication with listeners within my philharmonic project “Tales About Mother”. More than ten folk musical instruments are on the stage and after the performance anyone who wants can try to play these instruments. It always delights visitors, especially children. Seeing these emotions I’ve got an idea to create the Live Music Museum on a permanent basis. And also, I plan to actualise Slavic and Turkic ethnics in the years ahead.
OCA: What would you wish for the members of the Guild and other creative people, just starting their career? MF: I’d like to wish all members of the Eurasian Creative Guild and all readers of the OCA Magazine to remember their roots, treat their cultures carefully and, of course, succeed in all endeavours!
Professors O.Sabden and A.Ashirov have as part of their ‘Concept of Humanity’s Survival Strategy in the Third Millennium’ developed a concept for building a new integral innovative society with a spiritual and technological component. In order to implement the proposed theory, a new paradigm of managing the social system based on the “five spirals” is recommended, through collaboration of: the state, science, business, needs of society and information support for the economies of countries. In this article they examine one aspect of human survival – food production.
The International Food and Agriculture Organization FAO (UN) records the annual “disappearance” of 7 million hectares of arable land. A significant reduction in sown areas will certainly exacerbate the shortage of food products. According to the UN, in order to meet the population’s growing needs in agricultural products, it is necessary to additionally involve from 100 to 200 million hectares of arable land around the world in circulation. At the same time, as statistics show, there is a continuous process of reducing the volume of agricultural production in the available areas.
In order to save millions of people from hunger, new scientific approaches and solutions are fundamentally needed, taking into account the latest achievements of fundamental science and the emergence of new energy and environmental problems. In search of truth, and whilst taking the unity, integrity and interconnection of all objects of the Universe into account, we have established a new pattern of enhancing the bio-resonant activity of agricultural crops. The novelty of this pattern is confirmed by the patent of the Republic of Kazakhstan’s “Method of processing seed and planting material” (No. 34958, dated March 19th, 2021), and the diploma of scientific discovery, “Regularity of Bio-resonant Activation of Seeds of Agricultural Crops” (No. 272/14.12.2004/, Ashirov A.M. and others) issued by the International Association of Authors of Scientific Discoveries and Inventions (Moscow). The essence of the pattern is as follows: A previously unknown pattern of enhancing the bioresonance activation of seeds of agricultural crops was experimentally established, which consists in the fact that during electromagnetic treatment of seeds conducted with a frequency that is a multiple of their biorhythms, during periods of minimum values of gravitational forces and maximum intensity of cosmic radiation, the degree of bio-resonance activation of plant seeds increases, leading to the increased speed of germination, productivity, improved quality and other productivity indicators.
Testing the results of these scientific studies in the agricultural fields of Kazakhstan, Russia, Turkey, Germany, Canada, with different climatic conditions and in risky farming areas, showed that the growth of quality indicators, for example, for wheat (gluten 2-8 units, vitreousness 10- 20 units, Nature 50-80 units on average); obtaining high yields from 20 to 50%, compared with the control ones, without significant material and energy costs. The technology is highly industrialised – large batches of seeds are processed in the shortest possible time, designed for huge sown areas around the world.
In terms of the significance of these scientific results, our technology has a huge economic effect, for example, only in the Akmola region of the Republic of Kazakhstan, on 40 thousand hectares of wheat, the economic effect (increase) amounted to 1.2 million US dollars. A typical method for determining the seasonal-temporal schedules of pre-sowing seed treatment are methods of field experience and phenological observations, etc.
For the first time in the world, a revolutionary scientific discovery has been made to increase the yield of any crop by 25-50% without the use of chemicals. The environmentally friendly technology called “Bio-resonance activation of seed and planting material of various agricultural crops” has the status of a world scientific discovery. For the first time in the world, the technology of geophysical space parameters was used in agriculture. The novelty of the technology is the synchronisation of geomagnetic field oscillations at a specific point on the earth, at a specific local time, with radiation brought in from near and far space.
Over the 30-year history of the introduction of this technology in 10 countries of the world (5 CIS countries, as well as Turkey, Germany, Canada, Poland and Lithuania), the authors have confirmed the high accuracy on 17 crops, the adaptability, uniqueness and versatility of the technology in more than a hundred farms and scientific institutions in many countries. As an example, we give the development of corn biomass, the development of root hairs (Fig. 1), the final product (cobs) (Fig. 2) in the control and experimental plots.
In the case of large-scale application of technology, it is able to solve the world problem of food security.
A monograph with the participation of one of the authors, O. Sabden, was presented in 2016, in London, at the University of Cambridge and was approved. According to Forbes magazine (February 2017), A. Ashirov’s project was included in the category of a “fantastic dozen” of innovative projects. Also, the project was included in the UN Roadmap (2022-2030) in order to ensure global food security of the world. The scientific developments of the authors contained in these books are a contribution to the development of a new era of civilization and food supply for millions of people in the world.
Brief information about the authors:
Orazaly Sabden was born on May 20th, 1947, in Kazakhstan. He is a Doctor of Economic Sciences, a Professor, an Academician of the NIA RK, MIA, RANS, MAGI, and the Laureate of the State Prize of the Republic of Kazakhstan in the field of science and technology. He is a four time Member of the Parliament of the country, the President of the Union of Scientists of Kazakhstan, the Chief Researcher of the Institute of Economics of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Republic of Kazakhstan. For Orazaly Sabden’s principled democratic positions, various mechanisms were systematically used by the power structure to infringe on his rights and freedom of speech.
He is the author of more than 800 scientific publications, including 97 monographs and textbooks. He is a Champion of Kazakhstan in freestyle wrestling and the master of sports of the USSR.
Abdumalik Ashirov was born on March 1st, 1944, in Tashkent. He is a Doctor of Technical Sciences, a Professor, the Head of the Research Laboratory of the South Kazakhstan State Pedagogical Institute. The author of the scientific discovery number 272, dated December 24th, 2004, and more than 50 patents and copyright certificates for inventions, as well as more than 260 scientific articles, 15 monographs and textbooks.
Publications: O.Sabden., A.Ashirov. “Concept for Strategy of Mankind’s Survival in the 21st and Future Centuries and Food Security”, Cambridge International Press, 168 p. 2016. O.Sabden. “ABAI, Future of Kazakhstan and World Civilization”, Hertfordshire Press, London, 324 p. 2018. O.Sabden. “World, Turkic Civilization, Kazakhstan and Concept of the Future”, Service Press, Almaty, 596 р. 2021.
OCA #49 People edition Interview with GALINA SHEPELEVA
TURNING ONE’S INHERENT VALUE INTO A PRECIOUS THING
OCA Magazine: Tell us, please, about yourself and your creative activity / work Galina Shepeleva: My name is Galina Shepeleva, I was born 10.09.1955 in Almaty, Kazakhstan. As far back as I can remember, I’ve always painted, starting in children’s art school. After the end of my main working activity, I had a once-in-a-lifetime chance to study antique painting and frescoes in the birthplace of the great Renaissance for 4 years in the ART Accademia AD’A in Florence, Italy.
OCA: How did you choose your path and who is your role model in the creative space or life? GS: The city of Florence is steeped in the history of this era and its masterpieces, which left a fascinating impression on me. This training basically determined my path in creativity. The great Botticelli, Raphael, Andrea di Sardi, Tiepolo were my spiritual teachers, and in practice, it’s an academy professor, signora Sonia De Francesitti.
Actually applying the studied technique of antique painting, I have painted a “Chastity matter” picture. Canvas, oil 120×100 sm. Unfortunately, the word “chastity” is rarely used nowadays, and some people don’t know what it means at all… Once the Queen Maria Theresa of Austria even established an innocence commission to fight against immoral conduct. But the chastity,- is not only the body (in the painting it is marked by barbed wire around the hips of women), – it is also the head, and the way of thinking, and the behaviour of a person, and his communication with colleagues at work, at home, with parents, friends, children. This is allegiancy, devotion and honesty in everything and with everyone in his life and in the life of a country! Chastity, keeping oneself in oneself…, and turning one’s inherent value into a precious thing. In a deep philosophical sense: whether your innocence is your precious thing? In any way, everyone will have a different answer to that question. For me personally, this is a very vital, important topic, and this picture is in fact my peculiar Message to the World!
OCA: What is your main achievement in 2022-2023? GS: Both 2022 and 2023 have been rich in creative experiences for me. In March 2022 participation in the exhibition “World Art Dubai 2022”. Thanks to my curator Lidia Drozdova I take part in exhibitions and art spaces. “Beautiful Image of Woman” Exhibition timed to March 8, 2023. In May-June online Golden Time Talent London and then participation in the same festival in London in July. Participation in the Republican Kazakhstan exhibition “Shining light on others, burning myself” about the work of healthcare professionals during the pandemic.
OCA: What is the main feature that makes you and your art/work unique? GS: For me, Art is the most democratic form of communication there is. It can make you dream, think, it can give you feelings of bitterness or happiness, wonder and admiration, hope for the realisation of dreams…. Art helps to get better, as they say, a better version of ourselves… Perhaps this is what makes my creativity and work valuable and unique. I try to make every painting I do say something.
OCA: Tell us, please, about the events of the Eurasian Creative Guild (London) and projects that you have already taken part in and how does ECG influence your creativity and success in your work? GS: An amazing experience for me was joining the Eurasian Creative Guild, London. By acceding the Guild as an Ambassador, I feel myself as if in a new, higher quality with expanded boundaries and horizons, including events starting with the acquaintance with a wonderful person, vice chairman of Guild Marat Akhmedjanov.
One had already taken place during my stay in London in July, organised by Genadiy Gorovoy, poet and ambassador of Guild in London, where I presented two of my paintings “Chastity” and “Peonies”. This meeting has given me a chance to get to know so interesting, passionate, versatile people who came to this meeting. I hope to have further contact with them in the future. OCA: What is your motivation and the main aim of your creativity? GS: My motivation is love for life and everything that surrounds me! And the goal is always the same: I invite the viewer to immerse themselves and spend time with their imagination.
OCA: What would you wish for the members of the Guild and other creative people, just starting their career? GS: To the members of the guild and all creative people I wish health! physical, creative, spiritual… to have a bright head and intentions, success in our difficult work and more positive!
PROMOTING RELIGIOUS TOLERANCE AND HARMONY IN UZBEKISTAN
The government’s commitment to democratic ideals and its choice of a secular path of development have made it possible to create equal conditions for the activity of all religions in Uzbekistan.
Work in the field of religion is carried out by state bodies and civil society institutions and is aimed at guaranteeing citizens the constitutionally guaranteed right to freedom of conscience and at strengthening religious pluralism, tolerance and inter-religious dialogue.
One of the significant results of this work is considered to be the adoption by the UN General Assembly in December 2018 of a special resolution on “Education and Religious Tolerance”, which was a practical implementation of the initiative of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan, Shavkat Mirziyoyev, presented at the 72nd session of the UN GA. The main objective of the proposed resolution is to “ensure universal access to education and eliminate illiteracy and ignorance”.
Not only was the resolution unanimously supported by all United Nations Member States but co-sponsored by more than 50 countries. This demonstrates the international community’s recognition of the timeliness of the Uzbek Leader’s initiative.
The resolution stresses the importance of promoting peace, human rights, tolerance and friendship, and welcomes all international, regional and national initiatives aimed at promoting interreligious, intercultural and interfaith harmony and combating discrimination. In recent years, Uzbekistan has undergone significant changes and has implemented large-scale reforms in the religious and educational spheres.
Mechanisms have been established in Uzbekistan to revive national and religious values and to study the rich scientific and spiritual heritage of its great ancestors. To this end, the International Islamic Academy of Uzbekistan has been established, which specialises in training qualified personnel in the interpretation of the Qur’an, Islamic law, religious dogma and hadith.
In addition, the Centre for Islamic Civilisation and the Imam Bukhari, Imam Termizi and Imam Maturidi International Research Centres have been established. The Mir Arab Higher Madrasa in Bukhara and the School of Hadith Studies in Samarkand have become operational. The “Waqf” charitable public foundation has been set up to finance the reconstruction of mosques and places of pilgrimage. A department for work with women has been established within the Committee for Religious Affairs.
Strong legal guarantees for freedom of conscience and religion have also been established in Uzbekistan. The Constitution includes a provision on freedom of religion for all, although work is continuing to improve and liberalise national legislation. In particular, a new Law on Freedom of Conscience and Religious Organisations has been adopted, which helps to ensure the constitutional rights of citizens to freedom of conscience and religion.
The procedure for registering religious organisations has been simplified. There are 2,350 religious organisations legally operating in the country, representing 16 denominations. In addition to Muslim organisations, there are 179 Christian organisations, 8 Jewish communities, 7 Bahai communities, a Hare Krishna society, a Buddhist temple and an interconfessional Bible society. Twenty-three non-Islamic organisations have recently been registered in Uzbekistan.
Religious organisations, together with other voluntary organisations, are actively involved in spiritual and educational work and make a significant contribution to improving the spirituality of society and instilling in young people strong convictions based on patriotism and inter-religious and inter-ethnic tolerance. Importantly, representatives of 138 national and ethnic groups practising Islam, Christianity, Buddhism, Judaism and other religions work on equal terms.
Believers are free to worship in mosques, churches and synagogues, they can fast, make pilgrimages and celebrate all religious holidays. They have the right to own land and publish literature.
Uzbekistan is currently implementing a number of measures to protect the population from the negative influence of extremist ideology. An important step in this direction has been the use of amnesty laws. In particular, since 2017, 22 decrees of the President of Uzbekistan have been adopted on pardoning persons who have committed crimes.
Five “Mercy” humanitarian operations were successfully carried out between 2019-2021, during which more than 500 citizens of the Republic, mostly women and children, were returned to their homeland from conflict zones in the Middle East and Afghanistan.
To further facilitate their early reintegration and rehabilitation, the government has implemented a series of measures to provide medical, psychological, material and moral support. Access to education and other social programmes has been provided, including through housing and employment.
The Uzbek authorities are paying particular attention to establishing a constructive dialogue with international organisations and experts in the field of religion. During the visits to Uzbekistan by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein (May 2017) and the OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities Lamberto Zannier (April 2018), the country’s reforms were highly praised.
In December 2020, the US State Department removed Uzbekistan from the so-called “special watch list” on ensuring religious freedom. This was after Uzbekistan was removed from the list of “countries of particular concern” in 2018 due to the significant improvement of the situation in the sphere of ensuring religious freedoms. The republic had been on this “black list” for 12 years, since 2006.
One of the main priorities in reforming society to ensure inter-ethnic harmony and religious tolerance is to ensure and protect the rights and freedoms of citizens and their equality before the law, irrespective of race, sex, ethnicity, language, social origin, beliefs, religion or personal or social status. Uzbekistan consistently and rigorously fulfils its international obligations in the area of religious freedom under international human rights treaties. Uzbekistan has now acceded to more than 70 core international human rights instruments. Accession to these instruments has contributed to the establishment of an effective human rights protection system in Uzbekistan. Importantly, Uzbekistan’s policy on religion, aimed at strengthening inter-faith dialogue and religious tolerance in society, is an important factor for stability and security.
In conclusion, it is important to stress that the far-reaching reforms underway in the country are a vivid confirmation of the President’s consistent pursuit of the principle of “All in the name of man, for the sake of his future”.
by Malikakhon Tursunova, PhD, Research Fellow at the University of World Economy and Diplomacy.
OCA #49 People edition Interview with GULNARA MAKHMUDOVA
WE ARE FOR PEACE!
OCA Magazine: Tell us, please, about yourself and your creative activity/work. Gulnara Makhmudova: Good afternoon. My name is Gulnara Mahmudova, I am a teacher-psychologist. In 1999 I founded the “First” school, grades 0 to 6, in the city of Semey, and in 2018, a branch of the “First” school for teaching preschool children in Almaty (Kazakhstan). Being a teacher has been my dream since childhood. For children it’s a huge world, open to freedom of creativity. From the very beginning the first methodological theme (till 2004) of the “First” school was the theme of studying successful teaching methods of foreign schools. When teaching English, close attention was paid to the development of communicative abilities of bilingual education, communication skills as a whole and applied use of the English language.
The success of “First” school students allows the child to adapt to a multicultural environment. Our work successes became attractive for parents when choosing a school. Coming to Kazakhstan, foreign parents enrol their children of preschool age in our school, where they, communicating with their peers, learn the Kazakh language, and get acquainted with the culture of the peoples of the world.
At the school children learn the national cuisine of various countries of the world, listen to the national anthem of the country whose cuisine is represented, and national musical compositions are played from the dining room all day long.
At the end of each week, the children have a disco, and in the evening the school teachers perform famous works on the dombra. During creative classes, students listen to world classical music from operas and ballets by Giuseppe Verdi, Gioacchino Rossini, Giacomo Puccini, Beethoven and other famous composers – this is how the children are introduced to high culture when the songs and arias are performed by the teachers themselves, who have a specialty in “classical performance (opera singing).”
OCA: How did you choose your path and who is your role model in the creative space or life? GM: The first person who taught me about choosing a profession was my mother. She, being a financier, studied mathematics and other subjects with neighbouring children with sincere pleasure. Mother was always interested in the success of children, and paid great attention to their studies.
Today I respectfully remember the names of my teachers not only in school, but also in life: the teacher of the drama circle, Igor Konstantinovich, was able to inspire us to talentedly play the roles of characters in performances. And my swimming coach is Tatyana, she helped develop the desire for a goal in me, its successful achievement and daily work. Working as a teacher, I devote a lot of time to reading educational literature. I enjoy teaching practice.
OCA: What is your main achievement in 2022-2023? GM: Every year is interesting and eventful. Our achievements benefit the entire society by educating and informing worthy citizens of a creative future society. And this dream of mine came true!
OCA: What is the main feature that makes you and your art/work unique? GM: There is one uniqueness of our methodology in the work of a school with young children: the system for implementing the success of education is accompanied not only by vocal praise, but also by a clear digital designation (plus, minus, percentage, rating) of all the moments of mastering the educational material by our young student: each item or exercise of each topic, each word or example, each task is marked with a plus or minus in a special journal, and transferred to a computer accounting system (CSU). The real, or objective, assessment is added up for a week, a month, a quarter and a year in the form of a graphic system: the direction of the diagram and the peak of the height in the coordinate system give a clear idea in which area of knowledge the student will be successful!
And, what is especially important, the school derives interesting patterns of the quality of a child’s knowledge and the influence of his genetic predisposition to success – and this, in turn, allows our graduate to enter a secondary school of any subject area and an increased requirement for knowledge!
I consider it especially valuable that our work allows us to form a civil position in young children, the concept of humanity, tolerance, love for the culture of the peoples of the world and for the Motherland – Kazakhstan.
OCA: What is your motivation and the main aim of your creativity? GM: My goal is the personal happiness of people close to me. I wish my daughter happiness and all graduates to live their life trying to do good deeds so that there is world peace! My motivation? But isn’t the desire to live in a prosperous world already motivation within itself?
OCA: What would you wish for the members of the Guild and other creative people, just starting their career? GM: I wish all novice creative people all over the planet to meet sincerely kind people who will share correct and wise ideas and instructions on the formation of a creative environment, such as, for example, in the Eurasian Creative Guild. I wish the Guild successful projects, loyal members in its ranks, achievement of the most humane goal, prosperity, peaceful days, and inner HAPPINESS!
“Education is what remains once what you have learned at school has been forgotten”
This famous saying (which has a multitude of written forms) has been attributed to many people over time from Albert Einstein to B.F. Skinner.
What is education, therefore? It sounds so simple and obvious a question and answer. After all, almost everybody has gone through some form of formal education for a period of their childhood. But let’s step back for a moment and consider the question. I find it rather more complex than it first seems.
Is it just the collection of school buildings, teachers and classmates that we might ruminate on and say things like, “it was harder in my day” at bland dinner parties and social gatherings? Is it about exams and grades and certificates that will get you a good job? For many that appears to be the prime goal of education – after all if you were taught Latin at school (which is now a very dead language), is your knowledge restricted to being better able to formulate an answer to the Times Cryptic Crossword on a lazy Sunday morning?
As a parent I often wonder how best to balance the struggle between the goals of formal education with the goals of raising healthy, motivated children who grow to become responsible and contributing members of families and society. Academic skills are important but so too is the educational journey from kindergarten through to college and university. It is a time when young people develop many interconnected abilities and relationships that transcend what is learned in the classroom. These experiences are not ones that can be formally taught.
Swiss developmental psychologist, Jean Piaget, believes that “The principle goal of education in the schools should be creating men and women who are capable of doing new things, not simply repeating what other generations have done.” Nelson Mandela, former South African president, would often say that “education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” While psychologist John Dewey believed that “education is not preparation for life; education is life itself.”
This last quote resonates with me quite a lot. If you think about it our life experiences are our education, formal or otherwise. We learn as we go through life, sometimes we have to make mistakes or fail to reach our objectives and improve ourselves such that we develop and reach our true potential. And, as many authors from Central Asian countries note in this issue, as the world changes it becomes extremely hard to predict how to educate our children of today for the jobs of tomorrow. What institutions can do, however, is inspire students to be curious, explore topics from many different angles, understand both history and culture at home and abroad and be resilient in the face of the challenges that life will throw at us. Perhaps this is the secret to a good “education”.
Enjoy the issue!
Nick Rowan Editor-in-Chief Open Central Asia Magazine
On the UN Day of Nuclear Disarmament Assessing the Impact of January 2022 Unrest on Kazakhstan’s Economy, Politics and Social Order.
In January 2022, Kazakhstan experienced a wave of protests and unrest that reverberated throughout the country. This significant event had far-reaching consequences, impacting the economy, politics and social order of Kazakhstan. This article aims to delve into the aftermath of the unrest and explore how it affected the nation’s economic and political landscape and societal fabric.
The January 2022 unrest dealt a severe blow to Kazakhstan’s economy, which heavily relies on natural resources, particularly oil and gas. The protests disrupted oil production and transportation, leading to a decline in export revenues. The resulting economic slowdown, coupled with the uncertainty surrounding the situation, created an atmosphere of investor unease, leading to capital flight and a decrease in foreign direct investment.
Furthermore, the unrest highlighted underlying issues such as corruption, economic inequality, and lack of employment opportunities, which were key grievances of the protesters. These concerns further eroded investor confidence and hindered economic growth.
To address the economic challenges, the Kazakh government had to implement various measures. It embarked on economic diversification efforts, aiming to reduce dependence on oil and gas by promoting sectors like agriculture, manufacturing, and technology. Initiatives were launched to attract foreign investment and improve the business climate, emphasizing transparency and anti-corruption measures.
The social fabric of Kazakhstan also experienced significant repercussions in the wake of the unrest. The protests, initially sparked by socioeconomic grievances, escalated into clashes between security forces and demonstrators. The use of force by authorities led to casualties and raised concerns about human rights violations.
The unrest highlighted underlying social tensions within the country, including political discontent, inequality, and a lack of freedom of expression. It also exposed regional and ethnic fault lines, as Kazakhstan is home to a diverse population. These divisions, exacerbated by the unrest, posed a challenge to social cohesion and stability.
In response, the Kazakh government initiated efforts to address these issues and promote reconciliation. Measures were taken to improve governance, strengthen the rule of law, and enhance respect for human rights. Initiatives were launched to foster dialogue between different segments of society and promote inclusivity, aiming to heal the societal rifts that had been exposed.
On the social front, the unrest brought to the forefront underlying grievances and divisions within Kazakh society. The government recognized the need to address these concerns by promoting inclusivity, strengthening governance, and fostering dialogue. Rebuilding social cohesion and trust emerged as essential components of the country’s path towards stability and progress.
The January 2022 unrest in Kazakhstan began as protests against a rise in fuel prices. The protests quickly turned violent and spread to some major cities in the country. The government responded by declaring a state of emergency and calling in troops from the CSTO. The Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) is a military alliance of six post-Soviet states: Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, and Tajikistan. The CSTO was founded in 1992 and has been used to deploy troops to member states on a number of occasions, including in Kazakhstan in January 2022. The CSTO deployed troops to Kazakhstan on January 5, 2022. The troops were tasked with restoring order and protecting critical infrastructure. The CSTO troops remained in Kazakhstan for two weeks, and they played a key role in quelling the unrest. The CSTO withdrew its troops from Kazakhstan on January 19, 2022. The withdrawal was announced by CSTO Secretary General Stanislav Zas, who said that the mission had been accomplished. The deployment of CSTO troops to Kazakhstan was controversial. Some critics argued that the deployment was unnecessary and that it was a sign of Russian imperialism. Others argued that the deployment was necessary to restore order and protect Kazakhstan from foreign interference. The CSTO’s deployment to Kazakhstan has had a significant impact on the organization. The deployment has shown that the CSTO is willing to use force to protect its members, and it has also raised concerns about the organization’s future role in the region. Any expected dividends for supporting Russia’s war in Ukraine were not realised when Kazakhstan refused all requests from Russia a mere two months later. Much to Russian consternation Kazakhstan vigorously supports the territorial integrity of nations and even sent aid to Ukraine. Much like so many times in its history the Kazakh leadership chooses what is in its own interest in the long term. Even today as we mark the UN International Day against Nuclear Tests which was unanimously adopted as Resolution 64/35 we are reminded from the UN’s own website that, ‘the resolution calls for increasing awareness and education “about the effects of nuclear weapon test explosions or any other nuclear explosions and the need for their cessation as one of the means of achieving the goal of a nuclear-weapon-free world.” The resolution was initiated by the Republic of Kazakhstan, together with a large number of sponsors and cosponsors with a view to commemorate the closure of the Semipalatinsk Nuclear Test site on 29 August 1991. The Day is meant to galvanize the United Nations, Member States, intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations, academic institutions, youth networks and the media to inform, educate and advocate the necessity of banning nuclear weapon tests as a valuable step towards achieving a safer world.’
As Kazakhstan continues to navigate the rapidly changing world in which we all live it faces challenges but also opportunities for transformative change. The government’s commitment to economic diversification, social reform, and good governance will be instrumental in shaping a more resilient and inclusive future for the nation.
The period between 2022 and 2023 witnessed significant electoral events in Kazakhstan, shaping the country’s political landscape and democratic process. These elections brought forth a range of changes, including the election of a new President and members of Parliament. Let’s take a closer look at the key elections held during this time.
In June 2022, Kazakhstan held its presidential election, which marked a transition of power from the First President Mr. Nursultan Nazarbayev, who had served as the country’s President since its independence in 1991 and perhaps the most significant personality shaping the new nation state and securing its place in the world as a nation amongst equals. His resignation in 2019 was a surprise to almost all, and the subsequent election was highly anticipated, as it would determine a new leader for the first time in over three decades.
Several candidates ran in the election, representing various political parties and movements. However, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, who had been acting as interim President following Nazarbayev’s resignation in 2019, emerged as the clear frontrunner. Tokayev, supported by the ruling Nur Otan party, secured a significant majority of the votes and was elected as the President of Kazakhstan.
Following the presidential election, Kazakhstan held parliamentary elections in January 2023. These elections aimed to determine the composition of the Mazhilis, the lower house of Parliament. The Mazhilis consists of 107 members, 98 of whom are elected through a party-list proportional representation system, and the remaining nine are appointed by the Assembly of People of Kazakhstan, representing ethnic minorities.
Multiple political parties participated in the parliamentary elections, including the ruling Nur Otan party, which has historically dominated Kazakh politics. Other parties such as Ak Zhol Democratic Party, People’s Party of Kazakhstan, and Auyl Social Democratic Party also contested the elections. The campaign period witnessed lively debates and discussions on various issues, including economic development, social reforms, and political transparency.
The results of the parliamentary elections showcased a continued majority for Nur Otan, which secured the highest number of seats in the Mazhilis. However, several other parties managed to secure representation, allowing for a more diverse and pluralistic legislature. This outcome signals a growing trend towards greater political competition and a broader representation of voices within Kazakhstan’s political landscape.
The Kazakh elections held in 2022 and 2023 reflect and ongoing and gradual transition in the country’s political sphere. The presidential election marked the first transfer of power since independence, demonstrating the country’s commitment to democratic processes. The parliamentary elections showcased a growing pluralism, with a more diverse representation in the legislature.
These elections provided an opportunity for political parties to articulate their visions for the future and engage in healthy democratic competition. They also served as a means for the population to express their aspirations and expectations, contributing to the legitimacy of the government and political institutions.
Moving forward, Kazakhstan faces the challenge of consolidating democratic processes, ensuring the inclusion of diverse voices, and addressing socio-economic issues to foster stability and progress. The government’s commitment to enhancing transparency, rule of law, and respect for human rights will play a crucial role in shaping the future trajectory of the country’s democratic development.
Overall, whilst the Kazakh elections held in 2022 and 2023 marked important milestones in the country’s political evolution, illustrating the nation’s efforts to foster democratic governance and political participation it is always the economy which determines the ultimate well-being of a nation.
The performance of the Kazakh economy is influenced by various factors, including global economic conditions, commodity prices, government policies, and domestic and international investments. Kazakhstan’s economy is highly dependent on natural resources, particularly oil, gas, and minerals. Therefore, fluctuations in commodity prices on the international market can have a significant impact on its economic performance.
In recent years, Kazakhstan has been working towards economic diversification, aiming to reduce its reliance on natural resources and promote sectors such as agriculture, manufacturing, and technology. These efforts have been driven by initiatives such as the Nurly Zhol infrastructure development program and the Digital Kazakhstan program, which aim to stimulate economic growth and foster innovation.
Additionally, Kazakhstan has sought to attract foreign direct investment through business-friendly policies, economic reforms, and the establishment of special economic zones. This investment plays a crucial role in driving economic growth, creating jobs, and fostering technological advancement.
The Kazakh economy is performing relatively well in 2022-2023, despite the ongoing global economic slowdown. Real GDP growth is forecast to reach 3.5% in 2023, up from 3.1% in 2022. The economy is being supported by strong commodity prices, particularly oil and gas, which account for about 60% of export earnings. Inflation is expected to remain high, at around 10%, but this is expected to ease in the second half of the year.
The Kazakh government is taking steps to address the challenges facing the economy, including diversifying the economy away from reliance on commodities, improving the investment climate, and reducing poverty. However, there are a number of risks to the outlook, including the ongoing global economic slowdown, the war in Ukraine, and political instability in parts of the region. As these impact on the political and social fabric of Kazakhstan there is an emerging plethora of voices adding commentary and calling for alternative approaches.
Like all countries there is much to celebrate as we assess Kazakhstan’s performance over these last few years, and of course there will always be a mix of voices who genuinely critique the status quo and others who criticise in search of a utopia of perfection. The Kazakhs themselves are much more realistic and one can witness today a nation that is assertive and forward looking, largely harmonious and everywhere engaged with the world.
Kyrgyzstan’s debt to China: yet another lever of influence?
BISHKEK — Stagnation of the world’s economy, decreasing international trade and growing inflation put the spotlight on the issue of returning Kyrgyzstan’s foreign debt, a large part of which is owed to China. The debt is to be repaid sooner or later, but it would make the country sacrifice either its facilities or territory. In both cases, it is a blow on the country’s sovereignty.
Historically, China has been a creditor of countries with high corruption levels, unstable political systems, and nontransparent economies. For instance, Brunei, Namibia, Congo, and Papua New Guinea all have a “hidden” debt to China — more than 10 percent of GDP. Kyrgyzstan’s foreign debt now stands at $5 billion, including $4 billion to China. For comparison, in 2008 Kyrgyzstan’s debt to China was $10 million.
Unlike international financial organizations, such as the IMF and World Bank, China gives loans to Kyrgyzstan on commercial terms that are not disclosed.
The existing debt does not prevent the Kyrgyz government from taking new loans, which leads to increasing debt burden. In Kyrgyzstan, China has financed mainly infrastructure projects, showing more interest in the water and energy sector — one of the main economic and strategic resources of the country. It is not surprising, as in today’s world access to water resources gives additional levers of influence.
A potential project in this sector is construction of the bypass Chui canal-2 and Buruldai reservoir with a total cost of about $140 million. The project’s economic feasibility, its possible environmental impact and other aspects require a comprehensive analysis. Anyway, the project’s implementation would increase the country’s debt burden and give China yet another lever of influence on Kyrgyzstan.
Such projects are not just a matter of money, debts and commitments but also social stability, given the history of relationships between local Kyrgyz population and Chinese investors (for instance, a mass brawl with stoning at Soltan-Sary deposit).
A good example of Beijing using its “soft power” is neighboring Tajikistan, 40 percent of whose $3.2 billion foreign debt belongs to China. Beijing also grants payment deferments on its loans. In exchange, Tajikistan has given thanks to China by ceding 1.1 thousand square kilometers (0.77 percent of its territory) to China in a 2011 border demarcation, supporting China at UN votes, and allowing Chinese companies develop nearly 80 percent of Tajik gold deposits.
With the above in mind, Kyrgyzstan has to think twice before taking new Chinese loans.
At the end of 2022 I travelled to Kazakhstan, as Chairman of Eurasian Creative Guild to report on the early Presidential Elections and constitutional reform called by President Tokaev. It was a showcase, multimedia affair, streamed live on TV, a modern ‘progressive’ event to show the world democracy exists in the ‘Stans’. Almost a year earlier Kyrgyzstan had undergone the same process, with a little less razzamatazz. Both countries cited earlier protests and unrest as reasons for these changes and the need for reform.
I was back in Kazakhstan again during March 2023, for local and parliamentary elections, where ‘listening to the people’ and ‘building a platform for the future’ were two new mantras. And now in April 2023 I am in Uzbekistan, where they too are holding a referendum on constitutional reform.
As I sit in a cafe drinking coffee and people watching, I am surprised that I get a text on my temporary Uzbek Sim card – few people know where I am and even fewer know my number. As I retrieve my phone from the jacket hanging on the back of my chair I realised that other peoples phones had pinged. I opened the message and watched two well dressed women showing each other their phone screens and smiling, a young man pressed delete and unimpressed returned the phone to the table. Even with my limited language skills I could see the number 30 and Aprelya Referenduma. I worked out that below was a web link presumably telling me where the polling stations were. Another example of how technology is rapidly being used in this region steeped in tradition. Whether texts or TV encourages people to vote is debatable but over the next few days I received more texts and saw more electronic billboards and flags.
This ripple effect is described by opponents of those currently in power as a means to build more power and some even see it as a return to a more dictatorial leadership, extending presidential terms and setting up systems that these currently popular leaders vowed to dismantle when they came to power. Many others describe the process as a path to more democracy, stability and accountability. Which way it plays out in each country, and even if other countries in the region follow the ripples, will only be told over time.
Politics is a hot topic and, some twelve or so years since I first visited here, at least people are talking about it. Back in the early days my first taxi rides here were suddenly silent if I asked anything vaguely political but on my last Kazakh visit it was all that people were talking about. In Uzbekistan they are a little more reserved. In some cases it turned out they were not sure what they were voting for in the referendum. With 154 statements to read, understand and agree or disagree with but with only one ‘yes’ or ‘no’ vote, who could blame them!
Domestic politics is one thing but it is played out in front of the glare of foreign affairs and international diplomacy and decisions made by leaders are instantly visible. The unexpected decision by Central Asian leaders to attend the May 9th parade in Moscow is one such example – only one high-ranking guest was due to attend: Kyrgyz President, Sadyr Japarov. All of the others either changed plans or laid a trail of false narratives before attending. Either way it shows that Central Asian countries are seen as important players in the current world ‘disorder’. Both for the West and for Russian and China!
Back on the streets of Tashkent, a day after the referendum, the warm spring enables the evening cafe culture to start in earnest and the fountains are being refilled and turned on to cool the air. Even before the flags proclaiming the referendum are removed, an announcement is given that snap presidential elections have been called by President Japarov. Within the next two months another multimedia extravaganza will fill the airways: phones will beep to urge the voters to the polling stations and democracy will move forward again. Or maybe the people will start to tire and voter apathy will take over? It is hard to see the currently popular leaders losing and in the case of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan extending their terms in office by seven and fourteen years respectively should ensure the continuity at least. However, history shows us that when leaders become unpopular or out stay their welcome the stability begins to break down. In any case it seems that the ripples are travelling across the region even further and will continue to do so until calm returns to the bigger pond of Central Asian politics!
As a committed “Eurasianist”, I find it odd when pundits tell us this war between the Russians and the Ukrainians should terminate in the ruin and desolation of the former nation. After all, it may be expected, in the first approaches of the confined, or simple observer, that it is certainly impossible, since they cannot be rendered subservient to the latter’s advancement; yet, if they were to have this power, in opposition to the formalities of military science, what would become of the five post-Soviet Central Asian states of Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan? This question may be sufficiently answered, by observing the historical scenes which gave employment to and inspired the genius of Rudolf Steiner with whose imagination their futures were rehearsed and foreseen.
In this arrangement, as a crypto-Steinerian aware of Cultures as organic totalities, I am struck with the present succession of international affairs, which, in the progress of history, we consider its object as tending to raise or to sink the balance of nations, is administered by the material system of political, military and cultural policy on which our Western states have proceeded so far; the very policy by which they find their degree of ascendency removed, or greatly diminished, whilst the Eastern shores, not only of the South East Asian Sea, but those of the Caspian, are favoured with all the varieties of economic fortune and prosperity available to humankind.
Occasioned, probably, by the commercial settlement between the heads of Saudi Arabia and China, besides the deliberate prospects of being able to exchange commodities in the yuan currency, indeed, every intuitive journalist among political scientists is confident in the Red Dragon’s strength to enlarge its pretensions to equal influence and consideration in other states. Still, it is not so surprising, however, that the dollar should be attended with no better effects, as the united nations of BRICS and their neighbours are far from being agreed on the moral rectitude of its political nature, under the specious pretence of procuring to other peoples a lasting democracy; or on that degree of its encroachments on their freedom, and present itself to the view of the other nations as the supreme object of respect, fear and consideration.
Yet, in opposition to what has dripped from the pens of eminent writers, if the Russian Federation, and the supporters of the President were forever removed from the scene of international affairs, like the Soviet Union, the anti-dollar alliance already mentioned will be severely restrained in its pursuits; this alone, in the meantime, would be sufficient to confirm the hegemony of the United States in a considerable part of Europe, Asia, and Africa.
The actual consequences of war, it must be confessed, are equally important in the history of this conjectured narrative. Displacement and forced migration from Russia are the earliest subjects of quarrel in the states of Central Asia: a total destruction of cultural assets, or an environmental degradation, are the prices of war, in proportion as the territory of Russia is dismembered; that this truth will lead them to lose in the Steppes of Central Asia the fruits of trade and investment. Under the appearance of danger, arising from the geopolitical vacuum, and the black market for nuclear weapons and weapons-grade uranium and plutonium find their supply, if not checked by some collateral power, the five states would enter into contests of regional authority or elimination, such as might inspire any habitual principle of realist theory in the academical discipline of International Relations (IR). One order of moderns, in their aversion to any application in which they are not engaged by neoliberalism, are apt to presume, that the Central Asians are willing to prefer the delusive hopes of an energy, security, and economic connection with the United States and Europe, to the ties of familiarity and dependence betwixt the Soviet Union and the denomination of their clans and fraternities.
When I recollect what Oswald Spengler has written, as well as the writings of Rudolf Steiner on folk souls, I am struck with the aspect of a strange history of the world. Guided, indeed, by that superior discernment of their comparative morphologies, I too am instigated to think that civilisations must decline, and their power degenerate. Hence it is, that while we Anglo-Americans admire the advantages of civilised and flourishing peoples, these terms appear misapplied to the Western or our Faustian Civilisation per se, whether as victors or as vanquished. It should seem, therefore, that it is of no consequence to the natives of Central Asia who would settle or conquer on the north of their own happier climates; that the beginning of a new High Culture is necessary and unavoidable.
It is properly observed that Central Asia is the only instance, to which there is no parallel in the history of mankind due to their instinctive healthy nomadism and eco-friendly attitude. It is everywhere interwoven, according to David William Parry, the first Chairperson of Eurasian Creative Guild, with singular attachments to the High Cultures of the Ancient Chinese, the Russian, the Ancient Indian, and the ‘Magian’ to which it belonged. After all, they were once the focus of the Islamic Golden Age, and were devised to cultivate the best qualities of scientists and philosophers, such as al-Khwarizmi, al-Biruni, al-Farabi, and Ibn Sina; and to be guided in the choice of their expressions by the supernatural insights of Gnosticism, Manichaeism and Zoroastrianism, and arguably their contemporary variant Anthroposophy.
So tentatively observed what passes during the life cycle of individual societies, we shall propose that the middle region of Asia, without hostility to those who oppose them, approaches the first step towards internal growth and, at the risk of a literary flourish, as is the case of any people are a proof rather of Cultural felicity to which their active spirit is destined. With this pretext, they endeavour to derive from their commerce and their inherited varieties of education, delivered by the ablest category of indigenous intellectuals, artists, and creatives, received from abroad, which their cultural organisations may enable them to pursue with all their cultivated manners, amidst the competitions of rival states. Happy are they who contend with such difficulties, and who can discover the new heights of the Central Asian High Culture which tend to fortify and energise, for their joint preservation. A challenge our contemporary Eurasian scholars would do well to encourage. All meaning, every apocalypse is a new genesis.
Bio: Daniele-Hadi Irandoost is an educator, historian and philosopher, as well as a former Commissioning Editor for E-International Relations, and a Member of Eurasian Creative Guild, whereas he is currently reading for his PhD at the Department of War Studies, in King’s College London. Irandoost is also the published author of On the Philosophy of Education: Towards an Anthroposophical View, while he is presently in the process of having his second book published under the highly evocative title, A New Vision of Spycraft.
I am finally in Astana, the capital and my old home. It is still winter but the sun is out and the streets, at this time of year, are more clear of snow than I can remember – maybe this year Nauryz will be a real spring, a real ‘new day’? I still wear my old army hat and winter coat as I walk across the marble clad square near Baiterek but I no longer move like a penguin. There are quite a few people around including volunteers canvassing with leaflets, baseball caps and shirts in their favoured party’s colours but they are less persuasive than those in Almaty and a biting wind has probably helped to drive away their smiles.
Away from the canvassers I amble towards my next meeting and decide to ask some people their views – a family with only a small amount of English understand what I ask and give the thumbs up – smiling and pointing at the cocoon wrapped child in a pushchair – I take this to mean that the election it is for her and the future but there may have been another meaning. A group of boys and girls were ‘hanging out’ in the lee of the trees on a bench and they were keen to talk, often all at once! They were wrapped in scarves and hoodies looking like young people from any part of the globe. Of them all, Aigerim chose her words in English carefully, stopping the others with waves of her hands so she could speak. ‘I want to say the right thing – not the right thing for the party or the government, but the correct English!’ Her friends translated and laughed between themselves. She continued, ‘I feel that this is the time for the people to make change!’ I enquire as to why she thinks this? ‘I have not been able to vote before, I have not been interested in government before, I see my parent’s friends, people I know standing in the election and I have listened to what they are saying and I believe in them – they will make a difference!’ Their friends clap in appreciation and to keep away the cold. I asked her what is really different this time? ‘Everyone is talking about it!’ I realised she is right – everyone is talking about it! A little later, I attend the official briefings for journalists and have the open opportunity to talk to candidates from parties and independent candidates. They are full of positivity and hope. They cite the same issues that need solving, the economy, infrastructure development, health care and a unified Kazakh population – some mention foreign policy but probably because I am foreign. These are the issues that President Tokayev – I listen as they talk passionately and I wonder how the people will choose between them? In some voting regions there are over thirty candidates to choose from and it will be interesting to see the voting process in action.
As the polling stations are being prepared, blue curtained booths are being constructed and information boards erected in numerous Universities and public halls across the country, I am also conscious that such an intricate ‘new’ process may have its issues! Some of these issues have been foreseen and planned for, even down to changing the size of the voting paper so that more ballots will fit the boxes. Processes are in place for people with mobility problems and volunteers have been trained to help but what is important is that the process has to be seen to be fair. For example, there are already murmurs, on social media, about independent candidates’ lack of access to the press – these inequality problems will need to be investigated and acted upon after the election, if only so that the trust in the electoral process is maintained and the momentum of the current positivity is continued.
That evening, I join some other international journalists and we mull over the day’s meetings and share stories. For some it is their first time in Astana and their curiosity in culture and history fired up and I am happy to know they will introduce the opportunities of Kazakhstan to a new audience in their home countries. Others are more seasoned election reporters, among them there is general agreement that these elections feel different and that they are part of the pathway to a new Kazakhstan – we wearily separate to complete our copy and recharge the batteries for another full day of interviews and research.
The next day winter has returned with light snow, low grey leaden colour clouds and the biting wind. In a couple of days, polling day, more snow is forecast which may possibly cool the excitement too. There will be winners but there will be more losers and the reaction of the losers will be critical. If they feel they can lose graciously because the process was truly fair and transparent, then trust will be maintained, if not? Well ‘everybody will be talking about it!’ But for the wrong reasons!
THE CONTEMPORARY ART OF BAHKSHI A NEW SOUND OF THE GOLDEN HERITAGE 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 a headlong rush to modernity and globalisation. The balance between the demands for tradition and future are truly polarised here. It is not only the physical mausoleums, palaces and silk road fortresses that could be at risk but also the non-tangible heritage too. The folk literature, which often combines with traditional music (known here as Bahkshi), is a very important part of historical culture and is even recognised by UNESCO. Storytelling, singing and, in the past, even rallying the troops into battle was a skill, with works passed down between masters of the art. Until very recently much of that work was not written down and it is unimaginable how much of this aural cultural history has been lost over the centuries.
However today there are enthusiastic academics, scholars and performers from across the Turkic countries and beyond that are trying to maintain and reclaim the heritage. UNESCO has recognised non-tangible cultural art forms and in Guliston City, the capital of the Syrdarya region, in Uzbekistan the third international conference on the contemporary art of Bakhshi – ‘A new sound of the Golden Heritage’ was held over three days in the first week of May 2023. Alongside the conference an international Bakhshi competition was held with Musical performers from more than 40 foreign countries and international organisations gathering to showcase their talents at the festival. 64 performers, including ten local and 54 foreign artists, were selected from over 300 participants. It was a chance for performers to share their music and storytelling with each other and the wider public and the locals also revelled in the chance to take photos with Kimono clad singers from Japan, Sarong wrapped musicians from Indonesia, Bulgarian women in traditional clothes draped in golden coin jewellery, and of course the Kazakhs, Kyrgyz and Uzbeks in Shapans and Ak Kalpak added to the colour. It was a great honour for me, as Chairman of the Eurasian Creative Guild, to represent Great Britain, although at times I felt very underdressed! The pageantry was further highlighted by an epic performance of Uzbek and Turkic culture. Over 300 dancers from the local universities joined professional singers and artists in a nonstop riot of colour music and performance that thrilled the crowds and even got the visiting dignitaries on their feet dancing.
The conference itself was an opportunity to outline what Central Asian nations are doing to uphold the tradition and to promote it around the world. The conference was opened by the Uzbek Minister of Culture B.Sayfullayev and supported by the Adviser to The Prime Minister of Pakistan, Amir Muqam. Following two days of presentations and delivery of academic papers a resolution was passed to include the revival of Bakhshi Art in creative schools, and importantly the recording and cataloguing of current Bakhshi performers by using new technology to develop an international archive and use this to promote the Bakhshi arts.
The results of the competition saw accolades and prizes being awarded at an open-air public performance bringing the proceedings to a dramatic close.
During the Bakhshi festival in Gulistan City, Uzbekistan Gareth Stamp (Chairman of Eurasian Creative Guild) interviewed Maxmudaliyev Akmaljon, Governor of the Syrdarya District and one of the key organisers of the festival.
ECG – How Important is the Bakhshi Festival for The Syrdarya region of Uzbekistan?
Maxmudaliyev Akmaljon (MA) – Bakhshi folklore festival is crucial for Uzbekistan, and the first aim of having such a festival is to preserve historical traditions of art of Bakhshi. Also, we have a desire to save our unique culture, as cultural development means education and knowledge. And where there is education and knowledge, there only will be development and progress. For these, especially for Syrdarya district, and for the whole population of Uzbekistan, Bakhshi festival means happiness, and a cultural and meaningful event. For Uzbekistan, the sphere of culture is crucial, as we have the opportunity to struggle with ignorance.”
ECG – What plans for other festivals do you have in the coming months?
MA – We have big plans in the future to hold such kinds of festivals. In 2023, it will be the 60 years anniversary of Syrdarya district’s creation.
It means that from 1 January to 31 of December 2023 we will have a celebration in every home, street, administration, parks and regions. Also Syrdarya is popular for our special Mirzachol region melons, and Mirzabad region pomegranates. We have the seasonal harvest of melons and pomegranates festival, together with the celebration of our district’s anniversary – and we will definitely hold a big celebration, and will show it to the whole of the world.
ECG – What have you learnt from organising such an elaborate festival?
MA – The fact that the third Bakshi festival was held in Gulistan city, in Syrdarya, allows us to gain experience and preparation. During this preparation, we tried to pay attention to everything, especially for the development of tourism of Uzbekistan. Preparing for this festival was on the highest level, all the ministries and our president created very useful system for us. All members of our team supported each other in preparing for this event. It is now a unique experience for all of us.
ECG – It has been an amazing experience and I want to personally thank you and the organisers for the opportunity to witness the Bakhshi Festival.
MA – Hospitality is in our hearts and blood. Also I am very happy to meet with you because of this festival, and I want to add for the first question, culture unites peoples, friends and brotherhood
CAN PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS SOLVE CENTRAL ASIA’S CHALLENGES?
Creating Water Purification Systems for Disaster Response: A Case Study
National, state and local governments frequently face complex problems that require cost effective and efficient solutions that are often constrained by both time and fiscal pressures. Government best practices developed and implemented in the US Federal government can be used to leverage marketing and purchasing power to rapidly increase the deployment of a wide range of technologies, products and/or services to the benefit of the people/taxpayers of a country, regional or local government.
Most government entities do not recognise, let alone leverage, their true market attractiveness to the private sector. Experience has shown that the private sector is ready, willing and able to assist the government if they are provided two things—neither of which are money. The first deals with the ability to articulate in a clear and concise way what a given problem is (through the use of detailed operational requirements) and the second is a conservative estimate of the potential available market. Recently developed models and programs, such as the System Efficacy through Commercialization, Utilization, Relevance and Evaluation (SECURE) program at the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) can substantially increase their awareness of a worldwide spectrum of solution providers in a broad range of industries. The SECURE program is an ideal process for leveraging the potential available market represented by users of products and services germane to communities across the United States.
The real challenge for federal, state and local government officials is to work as a group to prioritise and articulate the unsatisfied needs/wants of their particular region(s). A recent effort to identify potential solutions that will assist communities recover from natural or manmade disasters will be shared in detail to demonstrate how innovative public-private partnerships work. Government officials and first responders realize that providing potable water to affected communities is one of the most important functions to restore after a disaster. These same officials also recognise significant shortcomings with traditional water delivery methods, such as trucking in bottled water or operating large, diesel-powered water purification systems.
DHS, through utilization of its SECURE program, has aided several state and local government officials by developing detailed operational requirements, concepts-of-operations and a conservative estimate of the potential available market (PAM) for products/services needed collectively by communities at the local, tribal, state and federal levels. This program ensures that public officials work closely with the private sector through partnership models like the SECURE program to obtain the highest performance/price products and/or services– at a speed-of-execution not typically seen in the public sector.
Private-Public Partnerships are the Future
A public-private partnership is an agreement between a public agency and a private sector entity that combines skills and resources to develop a technology, product and/or service that improves the quality of life for the general public. The private sector has been called upon numerous times to use its resources, skills and expertise to perform specific tasks in support of the public sector. Historically, the public sector has frequently taken an active role in spurring technological advances by directly funding the private sector to fulfil a specialised need that the public sector cannot complete itself.
The public sector has found it necessary to take this active role to lead and enable the development of a needed technology or capability in situations where the business case for the private sector’s investment in a certain area is not apparent. In these cases, the public sector relied on the private sector to develop mission-critical capabilities, but had to pay the private sector to divert its valuable (and limited) resources to an area that did not necessarily show a strong potential to provide an acceptable return-on-investment (ROI) for a given company. These situations could be caused by a number of issues ranging from a high cost to perform the research and development (R&D) to a limited PAM that may have prevented the company from making sufficient profit and returns to the company and its shareholders.
Increasingly, however, users in the public sector are now viewed as stable markets – i.e., a sizeable enough customer base for the private sector to warrant investments of time and money. A commercialisation-based public-private partnership has the same goal as more traditional public-private partnerships, but the method is constructed to leverage positive attributes of the free market system. The introduction of a commercialization-based public-private partnership, developed and implemented at DHS, provides benefits for three constituents of the Homeland Security Enterprise (HSE): the private sector, the public sector and the taxpayer. This is a desirable scenario creating a “win-win-win” environment in which all participants are in a position to benefit.
In the free market system, private sector companies and businesses must commercialise and sell products and services that consumers want to purchase. The development and understanding of specific markets is a critical undertaking for many companies seeking to gain share of a market, with companies directing significant amounts of money and resources to these activities in addition to its product development efforts. Sometimes companies do not understand the correct needs or demand data of a market or market segment and their product(s) does not sell well.
What a commercialisation-based public-private partnership offers to the private sector is detailed information and opportunity. The public sector is not only the “consumer” in this free market scenario, but an informed and communicative consumer who is capable of giving the private sector a detailed description of what they need, as well as insight into which agencies and user communities would be interested in potentially purchasing a product/service that fulfils these requirements. While it remains prudent business to verify the information provided by the public sector, there is considerable value for the private sector to obtain these details from DHS because four things are provided to the private sector that would not happen in normal market dynamics: 1) a decrease in resources spent researching the market; 2) an increase in available time and money that can now be focused on product design and manufacturing; 3) a reduction in risk of the research data being incorrect; and 4) a conservative estimate as to how large the potential market can be for a known and funded entity.
The development and communication of detailed requirements or needs is the real cornerstone to the success of these public-private partnerships. The public sector’s ability to articulate the needs of its stakeholders will catalyse and support the future actions of the partnership. Understanding requirements early in the search for solutions removes a great deal of guesswork in the planning stages and helps to ensure that the end-users and product developers are “on the same page.”
Transformational Change beyond DHS
Because of its obvious benefits, it is reasonable to examine the possibility of extending the concepts developed at DHS to other countries’ national, state, local and tribal agencies. Logic dictates that in cases where operational requirements can be developed across agencies, the size of a given potential available market would increase. It is also certainly conceivable that various agencies across government share similar requirements for products and services. Further expanding requirements generation and collecting information on market potential across all of government can have transformative effects on the way government conducts business. The incorporation of commercialisation adds a “valuable tool to an agency’s toolbox” in providing increased speed-of-execution in deploying technologies/products/services to solve problems, as well as providing an increase in the net realizable budget of an agency. In fact, the expansion of public-private partnerships like SECURE across all of government are being recommended to both the President of the United States and Congress due to their many benefits. It should be noted that these principles are now being applied in innovative programs like MUNIS in Uzbekistan, as well as FPIP in Kazakhstan.
Acknowledgements This article would not have been possible without the steadfast assistance of my former colleagues at the White House and US Department of Homeland Security. In addition, I thank all those I have, and continue to work with, across Central Asia who are applying these proven models in countries like Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.
Elena Kalashnikova was born in 1968 and has had an active and fulfilling life based around her love of travel, alpinism and diving. She graduated from Omsk State Educational Institute (Specialty: mathematics, computer science) in 1992 but realised that tourism was her passion that she wanted to dedicate her life to. She graduated from TURAN Institute (Specialty: Management in Tourism, Almaty) in 1998 and founded Ak Sai Travel Ltd. in Bishkek. This company gives its clients the chance to see the pure and pristine nature of Kyrgyz mountains. Elena has been awarded a national medal for the development of tourism in Kyrgyzstan.
Elena’s professionalism and experience led to her appointment, in 2012, as the president of the Kyrgyz Association of Tour Operators (KATO) – a non-profit organisation that defends the corporate interests of its members and the rights of its clients. The Association’s most important goal is the creation of a civilised tourism market and assistance in tourism industry development at the national level. Elena successfully managed KATO for more then ten years and promoted Kyrgyzstan as a destination for inbound and outbound markets. Both colleagues and clients notice positivity, kind attitude to people travelling and providing hospitality.
OCA: What are the priorities for Kyrgyz tourism, in terms of which countries they would like to attract and what age/type of people they are looking for, given that Kyrgyzstan has traditionally been known for adventure tourism, with activities such as backpacking in the wilderness?
Elena Kalashnikova: The Kyrgyz Republic is very diverse in terms of tourism opportunities. Adventure tourism is only one of the directions we’re going in, although you are right, the direction is very popular. In our country, 94% of the country’s territory is mountains, there are peaks that are above 7000 meters, which are attractive for climbers from all over the world. There are mountain hikes of varying difficulty – for both professionals and amateurs, people come for holidays on the beach – we have the wonderful lake Issyk-Kul, the second largest alpine lake in the world. There are cultural tours – the Great Silk Road passed through Kyrgyzstan, there are many ancient fortresses and familiar locations from historical chronicles. Therefore, traveling to the Kyrgyz Republic will be of interest to everyone, regardless of age and preferences. As for the tourists from which countries we would like to attract, primarily those from the European region, the Middle East and Southeast Asia. People from these countries have a good idea of what they want to see. And they have plenty to choose from. They are interested in Kyrgyzstan as a new direction. We have truly unique natural conditions. And, importantly, people are hospitable and ready to receive tourists.
For certain countries, adventure tourism is interesting. For tourists from the CIS – beach tourism, sanatorium treatment, and in the winter, skiing. Europeans are most attracted to the mountains – trekking, climbing and everything related to adventure. Therefore, we focus on these areas for them.
OCA: How are the government and promoters intending to market the region?
EK: The uniqueness of our country lies in the fact that we can offer a whole range in the types of tourism that a person can enjoy, and we must talk about them. To promote Kyrgyzstan, our Tourism Development Support Fund uses traditional methods. These are direct contacts with tour operators of other countries, participation in tourism exhibitions and fairs, with promotion of the country done through direct sales at these events, holding road-shows and fam-trips for the media and tour operators of other countries, interaction with organizations of compatriots abroad. The Foundation has already organized 11 national stands at the largest tourism exhibitions in the world. Each time presentations are held, dozens of meetings are organised, and contracts are concluded. Of course, we also promote through the Internet and social networks. But focusing solely on this is clearly not enough. Publications on the network can show what awaits a person, but, unfortunately, they do not convey emotions. Nothing replaces live communication when travelling to the country. Therefore, we need to establish as many personal contacts as possible.
OCA: Is cultural heritage a major draw for tourists and if so, what plans are there to develop this?
EK: If, speaking of cultural heritage, we mean fairy tales, legends, folk music and folklore, then, of course, yes. If we mean our nomadic culture that we still have and that we still value to this day – then of course, also yes. The Tourism Development Support Fund support yurt camps, for glamping even (providing comfortable campsites in our national style). Staying in them, you can feel the nomadic life of people who spend their time on the pastures, among grazing cattle. Kyrgyz national patterns and other traditional elements are used in the decor, in everyday clothes – and not only in our country. New York Mayor, Eric Adams, recently appeared in public wearing a Kyrgyz-made chapan. It is unusual and attractive, which means it is interesting.
OCA: Do specific events like the Nomad Games have a real impact on tourism?
EK: First, the World Nomad Games were primarily aimed at attracting tourists, and second, for the reproduction of the entire nomadic lifestyle that we have had for many centuries, with elements of national games, tastings of national dishes and drinks. Tourists are not interested when people are dressed in modern business suits, but they are interested in feathers or skins – something they don’t have at home. They go to Brazil for the carnival because it is fashionable, popular and interesting. When people talk about a carnival, they immediately associate it with bright clothes, music, and feathers. The Nomad games are associated with equestrian sports, archery, and yurts. Of course it’s interesting. And when American athletes play the Kyrgyz game “kok-boru”, it attracts attention. In Great Britain there are also national equestrian games, polo, for example, but they are different in our country. And the uniqueness of the product, is that we are reproducing what used happen many centuries ago, in this modern day and age. And not only reproducing, but carefully storing it and using it in everyday life.
OCA: From a personal point of view, what places do you think tourists should visit and are there any hidden gems that the world needs to know more about?
EK: There are a lot of interesting places, and it is simply impossible to see everything in one trip. When I travel, I don’t look for the popular locations, but at those that are of interest to the local population. And I try not to eat in restaurants with Michelin stars, but where local people dine. Only then can you get immersed in the authenticity of the region. We have a lot of places like this in Kyrgyzstan.
For centuries, our region has been very interesting for the people from China, India and other nearby countries. In Issyk-Kul, for example, there is the sunken ancient city of Chigu, the stones that Tamerlane spoke to. There was also a monastery where ancient Christian monks lived and where the relics of St. Matthew are kept. These days, some ruins of those places still remain. There are places from the era of the Karakhanids, for example the settlement of Suyab.
There are monuments from the time when the region was under the influence of Buddhists, for example, in Ysyk-Ata. Where did the statue of Buddha come from in the mountains? And who were the travelers who brought it and left it there?
OCA: How do you see tourism developing over the next five years in Kyrgyzstan? Are plans such as infrastructure development, a part of that?
EK: In my opinion, it’s quite important that the state does not interfere with the development of tourism, but instead assists, invests in infrastructural projects, and makes it easier to do business in the field of tourism. What does a tourist want? They want the procedure for obtaining a visa, if required, to be clear and easy. To start with the airport, it’s important to have clear directional signs. Along the way – different types of transport, not only private taxis, but also organized shuttles. They want to ensure that the food they eat is safe. And the task of the state, first and foremost, is to create conditions for all these norms to be observed. This is the ideal situation from a tourist’s point of view.
From the point of view of business, this includes construction, and the development of transport, and even tourist formalities for obtaining visas. Our Foundation is actively working on this. Across the country, the Foundation is building RestPoints, modern versions of ancient caravanserais along the Silk Road, where travellers stopped during their travels. These locations include a toilet, an information center, a souvenir shop and a charging station for electric vehicles. The first 21 of these locations will be ready this year, and there will be 68 in total. The Fund launched GoBus shuttle buses along popular routes – from the capital of the country, Bishkek, to Manas airport, on the coast of the Issyk-Kul Lake, to nearby natural parks. Another project of the Fund is the organisation and marking of eco-paths according to the standards of the World Tourism Organization, UNWTO. Infrastructure development is also needed in order for Kyrgyzstan to be included in the list of countries recommended for travel along the Great Silk Road.
The Foundation opened a call centre for tourists. The processes of obtaining permits to visit border zones, obtaining visas and registering tourists who come for a long time are all things that are being automated. By the way, Kyrgyzstan was the first in Central Asia to introduce a visa-free regime for citizens of certain countries. A lot is being done to make travelling to our country interesting and comfortable.
OCA: How does Kyrgyzstan ensure that its heritage is preserved while wanting to modernise?
EK: It is very important for us to preserve the spirit of our Kyrgyz people. For example, the same RestPoints that I mentioned are not just about modern toilets. These locations are authentically made, carefully preserving the spirit of the great nomads, resting places with a new sound and modern performance, the prototype of which was our famous Tash-Rabat caravanserai – they even look similar.
People in our country honour and cherish their age-old traditions. Tourists can join the nomadic lifestyle. They can ride horses, spend the night in yurts, or try medicinal koumiss (drink made from mare’s milk). They can observe traditional decorations and the unique design elements of yurts in almost every rural house. Enjoy our beautiful wildlife, but at the same time relax with the usual comfort. For example, in the vicinity of Bishkek, our Foundation has begun the construction of a large ski cluster. In terms of comfort, it will be comparable to the famous Alpine resorts. And at the same time, located in a stunningly beautiful and almost pristine location.
OCA: How are you planning on minimising the environmental impacts of increased tourism?
EK: Our tourism has not yet acquired such an industrial character as in developed European countries, where 60-70 million tourists visit annually. We are not ready for such a flood, it will simply trample our country. Therefore, we need to think ahead, use someone else’s experience. In developed countries, during the period of the sharp industrial boom, the situation with the environment was also deplorable. But then they began to strictly regulate both emissions and the negative impact of various industrial enterprises, and everything returned to normal. Minimizing the environmental impact is very important for our Fund. For example, when we started building RestPoint, we immediately stipulated that they should be environmentally friendly – with competent, thoughtful treatment facilities, with electric heating, with charging for electric vehicles.
It is important for us to preserve the stunningly beautiful nature of our country, which is worth visiting from far away. Kyrgyzstan is also a wonderful destination because here you can plan any kind of tourist route, for every taste, even one where you won’t meet with other people. And we need to keep this unique advantage, so that everyone can experience the incredible beauty of Kyrgyzstan.
Open Doors to the World of Art: Announcement of the International Festival in Kazakhstan
The festival “Voices of Friends: Poetry and Visual Arts” brings together talented authors from different countries, giving them the opportunity to show their creative abilities to a wide audience and to find like-minded people.
In 2023, the festival will take place for the third time in the resort area Borovoe (Schuchinsk) from 25 to 30 September. The organizers – the cultural association Eurasian Creative Guild – promise a high level of the event, spectacular performances and vivid emotions.
“Voices of friends” will be held on the basis of the art residence ECG Horizons, hotels: Rixos Borovoe, “Dom u Ozera”, Park Hotel Kokshetau and Park House.
The festival will be rich with delegations of filmmakers, artists and poets from Britain, Bulgaria, Kyrgyzstan, Poland, which will expand the outlook and share experiences with colleagues from different countries!
A significant event will be the presentation of the collection “100 experiences of the Burabay region”, dedicated to the 95th anniversary of Burabay National Park.
Meetings with poets, film screenings, literary evenings, master classes, exhibitions and other interesting activities will be held during the festival for all the guests.
The culmination will be the ceremony of awarding the winners of Voices of Friends – 2023 и Burabay International Festival of Social Cinema-2023.
For people that live in the beginning of the third millennium, it’s hard to believe that a hundred years ago trips to Borovoe were not so easy and challenging for our ancestors. Now, almost everyone has his own car, there are intercity bus and train services all over Kazakhstan, and finally there are flights that allow you to fly thousands of kilometres in a couple of hours. So it is no longer a problem to get the resort Borovoe. For example, it would take three hours to get there from Petropavlovsk and even less from Astana. Today it seems impossible to think that the trip from Petropavlovsk to Borovoe in 1913 took from two to five days depending on the weather, different circumstances and kinds of carriages.
There wasn’t a highway at that time and cars were not common. Development of aircraft had just begun and the building of the Trans Siberian had just finished, but the closest stations of this railway were in Petropavlovsk and Omsk. That’s why visitors of Borovoe were mostly from these cities.
Hardly anyone from the southern part of the Steppe visited Borovoe. At that time Akmolinsk and Atbassar were some of the biggest cities and its citizens were Cossacks, philistines, merchants, relocated peasants, settled Kazakh people and supervised exiles. They were not ones who could afford to go to a resort. Almost all of them were on duty, engaged in farming and worked to live. However, steppe Kazakhs had known about healing properties of salt and the curative mud from the Borovoe lakes much earlier. Then the Russians came and regularly visited mainly for healing rheumatism and skin diseases.
The main flow of tourists (they were called summer residents) was from big and rich Siberian cities like Chelyabinsk, Petropavlovsk, Kurgan, Omsk, Tomsk, Novo-Nikolaevsk (Novosibirsk). People from different social classes – merchants, philistines, the intelligentsia, civil servants, and skilled workers – had enough money to pay for this trip for themselves and their family.
Let’s imagine the journey of such a “summer resident”, a teacher from Omsk for example, who had heard about the resort where extraordinary fresh air and koumiss could improve health. A teacher’s salary in the Russian Empire was good but he did not have his own carriage. He had a choice to rent a horse-drawn carriage from Omsk directly to Borovoe or go by newly built Siberian railway to Petropavlovsk station and then go to the resort. The second option was more preferable because the distance was shorter.
Financially it was more profitable to find a fellow passenger on the train or before the trip by placing an advertisement in any newspaper, like “Siberian Life” that was popular all over the whole of Siberia. Another way to find a fellow traveller was to place an advertisement on the post station in Petropavlovsk and wait for a few hours. The total cost of the trip from Petropavlovsk to Borovoe resort was twenty rubles for a couple of horses or about thirty rubles for three horses.
When the teacher arrived at the railway station in Petropavlovsk he would need to hire a carriage driver (50 pennies) and go to the post station where he could rent a post horse that were provided by state postal service, or hire horse-drivers like taxi drivers nowadays. Unfortunately, both options had their disadvantages.
What was the trip by post horses like? If you imagine that the post carriage is like an intercity bus and post stations are additional stops, then you can get an approximate picture of this kind of traffic management. The cost of these post carriages was 3 pence for one horse per one verst plus 10 pence state fee for a horse for the whole road. Additionally, the cost of the carriage was 12 pence plus the usual tips. At that time, there were only two villages on the post road to Borovoe – Bogodukhovskoe (90 versts from Petropavlovsk) and Azat (80 versts from Borovoe). Azat was the last post station and people needed to hire horse-drivers to go further. The whole way from Petropavlovsk to Azat people had to make pickets among the boundless steppe. Pickets were post stations with 2 or 3 buildings. It was possible to overcome all the distance to Borovoe for 1.5 or 2 days depending on the post services and mood of the head of the station. Usually he used his authority and sometimes could postpone the carriage departure at his discretion, or could wait for another carriage and transfer all post packages and passengers there. The road to Borovoe was pretty easy in good weather. The steppe path was well-rolled and was as good as asphalt. Wet weather conditions made this road much harder because there was a lot of dirt that stuck to the carriage wheels and horse’s hooves. So, drivers tried to ride on bumpy ruts. That was a really hard road to handle even for a healthy man.
The next way to get there was to hire a horse driver. There were lots of free horse drivers in Petropavlovsk who could offer their service or suggest another driver. The cost for horse drivers was 10 pence for each pair of horses per one verste. This way could guarantee a calmer journey on the road as you had to deal with only one driver and didn’t worry about rearranging baggage. The big disadvantage of this trip was its slow pace. The trip could last from 2 to 5 days depending on the weather, horse’s stamina and resistance of carriages with stops at Inns.
There was another unusual way to get to Borovoe, by bicycle. Before the trip people needed to train for a month. A cyclist could ride this distance over 16-20 hours (not counting stops to rest) in good weather. People who chose to get to Borovoe by bicycle rode usually along the main railway track till the first crossing and then along telegraph poles to the Azat village. From there it was possible to see the mountain top of Kokshe, which was a visual landmark. There were plenty of people who wanted to cover this distance by bicycle and a lot of information about this route has survived. Papers contain information on how much water and food you need to have with you on the trip, what clothes you should wear, and also medical advice was included. It’s not surprising that medical experts of the time considered bicycle riding as a great healing, preventive and strengthening remedy for many diseases.
But in 1913, the suffering of travellers came to an end when car traffic to Borovoe was established in Petropavlovsk. Three kinds of cars started to operate: light passenger, passenger and cargo. The same year the New Railways Commission decided to build a railway from Petropavlovsk to Kokshetau. But the first World War and then Civil war delayed realisation of this project for some time.
From the 25th to the 30th May 2023, the Fifth Eurasian Film Festival was held in Romford, London. Films and presentations were made from more than twelve countries, embodying the best of culture and creative talent. The festival ran alongside the Romford Film Festival. President of Romford Film festival, Spencer Hawken, was very complimentary about the quality of the films and the thought provoking subject matter. “The Eurasian Film Festival adds another level to the Romford festival and we are happy to host the works and support the Eurasian Creative Guild,” he said.
As part of the festival, the Eurasian Creative Guild held its own meeting where there was a book launch of the famous Kazakh author, Dulat Issabekov’s book of short stories “Confrontation” which has been published by Hertfordshire Press in London. There was also an excellent art exhibition, with portraits by SarvinozHojieva, from Tajikistan. During the meeting there were poetry readings from John Farndon (UK), GenadiyGorovoy (Belarus – Israel), Natalie Wang (Lipatova) (Belarus – Bulgaria) and Tanya Ivanova (Bulgaria – Spain), who also presented her new collections of poetry. One of the highlights of the gathering was a musical performance by Erlan Ryskaly, on the Dombra from Kazakhstan. Erlan is currently in the UK on a musical internship supported by Eurasian Creative Guild.
Natalie Bays from Romford film festival spoke to the audience about her positive experiences of the Guild, “I would never have thought that I would experience Central Asia on my own doorstep. It is great for the people of Romford to have the opportunity to see the films, hear the music and experience the culture. Building bridges between communities is what the Eurasian Creative Guild is about and this is exactly what they are doing here!” she said.
The ECG Film festival 2023 Awards Ceremony was dedicated to the 80th Anniversary of Maria Akhmedjanova – Shevel (Uzbekistan). Maria was an amazing architect and designer who led the conception and creative planning of Jizzakh, a city in Uzbekistan. The ceremony was held on the 30th May and was very well attended. There were welcome speeches by: HE ambassador of Kazakhstan to Great Britain – MagzhanIlyasov. He emphasised the power of film in conveying stories and sharing information but also said that films should be memorable and thought provoking.
Other speeches were made by the new Mayor of the London borough of Havering, Cllr. Stephanie Nunn. This was only her second official duty and she was very interested in the cultural diversity at the festival.
The founder of ECG Film festival, Mark (Marat)Akhmedjanov (Uzbekistan – UK), opened the formal proceedings and in the traditional film festival manner the award winners and recipients of prizes were announced.
Best Eurasian Feature Film The Crying Steppe (Kazakhstan) | Marina Kunarova Prize was awarded by Kamshat Kumisbay, Embassy of the Republic of Kazakhstan in the United Kingdom
Best Eurasian Short film Khaibulla (Russia – Bashkortostan) | RustemShaikhutdinov
Best Eurasian Documentary Film Katia and Rimma (France) | Gulya Mirzoeva Detached (Russia – Chukotka) | Vladimir Krivov Prizes awarded by a representative from the Embassy of the Russian Federation to the United Kingdom
Best Eurasian Screenplay in English Pirandello’s Wife (USA) | Lynn Elliott Prize awarded by John Farndon, ECG former chairman
Best Eurasian Screenplay in Russian Home (Kazakhstan) | Zhorabek Musabayev Prize awarded by Bella Kogan
Best Screenplay based on Kazat Akmatov’s ‘Thirteen Steps of Erika Klaus’ The Valkyrie (Israel) | Darien Shaul Roytman Prize awarded by Lira Sabyrova – Counsellor of the Embassy of the Kyrgyz Republic in Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
ADDITIONAL AWARDS: Honorary Achievement Certificate for Animation History of the Music Hall (UK) | Tim Wilson Prize awarded by Timur Akhmedjanov
Best Eurasian Cinematography The Last Witness (UK – Poland) | Piotr Szkopiak Prize awarded by Adam Siemieńczyk and Marta Brassart
Best Young Director Selected (Kazakhstan) | Said Ashirbayev Prize awarded by Natalie Wang
Audience Choice Award Awakening of a sleeping beauty (Kazakhstan) | AkbobekTolzhanova Prize awarded by Stephen M. Bland
Best Romance Screenplay The Way of the heart(UK) | Aldona Grupas
Honorary Achievement Certificate for Art Direction A Team of Heaven (Russia) | Vladimir Alenikov
Certificate of Acknowledgement for the Sincerity and Compassion Seen in the Production of War-Related Films One War (Russia) | Natalya Ivanova
Certificate of Acknowledgement for the Promotion and Celebration of British Cinema and Filmmaking Talent in the UK and Internationally Luba Balagova
Certificate of appreciation and Barbara Nawrocka medal by Poezja London for contribution in promotion of Eurasian Culture Sarvinoz Hojieva (Tajikistan) for her art exhibition Genadiy Gorovoy (Belarus/Israel) for poetry presentation Natalie Bays (UK) from Romford film festival Erlan Ryskaly (Kazakhstan) for musical performance Natalie Wang (Lipatova) (Belarus – Bulgaria) for jury service Tania Ivanova (Bulgaria – Spain) for poetry presentation
Certificate of appreciation were also awarded to: John Farndon (UK) Gareth Stamp (UK – Bulgaria) Raza Syed (UK – Pakistan)
The event was supported by the presence of representatives from the following Embassies: Russian Federation, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Belarus.
The Eurasian Creative Guild is proud to share the cinematographic culture and expertise of its members from around the world. It is also worth mentioning that films are rarely the work of one person, and what is seen on the screen has so many people behind the camera that make the creations come to life. Such collaboration and dedication need to be admired and continue to be supported. The moving images and stories that create these works are a powerful way of bringing people together through shared experience. Through the Eurasian Film Festival in London and the Burabay Short Film festival in Kazakhstan, the Eurasian Creative Guild continues to build bridges between different cultures.
In European countries they have a tradition of taking a “gap year” after college before entering university. Usually this year is devoted to travel and volunteer work, and volunteering in itself is a form of social interaction. Even members of the British royal family are included in this process (this is how Prince William, for example, worked in an air ambulance, and donated his salary for charitable purposes).
In the former Soviet countries, where the education system is significantly different, and going to university is something of a compulsory step immediately after school, this tradition does not exist, and young people are concentrated solely on getting a highly paid and prestigious job. Volunteering is still perceived as an exceptional phenomenon, since “unpaid” work is often regarded as a waste of time.
The ECG HORIZONS Burabay residency, opened by the Eurasian Creative Guild (London) in 2021 in Shchuchinsk (Kazakhstan), was conceived as a volunteer mission to promote culture, creative experiments and create a space for the development of talented people, where they can exchange experiences with colleagues from different countries. ECG (London) is a non-profit organization, and the residence was originally a social project rather than a commercial investment. For two years, the team’s forces reconstructed the main work spaces, with some items done directly by the team themselves where specialized knowledge was not required. And there is still a lot of household and construction work that needs to be done – from caring for the territory to developing partnerships and joint projects with companies in the region. And it was this part of the work that was conceived as a volunteer project for creative people: they come to engage in creativity and at the same time contribute to the development of the residency in exchange for living there. Unfortunately, this idea is an unfamiliar concept for those with the mentality of former Soviet countries. Besides this, international travel has become much more complicated over the past three years and has reduced the number of people who are able and willing to travel anywhere for a long time.
Currently, the ECG HORIZONS Burabay residency has become a more peculiar cultural diplomatic mission, since both heads of the Guild – Chairman Gareth Stamp and Vice Chairman Marat Akhmedjanov – were awarded medals for their contribution to the development of people’s diplomacy by the International Commonwealth of People’s Diplomacy. It hosts international festivals every year, and residents and guests who come here to work on their creative projects throughout the year perform in the cultural and educational institutions of the region. We are waiting for more of our colleagues who are ready to come to the residence to share their creative experience with colleagues and children in Shchuchinsk, provide them with support in learning foreign languages, creative skills and help the Guild team improve the residence.
If you have any questions about co-operation, please contact us by email t-kaunis@ocamagazine.com
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 – was born in May 1943. Mother of five children and grandmother of 15 grandchildren. In 1965, under Sharaf Rashidov’s personal guidance, she worked on the development of the Hungry Steppe and the architectural appearance of Jizzakh, the homeland of the President of Uzbekistan, Shavkat Mirziyoyev. She was a holder of a number of state awards: Hero of Labor, Veteran of Labor, Medal of Maternity and many others.
Since 2014, there is a prize named after Maria Shevel, which is awarded annually for the best children’s work within the framework of the oldest international literary competition “Open Eurasia“. Her name has become a symbol of outstanding creative achievements in children’s literature.
“We decided to dedicate the award ceremony to the memory of Maria Akhmedjanova-Shevel, as a tribute to her achievements, her life experience, it is a symbol of the multinational city of Jizzakh, which gave the world talented writers such as – Hamid Alimzhan, Zulfiya as well as many others. It also brought us the most outstanding leaders of Uzbekistan,” – said one of the organisers of the ECG Film Festival, Alexandra Rey.
The Mayor of the London Borough of Havering, Stephanie Nunn, representatives of the embassies of Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Russia and Tajikistan and Belarus were all guests of honour at the award ceremony.
The festival included screenings of films from around the world: France, Kazakhstan, Russia, Sweden, Poland, Great Britain, and Iran, as well as exhibitions, presentations and performances by artists.
“It is so wonderful that the film festival ended with an award ceremony dedicated to an outstanding woman from Uzbekistan, because it is through such personalities that the world learns about Uzbekistan and its culture,” said Gareth Stump, Chairman of the Eurasian Creative Guild (London).
Since 2019, the ECG Film Festival has attracted many talented and ambitious people who are eager to discover new facets of cinematography, and continues to do so to this day. The festival is organised by the Eurasian Creative Guild (London) in partnership with the Romford Film Festival.
Constitutional referendum in Uzbekistan: a course to continue profound democratic reforms
A national referendum on the law on the new Constitution will be held in Uzbekistan on 30 April 2023. The updated Basic Law is intended to consolidate the country’s strategic course for further reform of society and the state, which has had a positive impact on its foreign policy, primarily in the Central Asian region.
In this regard, it is obvious that the referendum will be the most important political event in the life of the Uzbekistan citizens this year. This is evidenced, first of all, by the most active participation of society in the process of drafting a new Constitution.
The Legislative Chamber of the Oliy Majlis of Uzbekistan recognized that it was initially envisaged to change 30% of the text of the Basic Law, but more than 220 thousand proposals were received, which is why the amendments now concern 65%.[1] It is no coincidence that Uzbek expert and public circles already call the updated Constitution the “people’s one”.
Reflection of the transformation of society and the state
In fact, the draft of the new Constitution reflects the serious changes that have taken place in Uzbekistan since the beginning of large-scale reforms announced by President Shavkat Mirziyoyev at the end of 2016. Then, for foreign experts, the political and economic opening of Uzbekistan came as a surprise. Most observers expected a few symbolic innovations, but mostly continuity. However, since Shavkat Mirziyoyev took office , Uzbekistan has undoubtedly been going through a phase of profound changes.[2]
Serious amendments have been made to the draft new Constitution concerning human rights and freedoms, personal inviolability of citizens and their private life in criminal proceedings and conditions of detention. In the administration of justice, the use of evidence obtained in violation of the law is not allowed. Torture, violence, ill-treatment, and the death penalty are prohibited.
Unlike the current Basic Law, Uzbekistan is defined “as a legal, social, secular, democratic state.” Articles affecting the social rights of citizens inimportant areas such as education and healthcare have been significantly expanded. The rights of youth, children and women will be protected by the State. Special attention is paid to the protection of the rights and interests of citizens with disabilities, as well as socially vulnerable segments of the population.
For the first time, a separate chapter dedicated to civil society institutions is included, guarantees of their activities are established. Thus, special attention is paid to improving the norms concerning not only the strengthening of civil society institutions, but also the mass media. In this context, it should be emphasized that in December 2022, the number of foreign TV channels allowed to be distributed on the territory of Uzbekistan increased from 50 to 192. Among them are BBC, Sky News, CNN, CNBC, Fox News, Bloomberg and others.[3] This is an unprecedented case for Central Asia.
In the areas concerning the economic rights of citizens, a separate article in the draft Constitution prohibits forced labor andany form of child labor. In 2021, for example, Uzbekistan eliminated forced and child labor from the production cycle in cotton growing.
According to the International Labor Organization, under the leadership of President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, the country embarked on the path of reforms, including the modernization of the former agrarian economic model and the rejection of the widely used practice of using child and forced labor in cotton harvesting.[4]
In Tashkent in March 2023, US Secretary of State E. Blinken called this fact a “historic achievement”. According to him, “this is a model for countries around the world facing similar problems.”… We look forward to working with the (Uzbek) government to advance similar efforts in other sectors.”[5]
The updated Constitution of Uzbekistan significantly strengthens the role of Parliament.
It is proposed to increase the number of exclusive powers of the Legislative Chamber of the Oliy Majlis from 5 to 12, the Senate – from 14 to 18. Part of the current powers of the president in the field of forming the system of executive and judicial powers is to be transferred to parliament.
Thus, the renewal of the Constitution not only confirms the reformist course of President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, but also defines clear guidelines for where Uzbekistan will move in its further development. There is still much to be done, the head of state himself has repeatedly noted, but reforms, renewal and modernization are irreversible.
According to the World Bank’s Regional Director for Central Asia, Tatiana Proskuryakova, “Uzbekistan remains committed to the most important reforms, despite the difficult situation around the world and in the region of Europe and Central Asia.”[6] President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev has launched a large-scale reform program, in which significant progress has been made, especially in the field of economic liberalization.[7]
British experts were not mistaken when back in 2018 they noted that the economic modernization of Uzbekistan and its growing political openness could have huge consequences for economic development and political stability throughout Central Asia. Uzbekistan is the most populous country in Central Asia and its geographical center. These features make it a natural and historical trendsetter of political and economic fashion in the region.[8]
Modernization of Uzbekistan’s economy and increased political openness will be of great importance for sustainable development in Central Asia. If successful, his reforms could also make Uzbekistan a positive model for other Muslim-majority countries.[9]
New adjustments in the regional policy of Uzbekistan
In 2016, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev declared Central Asia the main priority of Uzbekistan’s foreign policy. The Preamble of the draft new Constitution notes “Uzbekistan’s desire to strengthen and develop friendly relations with the world community, primarily with neighboring states, on the basis of cooperation, mutual support, peace and harmony.”
It is noteworthy that in June 2018, exactly five years ago, the UN General Assembly adopted the resolution “Strengthening regional and international cooperation to ensure peace, stability and sustainable development in the Central Asian region”. The initiative to adopt this document was put forward by President Shavkat Mirziyoyev at the international conference on Central Asia, held in November 2017 in the city of Samarkand.
As the President of Uzbekistan noted at the time: “Our main goal is to jointly transform Central Asia into a stable, economically developed and prosperous region.” The regional policy of Shavkat Mirziyoyev has become a new stage in the history of interstate relations of the Central Asian countries and marked the beginning of their consolidation.
For the first time since gaining their independence, the Central Asian states have confirmed their ability not only to take joint actions to solve common regional problems, but also to ensure the well-being and prosperity of their citizens.[10]
Today, the countries of the region are consistently solving the difficult tasks of ensuring security and stability, sustainable socio-economic development of Central Asia. A lot of barriers have been eliminated, first of all, sensitive border problems. In a short time, conditions have been created for the free movement of citizens, active cultural and tourist exchanges between the countries of the region.
For the first time in recent decades, joint industrial cooperation projects have been launched and new value chains are being created. Thus, investment banks of Uzbekistan with Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan have been established to finance promising projects in the fields of industry, the agricultural sector, energy, infrastructure, automotive and other areas.
Moreover, water energy, which was previously a “bone of contention”, has become the subject of partnership between the countries of Central Asia. So, in January 2023, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan signed a roadmap for the implementation of the Kambarata HPP-1 construction project.
A favorable environment has been formed in Central Asia, which contributes to the growth of mutual trade. Uzbekistan has started creating border trade and economic zones with almost all countries of the region. Thanks to this, intraregional trade has doubled over the past five years, and the total GDP of the region has increased by $75 billion. to over $358 billion (in 1991, this figure was about $46 billion).
All these changes have a positive impact on the daily life of the peoples of the Central Asian countries, improving their well-being, contributing to strengthening stability in the region. It is obvious that the reforms in Uzbekistan and its new regional policy have contributed to a serious acceleration of the economic development of all the Central Asian countries.
Moreover, consolidation has allowed the countries of the region to increase their role as subjects of the system of international relations, as well as the ability to take responsibility for regional security. The international community recognizes that only a stable, dynamically developing and prosperous Central Asia can become an attractive, constructive and long-term partner.[11]
As US Secretary of State E. Blinken noted in Tashkent, a more interconnected, cooperative Central Asia will be able to better determine its own future and meet the needs of its people. [12]
Over the past five years, there has been a serious transformation of Central Asia, which has gone from a region of tension and conflict to a zone of mutual trust, cooperation and partnership. The agenda of the leaders of the Central Asian states has changed, in which issues of implementing common projects of interconnectedness in the spheres of trade, economy, investment, cultural and humanitarian ties already prevail today.
In recent years, the dynamic trends of Uzbekistan’s cooperation with neighboring states have acquired a qualitatively new, systemic and dynamic character. In a short period of time, Uzbekistan’s bilateral relations with the countries of the region have been elevated to the level of strategic partnership (Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan) and alliance (Kazakhstan, Tajikistan).
The mechanism of Consultative Meetings of the heads of Central Asian States initiated by Uzbekistan in 2017 has been successfully launched, contributing to the formation of common approaches and joint search for solutions to problems of regional security and sustainable development. An active, constructive political dialogue is becoming a key factor in strengthening mutual trust and the common responsibility of the Central Asian States for the present and future of the region.
A powerful impetus to the multifaceted regional partnership is given by cultural and humanitarian cooperation, in which various social groups of the population of Central Asian countries have been increasingly involved in recent years. Such dynamics, strengthening the perception of historical and civilizedcommunity in the societies of the states of the region, creates conditions for strengthening regional identity.
The countries of the region are building balanced relations with the leading states within the framework of the dialogue format “Central Asia Plus”. This practice has acquired a steady, regular character, contributing to strengthening the image of Central Asia as a unified, consolidated and strategically important region in the system of international relations.
In general, the main result of the implementation of the new regional policy of President Shavkat Mirziyoyev was not only the overcoming of previously seemingly unsolvable contradictions, but also the formation of a powerful foundation for further promotion of regional priorities in the field of security and sustainable development.
In this regard, the renewal of the Constitution, which defines the trajectory of Uzbekistan’s transformation into an open, democratic, dynamically developing stable state with a strong civil society, determines Tashkent’s more active regional policy in Central Asia. This trend meets the long-term interests not only of the Central Asian countries themselves, but also of the entire international community, which expresses its support for the processes taking place since 2016 in one of the strategically important regions of the world.
[2] Sebastian Schiek. Uzbekistan’s Transformation from “Old” to “Upgraded Autocracy”. 2018. https://www.cairn.info/revue-l-europe-en-formation-2018-1-page-87.htm
[4] С систематическим использованием принудительного и детского труда в хлопководстве Узбекистана покончено. https://www.ilo.org/moscow/news/WCMS_838453/lang–ru/index.htm
[6] Стратегические реформы Узбекистана получают расширенную поддержку Всемирного банка. https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2022/12/16/uzbekistan-s-strategic-reforms-receive-expanded-world-bank-support
As I am being driven along the highway from Almaty towards Taldykorgan, the billboard posters have been changed from the usual images of pop stars, safety information and Casinos to an array of big yellow ticks, the number 19 and lots of smiling citizens. Some are in groups representing political parties and some individuals as independent candidates, all for the forthcoming elections taking place on the 19th March. There are two elections taking place, legislative and local and I try to work out from the images, as they flash past, which elections the posters are for and what makes these ordinary people want to stand and represent their regions or even as a deputy in the Mijahlis (Parliament) of Kazakhstan? The party’s billboards show matching logoed sweatshirts, most other people are in suits, the men in ties (usually red!) and the women in formal business attire and all are smiling broadly. These seem different images, to previous canvassing and indeed on the streets of Almaty I saw groups of young people handing out leaflets, and encouraging people to vote for their favoured candidates and again broad smiles.
The people will elect a total of 3,415 seats to 223 mäslihats (local assemblies) across all regions of Kazakhstan and although these seem to take up the most roadside space they are happening alongside the legislative elections, with 29 seats in 19 regions of Kazakhstan. Many would say that the legislative elections are the most important as these ‘electoral districts’ are a reinstatement of a system that was changed in 2007 and show part of the rapid political reform that has happened in the last two years. There does appear to be a real sense of change – maybe it is because we approach Nauryz -New day, the coming of spring after a long hard winter? Maybe it is more than that?
Maybe it is these reforms that encourage people to become actively involved? The presidential Elections in November or 2022 certainly had a more inclusive and ‘modern’ feel to them and President Tokaev’s emphasis on young people and the future generations is certainly making people more interested in politics.The choice of March the 19th is also not a coincidence – it is the fourth anniversary of the first President – Nursultan Nazarbayev’s resignation and the catalyst that started the new political age in Kazakhstan.
I decided to head north and the best way to interact with local people is on a train. The second fastest overnight train from Almaty to Astana, and then beyond to Suchinsk, gives plenty of time to converse and get views. The audience is captive and the time enables trust to be developed. As we wobbled and rattled across the seemingly endless steppe,I was hoping normal people would share their thoughts.
The lead metal greyness of the dusk was tainted orange by the rising full worm moon. Its light paled to yellow and silhouetted the wormwood and dogwood shrub along the iron rails and the numerous reed beds shimmered gold in an unfelt light breeze. The further north we travelled the more the moonlight rippled on the ice and snow that stretched to the horizon but the warmth of the carriage and acceptance that the journey would take as long as it would take, should encourage interactions. I have always found it charming that Kazakhs have a brazen curiosity and a grey haired Englishman in an unusual situation could not hide for long even if he wanted to! First the children ‘break the ice’, wide eyed, smiling and shyly inquisitive. Then older children welcomed me to Kazakhstan with practice perfect English and then the mothers and babushkas brought tea and cakes and sweets. We laugh and smile and I use the excuse of International Women’s day to praise and congratulate them. I am lucky my travelling companion is a young Kyrgyz woman – Nazgul- she translates perfectly and ,being Kyrgyz, has no hidden agenda. I wanted to know if the positivity I had seen on the streets of Almaty was reflected in the general population or if it was a marketing facade? I tentatively asked a group of young men, students going home for the holiday and from their responses it became apparent that there was real optimism and all were determined to vote in both elections. They all happily contributed. Nazgul struggled to keep up but it was positive and joyful. Listening to us, further down the carriage was an older man, probably in his seventies. He carefully joined us and with amazing reverence the younger men gave their seats, poured tea and then hung onto his every word. More tea and cakes appeared and a crowd formed in the corridor and the cabin. The older man waxed lyrical about the old days – a history lesson and a lecture about the development of an often misunderstood country. There was a matter of fact explanation from communism, independence until today. There was no animosity, no blame, no revenge, just how it was and how it is! Eventually he came to the last Presidential Elections in 2022 – “ it was the real start to change” he said “ and now we have the next step, more independent members of the legislature and more local people working for their own communities” He paused and put his hand on mine and looked me in the eyes. “This is what I have hoped for!” I could see into his dark soulful eyes and it was like looking back through time. Young men had their hands on his shoulders and I fully expected a round of applause – it did not come but more tea and cakes did!
The next part of my journey will be meeting the candidates and maybe then I will get the true answer as to what makes a person want to stand in elections and represent their region or community in 21st Century Kazakhstan?
By the middle of the 19th century, the military-Cossack colonisation of the Steppe continued with less stress and risk. In 1849, not far from the Kokchetav mountains, the village of Koturkolskaya village was founded, and a year later its settlement Shchuchinsky arose. Twenty years later, 22 kilometres north of the village of Shchuchinskaya, on the banks of the Gromova River, the village of Borovskoy grew up.
The foundation of the village of Borovoye by the followers of Zubov dates back to the end of the 1860s but cannot be established more precisely. In 1878, the region was visited by the famous traveller-naturalist I.Ya. Slovtsov. According to his testimony, there were 10 houses in Borovoe “if we count, among other things, two collapsed dugouts.”
From the beginning of the 1870s, people from neighbouring provinces and regions travelled to the Borovskoye district in the summer to “treat with koumiss and breathe clean air”. The whole thing was not regulated by anyone, proceeded without the presence of doctors and was of an extremely primitive nature. The village of Borovoye until the beginning of the 20th century consisted of only a small number of small semi-dugout huts belonging to the families of the Koturkolsky millers and fishermen. The visiting summer residents were accommodated in Cossack huts and Kazakh yurts.
This continued until the early 1880s, when a retired Cossack, General Pakhomov, settled there and began to actively promote this beautiful place. He built two small barracks to meet the demand for apartments from summer residents. In memory of this, the people called the rock that rises near the place where those first barracks were built, Pakhomovka. This name still exists today.
The trip along the steppe dirt roads on horses and draft oxen did not promise any conveniences, and the impassibility in the region of mountains and forests frightened many. The construction of the Great Siberian Route (1896) did not practically improve the situation, when the nearest station, Petropavlovsk, was 267 km from Borovoe. All these factors held back the flow of sick people and vacationers alike. Mostly people of medium and small incomes came here, who involuntarily put up with all the inconveniences. But, despite the above obstacles, at the beginning of the 20th century, more and more vacationers began to visit Borovoe. General Katanaev wrote about it this way: “Many people come here every year; sick and completely healthy, both from nearby places, and from Russia and far abroad. It is a fact. There are known multiple visits to Borovoye by persons who have been to the famous resorts of European Russia, the Caucasus, and Western Europe more than once before.”
By 1914, thanks to the arrivals of summer residents, the village already had up to 30 proper houses, half of them were two-story. The lower floors and outbuildings were most often occupied by the owners themselves or trading establishments, while the upper floors were rented out to summer residents completely or by the room. Next to this, planned plots were set aside specifically for summer cottages.
In addition to summer residents, representatives of big industrial capital also began to penetrate the region – near the resort on the shores of the Big Chebachy Lake, a large meat-packing plant was built, owned by the Englishman, Bergl, with a number of industrial enterprises (including fat-roasting, sausage, sawmill, and workshops). About a thousand workers were employed in these industries. On the lakes Oraz Ulken-sor and Oraz Dzharty-sor, the Kurgan merchant I.I. Menshikov was engaged in the extraction of Glauber’s salt for the needs of his glass factory. At the same time, scientists began to take an interest in the Borovoye area: in 1884, the geodesist Colonel Yu.A. In 1894, Dr. N.V. Sobolev in the laboratory of the Omsk Medical Society analysed the water and mud of Lake Dzhanibek-sor, samples of which were delivered by General Ackerman, and in 1895 the doctor made a report at the Omsk Medical Society on the chemical composition of the mud and water of this lake. In the same year, for the first time, observations were made on the opening and freezing of rivers and lakes in the Borovsky region by teachers M.R. Krasnousov (Koturkolskaya village) and Dorogov (Shchuchinskaya village).
The time from 1896 to 1919 is called the “dacha period”. It is characterised by the fact that the state, represented by the Department of State Property of the Steppe Regions, which was set aside in 1894, began to regulate the external improvement of Borovoe. In 1897, V.V. Baryshevtsev was appointed manager of the state property of the Akmola and Semipalatinsk regions.
I cannot believe that she left us at the age of 37 in the last week of May 2022. I met her at Kitapfest in Almaty city in September 2019. It was our first meeting. I had already heard about her Facebook stories, some of them I found very thoughtful. Her stories were full of life and optimism. There she made a speech in front of her fans. She replied easily to the audience’s questions. She had a desire to write big things. I recommended she apply immediately for the “Culture in motion” grant from the Goethe-Institute to attend Frankfurter Buchmesse 2019. It was a big surprise for her. My goal was to show her the real atmosphere of the biggest book fair in Germany and let her see with her own eyes the best book industry giants in the world. Fortunately, we both won the grants and she went there assisted by the ever loyal Aigerim Nukpayeva.
I had understood her disease might stop her existence at any time, but I wanted her to leave only good books full of Torgyn’s love to the world. It became my mission to let Torgyn be heard by the Universe. The eighth Open Eurasian Book Forum and Literature Festival in Brussels announced Torgyn as the first place winner on “Short stories” nomination and it was a fantastic victory for us. My intuition worked very well, when we recollected that happiest of moments when her name was mentioned on the stage as the winner. I was sitting on the chair and could not move from my place while crying.
She worked hard to bring joy and emotion to her readers. After reading her books, even strong men burst into tears. She was a big motivator and a kind person. She published three books, the first and second book she could have published twice, and she was ready with the fourth book, but her sudden death did not let her do it.
The Pandemic period was also very problematic for Torgyn, but she shared her energy and optimism with people, and sent her kindness and love to them via her stories. They helped many people to value their existences in the life.
Before her passing, she had a lovely week in Burabay at the invitation of the ECG Administration to take part in the international art festival “The voices of friends” in May2022. It was her last trip and last meeting with the members of the ECG. She was very thankful to the ECG, especially to Marat Akhmedjanov. In order to remember her name, her friends and relatives are planning to publish a memory book called “Torgyn Bolmysy” in 2022 and one popular foundation in Kazakhstan “Otbasy hrestomatiasy” (Family Anthology) is planning to assist with it financially and publish her fourth book, too. ECG Vice- President Marat Akhmedjanov is planning to prepare a memorial plaque on the wall of the ECG Art Residence in Burabay. I was one of Torgyn’s close friends and her literary agent. I am very sorry for her loss as many of you will also be. We will remember you deep in our hearts! Al – Fatihah to you!
So much of the detail and truth of what the Soviet Union was is absent from discourse in the West and in the FSU countries. There are many reasons for this but first and foremost is the sheer weight of the political, military, economic, technological and sporting history in relation to the wider world and the West in particular. There are few examples of something cutting through all of that and providing a glimpse into the deeply personal and enchantingly human history of life in the USSR. ‘Raisa -What Hurts My Heart’ is a highly informative and unusually intimate account of perhaps the most famous woman of the USSR – Mrs. Raisa Maksimovna Gorbachaeva, the wife of the most famous president of the USSR, Mr. Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev.
BUY THIS BOOK ON DISCOVERY-BOOKSHOP.COM This book is a collection of transcribed interviews, with frequent commentary from the interviewer; and interspersed with letters and published interviews. It is extraordinarily direct, charming and compelling. The nature of life in the USSR is brought out in graphic detail; the hardships, the challenges, the distance between the Party and needs of the people – especially the provincial residents who, despite being regarded as the essence of what it is to be Russian were left short again and again. Raisa charts her own childhood, her schooling, her university life, including travelling without paying for tickets on the Moscow Metro. She lays out the birth of her romance with fellow student and later husband, Mikhail – he even worked in the summer holidays driving a harvester to pay for their wedding, she borrowed shoes for that auspicious day, and so much more showing the human fragility and endearing nature of people. Raisa’s words are replete with references to great literature – she was a polyglot scholar who taught philosophy – the description of her in the writings of Margaret Thatcher is sublime. The life and experience of Gorbachev himself is presented with so many insightful anecdotes. Perhaps for the first time we can learn about the man himself, his preparation over decades to eventually become General Secretary. We learn about the uniqueness, modernity and humanity with which he approached his service to the USSR and finally as President. This book is remarkable in a great many ways; it is a succinct overview of aspects of the history of the USSR, it is a first-hand account of events major and minor from an intimate companion and confidante of the man behind nuclear disarmament agreements, Glasnost and Perestroika. And it is a love story between two people who are revealed as kind and thoughtful to all whilst they meet with the notables of many nations and international entities of every kind. It is a unique book, wonderfully uplifting to read and one through which a deeper appreciation of who the Gorbachevs were and what they meant to so many in so many regions of the USSR and wider world can be achieved.
— Afzal R. Amin, Researcher International Relations: USSR, Russian and Central Asian Affairs
The concept of digital economy is an activity directly related to the development of digital computer technologies, which includes services for the provision of online services, the most important of which are: Internet banking, Internet commerce, Internet marketing, Internet games, crowd funding, etc.
There are two approaches to the term digital economy. The first approach is classic: “the digital economy is an economy based on digital technologies, and at the same time it is more correct to characterise exclusively the field of electronic goods and services.” Classic examples are telemedicine, distance learning, the sale of media content (movies, TV, books, etc.). The second approach is an extended one: “the digital economy is an economic production using digital technologies.” Some philosophically interpret this term broadly: “the digital economy is a virtual environment that complements our reality”. The key factor of digital transformation in the activities of market entities is the development of digital culture.
Industrial companies have adopted a digital economy development strategy to strengthen their positions in the market: in 2000 – Denmark, in 2005 – Singapore, in 2008 – Australia, Hong Kong, Great Britain, New Zealand, in 2009 – the European Union as a whole, in 2010, Canada 2012, in Malaysia, in 2013 – South Korea, in 2015 – India.
Modern information and communication technologies are significantly changing all social relations, and we note with confidence that new technologies not only change the way of production of products and services, but also create new opportunities for the realisation of civil rights, self-realisation of the individual, gaining knowledge, teaching a new generation and spending leisure time. The measures of the State Policy of the Kyrgyz Republic are aimed at stimulating the development of the telecommunications and IT sectors, improving legislation and technical regulation. These are necessary elements for the successful development of digital infrastructure.
It should be noted, that domestic representatives of this market have been able to establish themselves as highly qualified specialists in this field. In particular, the IT company “Qoovee” represented Kyrgyzstan at the 5th Moscow International Forum “Open Innovations”, which was held on October 26-28, 2016 at the Skolkovo Technopark. In addition, Kyrgyz IT specialists are known as good performers in the global off shore programming market.
So, in June 2012, the head of the Board of Directors of Google, E. Schmidt, and the executive director of the analytical centre Google Ideas, J. Cohen, visited Kyrgyzstan. The purpose of their visit was to assess the potential of the ideas of Kyrgyz IT specialists and get acquainted with the Internet services market in Kyrgyzstan. After that, Google opened a division for Central Asia. Since then the President of the Kyrgyz Republic signed a decree declaring 2019 the Year of Regional Development and Digitalisation of the Country”.
The Kyrgyz Republic has achieved some success in digitising the electoral system, integration and interaction of state institutions through a single Tunduk system, some services of state institutions have been digitised and are available through a single electronic service portal to which there is access via Internet networks.
The success of the Kyrgyz Republic in the digital transformation of the economy is largely due to the joint movement of the EAEU countries towards the digital economy. Analysis by the World Bank showed “that the introduction of a common digital agenda significantly increases the growth of the EAEU’s GDP, and digital dividends will be $42.3 billion due to the removal of legal barriers, $1.6 billion due to the digitalisation of public procurement, $1.3 billion due to public services of open government, 0.5 billion dollars — at the expense of cross-border electronic state services.”
For the further development of digital technologies, both external and internal barriers are relevant. There is a group of internal barriers of a financial nature: insufficient budgets, high cost of projects, high costs of operating systems. External barriers are no less relevant, primarily related to the instability of the economic situation in the country, the insufficient level of development of ICT infrastructure, as well as due to the unwillingness of suppliers and consumers to use digital technologies.
Thus, the full-scale use of the achievements of digital technologies runs through all the components of the Strategy 2040 and the national priorities of socio-economic development of the Kyrgyz Republic. Kyrgyzstan will actively pursue reforms to create a competitive digital economy through the formation of really attractive conditions for entrepreneurs, the use of innovative and nature-saving technologies. The widespread introduction of information technologies in production and management should become a priority of the development policy. In accordance with section V of the Strategy 2040 “Priority directions of development of the Kyrgyz Republic until 2023”, digital technologies should be introduced as a priority in such areas as education, healthcare, tourism, agriculture, telecommunications, banking, light industry and construction.
The Former Soviet Union has occupied Ambassador Daniel Speckhard’s professional career (and personal interest) since the 1990s. He initially served as director of policy and resources for the Deputy Secretary of State, overseeing and co-ordinating foreign aid funding. Following the breakup of the Soviet Union he was Deputy to the Ambassador-at-Large for the new independent states including Russia and Ukraine, and responsible for a range of political and economic issues. Becoming Ambassador to Belarus from 1997 gave him direct insight into the aftermath of independence, after which he was appointed in 2000 as NATO’s deputy assistant general for political affairs, covering not only the Soviet Union but also Eastern Europe (including Ukraine) and the Balkans. He is currently the CEO of Corus International, which was launched in 2020 as a parent organisation of several NGOs addressing global health and development issues. Following a recent visit to Ukraine, Open Central Asia ’s Editor-in-Chief, Nick Rowan, finds out more.
The horrific headlines emerging from Ukraine never seem to abate. As I dial into my call with Ambassador Speckhard, news has filtered through of further Russian attacks on Ukrainian infrastructure, destroying perhaps as much as 50% of the electrical power infrastructure. This threatens to plunge millions of weary Ukrainians into chilling darkness as winter approaches. If ever there was a time to pray for a warm winter, it is now.
I ask Ambassador Speckhard what his assessment of life on the ground is like, having returned recently from a trip to Ukraine’s front lines. “It’s hard for people to understand,” he starts cautiously. “They see the war pictures. All the rocket attacks and the destruction. It’s easy to feel empathy, but I don’t think people really understand the scale. There’s roughly 15 million people needing humanitarian assistance. According to the UN, 7 million people have left the country and 7 million are displaced inside. Many people forget the demographics. The reality is Ukraine is a very ageing population. When I got to Kharkiv, about 40 miles from the front, the shelters were filled with people in their 70s and 80s. Many don’t have families to go to. Many have chronic illnesses, in need of medicines.”
It is not just the physical illnesses. Speckhard continues, “The other thing I noticed is the psychological trauma. You assume that it’s there, but you don’t realise how significant it is. Many of the [elderly residents] moved to basements and stayed there for weeks, sometimes months, as they rode out the war. You can’t talk to these displaced people without them quickly falling into tears.”
Russia’s continued bombardment of crucial infrastructure such as power stations and lines, leaves a humanitarian crisis unfolding before our eyes. Many will feel overwhelmed and powerless to help, but Speckhard’s current venture, the Corus Group, aims to help ameliorate conditions for as many people as possible by giving them a place that is warm, as safe as possible and with access to proper healthcare.
“We’re creating a new NGO that we hope will be a model for the future,” he enthuses. “It is based on how you bring together specialised agencies and groups to create a technically sophisticated NGO that can take a more holistic approach to development, poverty, health and humanitarian challenges. We are trying to build capacity and knowhow with a holistic response, because what we find is that foreign aid is very stove piped. For example, money marked for health-related activities is only for health, rural development only for rural projects, environment for environment, and so on. But actually, if you go to a village, these people don’t just have one issue. If you fix the health problem but nobody has jobs, the people are still going to suffer.”
It’s a very valid point and one worth considering deeply as the world looks to rebuild Ukraine once hostilities have ended. Speckhard continues, “We’ve now got roughly five different groups working together on health, livelihoods, and humanitarian assistance. We then impact invest in companies with a direct trade group that brings products straight into us to try to reduce intermediaries and increase value back to the producers.”
“My goal is to keep knocking on enough doors so that the international community will start taking another look and see it’s really wrong to spend billions of dollars only on health. It should be allowed to be used on anything that can improve health outcomes.”
I shift back to Ukraine and the immense unity in both the Ukrainian morale in their existential fight, as well as that of the international community. This unity was hugely underestimated by observers, how come?
“What’s interesting to see is the more the Russians attack, the stronger the response by the Ukrainians is in terms of digging in their heels and not being willing to surrender. That has to do with a couple of things. Firstly, they believe their military is ultimately going carry the day. They’re throwing everything they have at it – they’re fighting to protect and save their home country.. Secondly, they have seen some progress on the battlefield that gives them a lot of extra hope, allowing them to come together as a community. That was amazing to me, just to see how everybody’s suffering, often worse than you could imagine, brought people together in the shelters, sharing what they had, openly supporting each other. Their social conscience understands resilience.”
So, what is Corus doing in the short and medium term to help? “We are focusing on the immediate needs in shelter, food and health, as well as trying to work with the ministries, ensuring that there’s good co-ordination across all the international actors. And here is the secret: trying to work within local structures and build capacity in the local systems. We’ve partnered with the Federal Trade Union, which touches the entire country and has enormous influence with different actors at the local, regional and national level. We’re using their infrastructure as a place for people to go for shelter as opposed to gymnasiums or school cafeterias. People have a little more space and dignity if they move there. Second, we’re focusing on the food, so making sure you get everybody at least one meal a day and then health, because many people have serious chronic sickness, as well as psychological trauma.”
I’m interested to understand how Speckhard’s time as a former ambassador and working in NATO has influenced the way he thinks. “The part that I worry about as a former diplomat, is the externalisation of this war. I was on an interview the other day with a member of Russia’s parliament who kept saying that this is essentially the US fighting a war against Russia. That language is really dangerous, because if Russia wanted to see a war between the United States and Russia, it would look a lot different. And nobody should want that, least of all Russia. So, we need to avoid this kind of externalisation. Clearly the US and European nations are providing military support, but it’s not US soldiers or European soldiers on these front lines.”
How does he see the war progressing? “What you see happening, is Russia looking to Iran and North Korea for more weapons. This is what to watch for in the coming months – how does Ukraine, and their supporters, try to build more symmetry into what’s happening. It can’t last forever that you can just lob rockets from a safe zone at no cost to Russia. We tried economic sanctions, but that’s not enough. My expectation is that people are going to be working very hard in Kyiv to ensure that there has to be a cost to Russia.”
In terms of how strong and sustained the West’s support has been, Speckhard is clear. “The reality is less about what the West does and more about what Russia does. Its brutal behaviour is what really keeps that solidarity. If Russia were at all pursuing a different kind of approach, like trying to propose truces and ceasefires, and maybe even having some unilateral ones for a day or two, they might change some of the perceptions of the allies that are supporting Ukraine. They have shown no desire or willingness to do that.”
So, what kind of future can we expect for Ukraine? “I think the country will stay fractured in terms of politics. I don’t think you’re going to see a pro-Russian government in Kyiv anytime in the rest of my lifetime..”
I ask briefly how Belarus’ role might play out given Speckhard’s former role as the US Ambassador to the country. “Lukashenko is walking a tightrope,” he starts. “He needs to be able to show Moscow that he is a complete ally of Russia, because otherwise he risks a similar fate as Ukraine. At the same time the Belarusian people have no interest in getting involved in this war. Belarusians have always hated war. It’s a country across which armies have marched through for the last few centuries. They have a saying there that says, ‘At least we have bread and salt.’ As long as you have bread and salt, you know you’re doing all right. So, they keep their heads down. I think Lukashenko knows that this would be a losing proposition for him with the Belarusian people. I think the Russians hopefully know as well that opening up a front along that 1,100 kilometre border is a bad idea.”
Before our hour’s call is up, and having covered so much ground, I finally ask Speckhard what he thinks Central Asia, and other former Soviet Union countries, make of the current situation and how they balance the geopolitical scales. Speckhard is hesitant at first but provides a few pearls of wisdom. “I think everybody has had their eyes opened as to the weakness of Russian conventional forces, however they have seen that there’s no weakness in terms of ability to punish civilian populations. So, these countries will be watching that side and know the brutality in terms of how Russia is willing to use artillery rockets, and other means, to destroy civilian centres and infrastructure. What I would expect them to do is be very respectful, but at the same time be working overtime to build new relationships. I would expect that wouldn’t include the United States. That’s too provocative, but certainly with Turkey, China, Middle East and Saudi Arabia.”
Nick Rowan Editor-in-Chief at Open Central Asia Magazine
The elections in Kazakhstan have concluded and outside even the weather has warmed a little and the sun has melted some of the frozen pavements. The warmth is a slight respite before the real winter, but people are making the most of it. Wrapped and cocooned in layers, smiles and bright eyes peek from coat hoods. The frozen breath of laughter can be heard from children sledding on the hard packed snow in the playgrounds between the apartment blocks.
The televisual excitement of the previous few days has melted away too and life is back to normal. There is background chatter on social media from the usual active people with a mixture of ill-informed analysis and gossip. Misinformation abounds with the lists of candidates and the percentages of their votes appearing alongside memes and video clips of the people casting their votes. Some people openly show who they voted for, others show their children being lifted to be able to post the paper into the ballot box. All who voted seem keen to prove they voted and broadcast it. According to official figures 69% turned up to vote across the country.
Of the fifteen regions in this vast country, the highest voter turnout is in the Zhetisu Region, 81%, while the lowest is in the city of Almaty, with just 29% percent. Almaty, a former capital and major business and financial centre, had low turnout at the 2019 presidential election as well.
In Astana, the country’s capital and centre for the Akmola region, where the majority of the world’s press have been based, the turnout is reported to be 79%. Many people, however, when asked said they had not voted. One of those who said they did vote, an older woman who was out carrying her grandchild, said she had voted because ‘it is important for this generation!” waving the cradled child like a doll. Other young people asked “What’s the point ?” but would not reveal what they really meant. A group of young women keen to practise their English were happy to talk – two of them had voted but the other two had not. Aigerim, one of the women who had voted, said “It’s not just a right but a responsibility to make sure your voice is heard”. When one of her friends asked who she had voted for she was less forthcoming. But they all agreed that it had been good to see female candidates and they believed that at the next election a woman would win! “We need stability at this time,’’ said Gaughar, the other of the women who had voted.
This attitude about ‘the next time’ became a common theme in conversation. One of the candidates posted that she was pleased to have been part of the process and that, although she had not won, she was being encouraged to continue in politics and stand again – apparently by senior figures in the current administration. But that opportunity will be seven years away and the world may be a very different place by then. It is back to normal, but the challenges that lie ahead in this region need to be met by the new administration.
You might be wondering who won this election. The current president with 81% of the vote.
“It is right he is back in Akorda (the presidential palace) so that he can solve the current problems and lead us forward for the next few years,” Gaughar added as they shuffled off chatting and filling the frozen air with their voices.
There is a real sense of optimism that Kazakhstan has a bright future, in many people’s eyes an important future on the world stage too and, although the expected change voiced by many before the election did not materialise, maybe Gauhar is right stability is what is needed now. We will see what happens ‘next time’!
by Gareth Stamp Chairman of the Eurasian Creative Guild (London)
Black swan events are supposed to be unexpected, of large magnitude and consequence, and very rare. Perhaps once a decade or once a generation events even. But recent years have seemingly thrown up one black swan event after another that have impacted the world in far reaching and profound ways. The world is still dealing with the aftermath of the financial crisis, Covid-19 and the current impacts from the Russia-Ukraine war, including rampant inflation as well as the humanitarian impacts. 2023 promises no let up in potential for continued volatility and upheaval, with up to half of the world potentially entering a recessionary phase at the time when the globalized world we once knew is starting to close in on itself again. I was pleased to see the back of 2022, but “unprecedented” has become the new normal it seems. Governments no longer have a reliable playbook on which to make policy, needing innovation and action on the fly – which will lead to unexpected and potentially unpleasant outcomes. People no longer have the security and certainty that has been prevalent in many societies for decades. In short, what we know from the past bears little resemblance to our present and future.
Central Asia has been no exception. It has felt the impact of all these events. The violence in Kazakhstan in January 2022 seems an age ago today, yet uncertainty and the potential for violence and geopolitics to come to bear in the region, as internal pressures escalate, remain. The question that hangs over all of the Central Asian republics is how the situation in Ukraine will resolve itself and what that means for each republic in terms of its relationship with its neighbours, and the world, in the future. How the republics ally themselves between each other is one thing, as well as how they handle the complicated relationships with Russia, China and the US/EU. Higher energy prices have increased revenues and benefitted the resource rich nations of Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan. So too have remittances remained stable for other countries as demand in Russia for migrant labour surges following a major demographic shift in the country as a result of the partial mobilisiation of its youth.
The problem for Central Asia, however, is that its economy is still heavily tied to Russia. If Russia’s economy implodes then the region’s economic resilience will be tested. The instability and insurgency that remains in Afghanistan, bordering the region to the south, will likely have repercussions while the insurgency threat remains high. China’s end of its Zero Covid Policy might open new economic opportunities, but it is not clear that the region is a priority for Beijing that has many other issues and priorities to face up to first. The upsides exist, but the downside risk looks to remain a bigger issue – 2023 looks to be as challenging, maybe more so, than 2022.
In this issue we cover a lot of ground in the region both economically, politically and culturally. I was personally delighted to have been able to interview both Kazakhstan’s new Ambassador to the UK, H.E. Magzhan Ilyassov and former Ambassador Daniel Speckhard who has just return from Ukraine to understand his view of life on the ground and what his charity has been doing to help those who need it most. I was also able to attend the Hertfordshire Press awards at the end of November and meet up with former colleagues and many old friends. And I am thrilled to read of the reports of the Open Eurasia Literary Festival that took place in Melbourne, Australia, on the other side of the world. Congratulations to all this year’s winners and participants.
Please do keep in touch and I look forward to seeing many more of you in person over the year.
Enjoy the issue!
Nick Rowan Editor-in-Chief Open Central Asia Magazine
Uzbekistan’s economy is going from strength to strength. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) expects the country’s GDP to show 6.5% growth in 2023 – higher than the 4.9% forecast for the overall Central Asia region. One of the key actors that will support this growth is a new focus by president Shavkat Mirziyoyev’s government on developing trade and other business relations with its neighbouring countries – and also with other states in the wider Eurasia region.
At Mr Mirziyoyev’s annual address to parliament in 2022, the president noted: “We will continue to pay a priority attention to the strengthening of multifaceted, mutually beneficial partnership with all our neighboring countries in Central Asia, our Strategic Partner Countries and international organizations.”
New opportunities in Central Asia Businesses in Uzbekistan have been cooperating more with the neighbouring republics since the start of Mr Mirziyoyev’s presidency in 2016. In the last five years the volume of Uzbekistan’s trade with the other four Central Asian states has more than doubled. But it is only in the last year, as incoming investment from Russia and China has fallen away, that this has been spoken of publicly as a distinct policy.
In his address at a round-table of ambassadors and representatives of international companies in December 2022 – an event at the resort town of Archazor named “The New Uzbekistan: a reliable partner in a changing and interconnected world” – the Uzbek minister of foreign affairs commented: “In recent years we have managed to bring relations with all the states of the region to a high strategic level, through our joint efforts to form an entirely new, positive atmosphere of mutual trust and cooperation. Uzbekistan and brotherly neighbouring countries have embarked on joint industrial co-operation projects, the creation of effective value-added chains, and the development of transport and energy infrastructure.” The minister added: “[The policy] is based on adherence to the principles of international law and an aspiration to peace, good-neighbourliness, comprehensive cooperation and the strengthening of regional stability and international security, all of which are in Uzbekistan’s national interests.”
The projects that the minister alluded to include several ventures with the region’s largest economy, Kazakhstan. In December 2022 the countries signed a further 40 bilateral agreements worth $2.5 billion at an Uzbek-Kazakh business forum in Tashkent. One contract for $80 million centres on the two countries’ joint work to repair the Angren-Pap-Kokand-Andijan-Savay railway section, a key trade route in the region. Uzbek and Kazakh companies are also working together to implement artificial intelligence software in the Uzbek healthcare sector, as well as more traditional business, including trade in aluminium and food products.
In Kyrgyzstan, meanwhile, Uzbekistan’s Temir Yollari JSC has opened a joint project office for the two countries to coordinate the construction of the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan (CKU) railway. This project was conceived in the 1990s, but had made very little progress due to the historically strained relations between Tashkent and Bishkek. The CKU has been resurrected in recent months, as Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan have found common ground, both governments realising the practical need for greater cooperation between the Central Asian states. In total, bilateral trade between Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan reached $1 billion for the first time in 2022, thanks also to projects in the industrial, energy, electrical engineering, agriculture, transport and other sectors.
Mr Mirziyovev’s government has also considered the issues of further deepening Uzbek-Turkmen relations of strategic partnership, enhancing cooperation in economy, trade, industrial cooperation, energy, transport and logistics, activation of interregional contacts, cultural and humanitarian exchange. Since the beginning of the year, the volume of mutual trade between Uzbekistan and Tajikistan has grown by 16%. The joint cooperation projects are being implemented in various sectors of the economy, including light and electrical industries, agriculture and water management, transport and others.
Afghanistan, which for many years played the role of a buffer, a watershed in the global confrontation between global powers and regional centers of power, is now trying on a new consolidating mission, bringing the positions of different players closer together on the basis of common trade, economic, transport and communication interests.
The path to peace in Afghanistan: the contribution of Uzbekistan. Uzbekistan’s policy of ensuring peace and stability in the region has not abandoned Afghanistan. President Shavkat Mirziyoyev said: “It is important to prevent isolation of Afghanistan and its transformation into a ‘rogue country’. Uzbekistan is a leader in regional efforts to provide humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan. The Termez Regional Humanitarian Logistics Centre, located two kilometers from the border, plays a huge role in supporting UN emergency operations in Afghanistan. The Afghan Citizens Education Centre, established in 2017 by the Government of Uzbekistan, provides a wide range of higher and vocational education and training for Afghans living in Termez, including girls. Uzbekistan has completed a project to rehabilitate the Mazar-e-Sharif International Airport in Afghanistan. Uzbekistan is the main supplier of electricity to Afghanistan – 2.7 billion kWh. (52% of the electricity imported by Afghanistan).
New strategic ties with Europe. The Uzbek government is also looking to strengthen partnerships with countries further afield. In 2022 Samarkand hosted the first conference between Central Asia and the European Union, entitled “EU-Central Asia Connectivity: Global Gateway for Sustainable Development”. At the conference Uzbekistan, again represented by foreign minister Norov, expressed a hope that ties between Central Asia and the EU would continue to develop, with the transport and green energy sectors mentioned as possible fields for cooperation. In keeping with the conference’s theme of connectivity, it was announced that the European delegation had proposed a new project to improve digital connectivity in Central Asia.
As promising as the short-term picture may look for Uzbekistan’s regional policies, there are still some significant barriers to be overcome for these new initiatives to be sustained. High rates of inflation within the country may limit Uzbek companies’ ability to invest in foreign projects, while the biggest projects in the region still depend upon cooperation from China and Russia to succeed. But nonetheless, in Central Asia today, Uzbekistan is unrecognisable from the indifferent and difficult neighbour that it used to be known as.
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 strong as ever. On 6 October 2022, Magzhan Ilyassov was appointed as the new Ambassador to the United Kingdom. His appointment, by President Tokayev, comes at a time when enhancing trade, economic and investment co-operation between the two countries could not be more important to both sides. OCA Magazine’s Editor-in-Chief, Nick Rowan, had the pleasure of discussing some of Ambassador Ilyassov’s priorities and experiences since arriving in the UK.
King Charles III receives His Excellency Mr. Magzhan Ilyassov and presented the Letters of Recall of his predecessor and his own Letters of Credence as Ambassador from the Republic of Kazakhstan to the Court of St. James’s during an audience at Buckingham Palace, London. Picture date: Thursday December 15, 2022. PA Photo. See PA story ROYAL King. Photo credit should read: Aaron Chown/PA Wire
Ambassador Ilyassov has always known he wanted to be a diplomat. Born in Almaty, Kazakhstan, and having been schooled at one of the few Soviet and Kazakh universities that was intensively teaching the English language, a life of diplomacy was a natural path. Ilyassov worked his way up the diplomatic ladder, from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, promoted to several departments within the presidential administration for 19 years, before being appointed as ambassador of Kazakhstan to the Netherlands in 2016. During his time there he was also the Permanent Representative of Kazakhstan to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, which involved much multilateral diplomacy on very challenging chemical weapons cases, including the Skripal poisoning in the UK. In 2020, Mr Ilyassov was promoted to New York as Kazakhstan’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, before he arrived in the UK in October 2022.
I wanted to start by understanding what drove Ilyassov to a career in diplomacy. He starts without hesitation, “I saw that Kazakhstan in 1991, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, became a truly independent country. Before then all real foreign politics and diplomacy was controlled by Moscow. There was no real foreign policy of the Republic of Kazakhstan whatsoever. I graduated from my high school in 1991, so attended the last school class of Soviet Union before it disintegrated. I saw this happening, and I said to myself, ‘Well, we have independence. We have sovereignty, we will exercise our own foreign policy.’”
Ilyassov’s arrival in the UK came during a year of huge global upheaval and uncertainty. It was a time where diplomacy was more important than ever. However, his arrival also came just a few weeks after the death of Her Majesty the Queen and that meant that he was one of the very first ambassadors to present their credentials to the new King Charles III. I was keen to hear more about his experience at Buckingham Palace.
Ilyassov’s eyes light up. “It was exciting, because not every day do you present credentials in a beautiful setting with its royal protocol. I was proud to wear national costume at the ceremony. We were properly briefed on what to do – how many steps to take, when to bow, and so on. When the doors opened, I saw His Majesty for the first time and proceeded with the presentation of my credentials. He was actually the least protocol driven person in the whole setting, because the ceremony itself revolves around the King. He was there very confident, very welcoming and very well briefed. His Majesty asked about my family and settling in London. We spoke about global challenges to the environment and the future of green energy. The King vividly remembered his visit to Kazakhstan all the way back in the nineties. I briefed His Majesty about several joint projects between Kazakhstan and the UK, including one that successfully helped to save the endangered steppe Saiga antelopes.”
Although King Charles is the head of state, he is typically briefed to be apolitical, but I wondered whether such topics were broached. “We generally touched upon politics,” Ilyassov comments. “In a very royal way he said that in these turbulent times, we need more understanding, more diplomacy to solve the things that are going on around the world. And that was his message.”
Ilyassov couldn’t resist officially inviting the new King to visit Kazakhstan again. “I said, ‘Your Majesty, the invitation is always open.’ He chuckled and said, ‘Well, we’ll see how it goes.’”
We move on to explore how Ilyassov sees his new role. It’s a nice bridge because he recalls how he put it to King Charles. “I told His Majesty that my mission here is also to make sure that people in UK remember that Kazakhstan is not just a former Soviet republic,” he recalls. “We had history before the Soviet Union. We had our own history and a statehood 500 years before that.”
Ilyassov’s mission is more than just reflecting on past glories, however. “Kazakhstan is a country of great opportunities,” he starts. “A country that is well on its track with political and economic development. We are the powerhouse of the region. Last year we celebrated the 30-year anniversary of our bilateral relations with the UK, which was one of the first countries to recognise Kazakhstan’s independence. For 30 years we’ve been building very robust political, trade, economic and cultural relations. We have very intensive contacts at the top political level. We have 600 British companies and joint ventures operating in our country, so my mission here is to build upon that platform. I also want the UK business community to know that there is much more than oil and gas in Kazakhstan: for example – mining, agriculture, transport, logistics, and education. My task is to upgrade already fruitful relations to the level of a truly strategic partnership.”
One of the topics of reform that is most live is that of political reform happening in Kazakhstan today with upcoming elections a key focus. Ilyassov is well briefed and clear. “The political reforms that President Tokayev started last year are very systematic and well structured. We are going step-by-step following the tragic events of January 2022, which triggered the need to reconsider and take appropriate measures both in internal politics and the economy. We had a national referendum on whether to amend our constitution. We had presidential elections and re-elected President Tokayev. There were six candidates running, with two women for the first time. Now the President has a full mandate for the next seven years. One of the amendments was that from now on any president can only be elected for one term of seven years. There is no second term, so no need to think about re-election and being populist. Then we had elections to the Senate recently, and now we are looking to the upcoming elections to the lower chamber, the Mäjilis, which will eventually complete the institutional transformations and redistribution of authorities and powers.” It is clear that Ilyassov believes this eventually will lead to a more responsible and responsive government.
The Ambassador is also keen to put the record straight on how current events in the region are on the radar of the country’s government. “We are very clear on the situation on Ukraine. We do not approve what’s going on. And our President was very clear that Kazakhstan will not recognise Lugansk and Donetsk. We are not Russophobes, we just do not approve of the war in Ukraine. Kazakhstan is an independent, constructive and objective country when building relations with partners around the world, be they our neighbours, like Russia and China, or further afield like the UK.”
I ask if current geopolitics make this a more urgent and new priority, but Mr Ilyassov immediately corrects me. “I don’t see it as new and urgent because Kazakhstan from the very beginning of its independence has exercised multivectoral diplomacy. Since 1991 we were very open and clear that we want to build good relations with everyone around the world.”
As the interview approaches its conclusion, I ask about his cultural mission in the UK and bringing Kazakhstan’s culture to new audiences. I press him to try and name the one thing we should know about Kazakhstan and his answer is refreshing. “We have a lot of cultural roots, and some fundamental values that we will always keep, but we are not an outback country somewhere in Central Asia where people live in tents and ride camels. People in the UK should understand that we’re very modern and have much more in common than we have differences. For example, I discovered a year ago, the whole new world of modern Kazakh Indie pop. We have many young singers; they all sing in Kazakh language and the tunes are very modern. This shows where we are after 30 years of independence. So, we will continue focusing on that and, hopefully with the help of the Eurasian Creative Guild, we can organize some great events to help the UK audience to discover some new music waves from Kazakhstan.”
I agree wholeheartedly with this refreshing approach and leave the ambassador the last word. “I think we are really writing a new chapter,” he says with optimism. “A lot has been done, but there is more to do. My counterpart in Astana, British Ambassador Katie Leach, is very proactive. We are working together very closely. I hope that the work we’re doing will eventually sink into the local political and cultural circles so that by the time I’m done, people will stop calling Kazakhstan, just a former Soviet republic.”
Nick Rowan Editor-in-Chief at Open Central Asia Magazine
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 and has 3 children. She speaks Russian and French, has learnt Japanese and Armenian, and is currently learning Kazakh. OCA Magazine finds out more…
OCA: Please tell us a bit about your background and how you came to be Ambassador to Kazakhstan.
Cathy Leach: I became fascinated by the history of Russia and the Soviet Union while I was at school, with a brilliant history teacher called Mr Sherman. I applied to Cambridge University to study Russian and French. A month after going to Cambridge in the autumn of 1989, the Berlin Wall came down – it felt like a whole range of new, exciting possibilities were opening up. For my third year I wanted to spend the whole year really improving my language. I arrived in the Soviet Union in September 1991, a month after the attempted coup, to study and live with a Russian family – a few months later, the Soviet Union no longer existed, and I saw the beginning of the extraordinary, unexpected journey to create 15 independent countries. In 2001 I passed the entrance exams to join the Foreign Office. Since then my career has taken me to Moscow, Tokyo, Yerevan and now Astana – working on lots of different areas from energy and climate change to human rights, from security policy through to trade relations with the EU. This posting as Ambassador in Kazakhstan feels like it draws on all the experience I’ve had – and it has happened at a really important moment, as Kazakhstan seeks to work out a new path, a new political and economic approach, 30 years after independence.
OCA: Prior to this posting you were Ambassador to Armenia, which shares a similar Soviet history. What did you learn there that you can apply in Kazakhstan?
CL: There is of course something familiar about the post-Soviet world – the buildings and the bureaucracy are similar! But I think overall the really important lesson is that actually every country in this region is very different, shaped by its unique history and its unique culture. You just need to find a way to get past the bureaucracy to connect with those people who really want to make a difference. And you need to keep generating ideas and contacts so that when an opportunity arises, you are in a good place to seize it and make the most of it.
OCA: You also spent time in Moscow with the Foreign Office. Given the current political climate how will that affect your work with building UK bridges in Kazakhstan, a close neighbour to Russia?
CL: Of course it helps my understanding and my effectiveness at work to know Russian and to understand the history and politics of the region. For Kazakhstan, it’s important that I understand the many personal, cultural, economic, historical and political ties there are with Russia, and how we can work together to try to avoid harm to Kazakhstan during the incredibly difficult geopolitical challenge created by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Kazakhstan’s prosperity, security, independence and sovereignty have always been important to the UK, and this is even more important today.
OCA: What are your priorities for building UK/Kazakh relations and economic ties?
CL: Since British companies were founding stakeholders in Kazakhstan’s flagship international oil and gas projects, for many years this sector was the most important one for our Embassy. But after our COP26 Presidency, our goals have become more ‘green’. My big priority now is – together with partners – to support Kazakhstan’s ‘green transformation’: modernising, diversifying and greening its economy. On the commercial side, this means focusing on clean tech and green energy, critical minerals and climate-adaptive agriculture. It also means focusing on education – promoting better English teaching, and more Higher Education links. Together, these are really important economic components supporting the ‘New Kazakhstan’ President Tokayev has outlined.
OCA: How have you settled into Kazakh life and what are your particular favourite Kazakh pastimes and cultural aspects?
CL: I’m enjoying living in Astana, but I think I need to travel more to really understand Kazakh pastimes and culture! That is my ambition for the coming year. There was a brilliant exhibition at the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge last year, celebrating the amazing finds from the burial mounds of East Kazakhstan – and the National Museum in Astana is my favourite building – so I am really keen to explore Kazakhstan’s extraordinary archaeological history.
OCA: What can the embassy do to help build closer cultural ties to Kazakhstan?
CL: To celebrate Burn’s Night (the birthday of celebrated Scottish poet Robert Burns) this year, we have been running a competition to translate ‘Ode to a Haggis’ into Kazakh. This has stimulated so much interest! So, I think we should definitely do more to share English and Kazakh literature.
OCA: Where have you travelled within the country and where have you found particularly resonates with you?
CL: I love Almaty – such a beautiful, interesting, walkable city. I feel very at ease there. My children and I also had a wonderful few days last summer seeing the lakes and mountains in Almaty region. I found it incredible how the scenery could change from the Arizona-like gorge of Charyn Canyon to the Switzerland-like lush green hills around Kolsai and Kaindy Lakes, just an hour or two apart. Driving up to the high summer pastures was a truly unforgettable experience.
Our attention was attracted by a wonderful project in the city of Almaty – the southern capital of Kazakhstan. Almaty is a crossroads of civilizations, one of the important and longest points of the Great Silk Road and a key centre of charity in the pre-Soviet and post-Soviet periods of its history.
The First Rotary Club in Kazakhstan: History
It is not a coincidence that exactly here, among the first Rotary Clubs in the post-Soviet area, the Rotary Club of Almaty (RCA) appeared back in 1995. RCA has had a series of remarkable projects – including mass support and diagnostics campaign for children with epilepsy – for the Public Fund «Ken Jurek», complete re-equipment and modernisation of the special kindergarten#2, providing hospitals of the city with new ambulances and equipment, giving incubators for premature babies to maternity departments and perinatal centers of Almaty.
In cultural life, RCA has always been a conductor of refined social events – Viennese balls, creative evenings with participation of international celebrities, performers, singers and has acted as a partner of cultural days to key partners of Kazakhstan in the cultural arena – Italy, USA, France, Great Britain, and Turkey.
28th Anniversary of the Club
And to honour its 28th anniversary, the (RCA) will carry out a very noble and deserving project to place Rotary drinking fountains in the city of Almaty with futuristic designs, anti-freeze functions, drinking bowls for animals and inclusive facilities for disabled people. Twenty-seven will be erected, according to the number of years of the Club’s existence. The crown of the grandiose plan will be the Main Architectural Fountain of Almaty – Arman-Bulak (Dreams source) – whose prototype is the Trevi Fountain in Rome. The Roman example was chosen completely consciously: there are more than 3500 drinking fountains in the Italian capital. Visitors and residents do not even need to buy water, such is the density of fountains per square meter.
The Origins of the Idea
Almaty is the largest and most populous city in Kazakhstan and the centre of tourist flows with a very hot climate and a constantly growing territory. Due to climatic features the megalopolis seriously lags behind many regions in the provision of drinking fountains. In addition, clean water, sanitation and hygiene education are essential for a healthy environment and productive life.
Drinking fountains are a whole new level of comfort for citizens and guests of the city, a driver of tourism development, returning comfort to the city – historically, Almaty has always been the most “fountainised” city in the Asian sector of the former USSR. However, in recent years, the trend has been pushed aside by more pressing issues of infrastructure development and undeservedly forgotten.
Fountains: From Planning to Implementation
The RCA’s bold vision is now becoming a reality. The club, represented by Altynay Beissembiyeva (President 2022-2023) and her team took a course on integration of efforts with local authorities alongside the Mayor’s office (akimat), it’s head Mr Erbolat Dossayev and the Department of Public Health of Almaty. An MoU was signed stating that projects would be jointly run together with local authorities.
Erbolat Dossayev (Mayor of Almaty), Altynay Beissembiyeva (president RCA), Nataliya Drobysheva & Vitaliy Koltochnik (members of Board RCA)
Thus, this year 2 incubators will be handed to two perinatal and neonatal centres in Almaty. The Fountain Project will be the first joint collaboration with the Governor’s effective office managers and many others are to come in future.
The Faces of the Project
Amir Kabulov, Fountains Project leader, dedicated Rotarian, architect and designer. He is a graduate of Politechnico de Milano in the field of HoReCa public space design, known for his creative solutions in the world capitals of culture – London, Paris, Cannes and Milan.
Architect of the project – Ricardo Andrea Marini
Ricardo is the author of the reconstruction of Panfilov Street, one of the oldest in the historical center of Almaty, and many landmark projects in the capital of Kazakhstan, Astana. Previously he worked in the team of the famous Danish architect Jan Geil in Kazakhstan.
Ricardo Marini is a big fan of drinking fountains as an element of urban aesthetics and comfortable urban environment. His hobby is to photograph drinking fountains around the world and place them in virtual exhibitions. After hearing about the Almaty Rotary Club’s project, he immediately fell in love with its idea and decided to take part in it as a designer.
Gulmira Baigabulova, owner of Urban Living, Member of the Public Council of the City of Almaty
Famous Italian expert on architecture and urban planning, director of playmaking at Urban Living (flagship of the architectural business in Kazakstan) under the guidance of the famous urbanist and public figure of Almaty, Gulmira Baigabulova, partner and co-executor of the project.
Cultural Renaissance – as a new paradigm of Rotary Club of Almaty
The first fountain dates back to 3000 B.C; it was a goddess holding a basin. Water was sourced from a local spring. Early fountains used gravity instead of mechanical pumps to move the water. As we moved to live in urban settlements the way we gathered potable water needed to change. The ancient Etruscans, Romans and Greeks started to develop drinking fountains as part of public infrastructure.
The reality of providing water fountains in a city such as Almaty is to ensure that during all season’s water will be available. The provision of water fountains is an essential component of a ‘city for people’, it also is a great way to reduce single use plastic, that is so problematic in modern cities. There is also a cultural, spiritual, mystical and religious significance of drinkable water “offering to the water gods” meaning that today the phenomenon of throwing coins in a fountain still exists as an offering to these ideas. In Rome throwing one coin means you will go back to Rome, 2 coins means you will meet a Roman, and 3 means you will marry one! The Trevi fountain is one of the most famous fountains in the world. The city gathers approximately 3000 euros a day from fountains alone!
Almaty fountains get a special meaning in the context of the events that shook the world in January 2022. The January events left a deep mark on the perception of Kazakhstan and its southern capital. The city experienced enormous damage to the security, beauty, architectural look and economy of the city.
The Rotary Club of Almaty set a goal to return Almaty to its former comfort and sense of safety and harmony, to support the development of the native city in the spirit of sustainable development goals and the revival of the rich cultural and historical heritage of the southern capital. Almaty Fountains solves the problem of access to drinking water, combines the tasks of climate control, access to drinking water, zoo protection and social inclusion. It symbolises the permanent process of purification and renewal. It is an impetus for the development of tourism and the local economy.
Vitaly Koltochnik
Сlub secretary and chairman of the PR committee of the Rotary Club of Almaty
The Turkic World: A Concept of Co-operation Between Central Asian Countries
What is the modern concept of co-operation between the Central Asian countries and why is the Turkic world, according to many scientists, a promising concept of such co-operation? We try to understand this issue in this article. Considering historical retrospect, we note that the territory of modern Central Asia, in the XIX century, was in the sphere of interests of the Russian tsar, who established a protectorate over this territory to protect his southern borders. Later becoming part of the USSR, the territory of Central Asia was divided into five Soviet republics: Uzbek SSR, Kazakh SSR, Tajik SSR, Turkmen SSR, Kyrgyz SSR.
The advantages of living in the USSR included the large-scale construction of schools, hospitals, factories, irrigation facilities, and infrastructure facilities that are still functioning today, industrialization and literacy. There were also plenty of disadvantages: together with other Soviet republics, the Central Asian republics experienced the “charms” of collectivisation, repression, authoritarian rule, and most importantly, forced Russification: in all republics, the official language was Russian, which caused a natural discontent of the indigenous nationalities of these republics. For example, a young man from the Uzbek hinterland, where the Russian language was not predominant and was not taught well enough at school, experienced difficulties in studying at a university and further building a career due to insufficient knowledge of the Russian language.
The collapse of the Soviet Empire radically changed the life of the countries of the region. Currently, the Central Asian countries have a fairly high economic and demographic potential, as well as a convenient geographical location for the transit of goods from Europe to Asia and back. The attractiveness of the region for many leading world powers has led to rivalry between them for influence on the countries of Central Asia. Thus, the EU and the US are seeking to strengthen their influence, while Turkey, Iran, India, and China are seeking to strengthen their positions in the east. Russia also does not want to lose influence in Central Asia, considering this region to be a historically established sphere of its interests. Russia needs to maintain its influence in the region in order to realise its political and economic interests, in particular with the development of energy resources and maintaining a monopoly on them, using this factor as a lever of pressure on both the leaders of the Central Asian countries and their Western partners.
China, like Russia, is aggressively promoting the idea of a multipolar world, preparing itself for the role of one of its centres. The countries of the region are also in the orbit of Chinese interests, due to the need for the Chinese economy to have access to energy resources and oil and gas reserves.
Despite the multi-vector policy of the Central Asian countries and their desire to maintain relations with Russia and China, there is an obvious trend towards co-operation of these Turkic countries.
The integration of the citizens of the Republic of Turkey with the countries of Central Asia was brilliantly foreseen by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, who wrote: “Today, the Soviet Union is our friend, our neighbour, our ally. We need this friendship. But no one can predict what will happen tomorrow. The world can achieve a new balance. We have brothers with one language, one faith and one core. We must be ready to integrate with them. To be ready is not just to be silent and wait for this day. How are the nations preparing for this? Keeping the spiritual bridges intact. Language is a bridge… Faith is a bridge… history is a bridge… We have to go down to our roots and join our history, divided by events.” That is, more than a hundred years ago, Ataturk predicted the integration of the Turkic countries based on the values of the Turkic world. The collapse of the USSR and the formation of independent states with a predominantly Turkic population, from the position of the Turkish leadership, provided a unique chance for the Turkish Republic to expand its zone of influence.
The Turkic world, as a special historical reality, was formed in the Middle Ages. The ancient thinkers of the East (Abu Nasr al-Farabi, Muhammad ibn Musa al-Khorezmi, Abu Rayhan al-Biruni) laid the philosophical, ideological, moral foundation of the concept of the Turkic world. The values of the Turkic world include freedom and independence, morality, justice, responsibility and tolerance.
The Turkic world is being strengthened in regional and international politics thanks to the active policy of the Turkic Council, which is an inter-governmental international organisation established for comprehensive co-operation of the Turkic-speaking states. The Turkic Council includes Turkey, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan
An example of co-operation between countries within the framework of the Turkic Council is their interaction during the coronavirus pandemic, when member countries and observer countries agreed to create a “green corridor” to facilitate the crossing of borders by people and essential goods, medicines and medical equipment. In 2021, the Turkic Council was transformed into the Organisation of Turkic States. Co-operation between the countries of the Turkic world has a huge potential, since 300 million people speaking Turkic languages live on the planet.
The co-operation of the countries within the framework of the “Turkic World” concept is aimed at achieving the following goals:
– convergence of economic policy and all relevant regulatory frameworks;
– achieving full trade integration;
– creation of a single investment space;
– digital integration;
– Improvement of transport and energy links between the countries of Central Asia.
The countries of the Turkic world are striving to create a single transport space, which is necessary to increase trade turnover between them. Turkey has started transporting its goods to Central Asia, developing trans-Caspian routes and deepening co-operation with the Caspian countries. In December 2020, a new export route from Turkey to China was opened, passing through Georgia, Azerbaijan, and Kazakhstan.
Co-operation between the countries of the Turkic world is promising and long-term. The program “Vision of the Turkic World-2040” developed by representatives of the Organisation of Turkic States of the countries is the basis for co-operation and considers a set of measures to be implemented in the period up to 2040.
Thus, it can be concluded that co-operation between the Central Asian countries and the Republic of Turkey is based on spiritual, cultural and linguistic community, on the common values of the “Turkic World”.
The growth of foreign trade of the Turkic-speaking countries is due to the involvement of Turkish business in the implementation of important industrial and infrastructure projects. Trade with Turkey is also beneficial for the Central Asian countries, as Turkey is a growing market.
Book Review: ‘Atomic Steppe: How Kazakhstan Gave Up the Bomb’
Kazakhstan – for 30 years a reliable security partner for the West – has said little of the Soviet nuclear legacy that befell it upon the breakup of the Soviet Union. This previously untold story of its abandonment of nuclear weapons is now told in a new book, ‘Atomic Steppe: How Kazakhstan Gave Up the Bomb’ by Togzhan Kassenova.
The book is so much more than the title suggests. Through a historical lens, Dr Kassenova explores the fault lines in relations between Russia, Central Asian states, other former Soviet republics and the West. It is a thrilling account of one of the most significant geopolitical events in history: Kazakhstan abandoning its nuclear capacity in pursuit of peace and stability. The book is the culmination of more than a decade of painstaking research by the author, whose own father was one of the architects of Kazakhstan’s nuclear policy.
The development of nuclear weapons from scientific, political, technical, logistical and social perspectives is laid out in chilling detail. Aspects include what motivations drove scientists to explore unleashing the energy locked in atoms, to how they were treated by the Military hierarchy of the Soviet Union, to how they themselves treated the unwitting victims of their experiments.
The competition between the two superpowers to increase yields year after year brought huge costs (yield being the energy released in a detonation). Air detonations from testing caused immense harm to local populations, the environment, plants and animals. Yet both the Soviet Union and the USA pursued development with barely any consideration of the harm to unwitting victims who were exposed to such detonations, the radioactive fallout, and fatal contamination of their food and water supplies. This commonality of suffering gave birth to the Nevada-Semipalatinsk movement where natives of Nevada, USA and Kazakhstan travelled, campaigned and dined together during a historic peace march through Kazakhstan. The symbol of this movement was a Native American elder sharing a peace pipe with a Kazakh elder. This is a highly moving account of the subaltern peoples of both superpowers finding common ground as victims and empowering each other’s resistance.
The Soviet Union’s leadership under Stalin and his successors disregarded Kazakh concerns about the health impact on civilians and the environment. Internal campaigns within the Soviet military, medical and political circles to address concern also failed. Medical staff were involved in the decades of secrecy as cancer rates soared, and remained high throughout 40 years of nuclear testing in Kazakhstan. Many of the stories of what effects people suffered are harrowing. And yet today there are still people suffering the consequences. One of the few contemporary political points in the book is that more must be done to support this fourth generation of victims.
As the Soviet Union broke up, four republics inherited the nuclear arsenal: Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Ukraine. The Kazakh leader, Nursultan Nazarbayev, had opted, it seems from the beginning, for a non-nuclear Kazakhstan. He faced enormous challenges: possession of nuclear weapons was seen at the time as a guarantor of a nation’s security and some argued as much; the weapons and materials were under Russian military control and Nazarbayev wanted to ensure that they would not be used from his country against his will or without his knowledge. Also posing issues was the physical security of the weapons and materials, as well as international pressures to sell weapons and materials. Nazarbayev deftly handled all of these challenges and was regarded by the USA as the most capable leader in the post-Soviet space (he had been asked by Gorbachev to be the Prime Minister of the Soviet Union just before its collapse). One of the most spectacular episodes was codenamed Operation Sapphire in which Nazarbayev and his team worked in complete secrecy with the US Government to safely move 600kg of highly enriched uranium from a storage facility in Kazakhstan for safe keeping and processing in the USA. This operation has all the hallmarks of a great spy thriller and is a permanent testimony that Kazakhstan demonstrated what a reliable security partner it is for the West.
Kazakhstan showed global leadership when it embraced the Non-Proliferation Treaty by willingly giving up nuclear weapons and being committed to being a non-nuclear state. Kazakhstan’s responsible decision gave strength to the Non-Proliferation Treaty and showed the world that a non-nuclear choice can give a country a better path of development. That this has so rarely featured in our discourse in the West is a senseless oversight.
Dr Kassenova’s book is superb in many ways. In the mid-80s I was a schoolboy in the English suburbs, I remember the films we watched about nuclear war and the drills we carried out at school should the UK be attacked by the Soviet Union. The Cold War’s end offered the hope of a more peaceful future. Sadly, conventional war has continued unabated, but we have not seen nuclear war, at least not yet. This is not an accident and Dr Kassenova credits a few key individuals who worked for decades to prevent the proliferation of nuclear weapons and materials. This book is a must-read for anyone interested in the geopolitics of nuclear weapons and how they have shaped the world in which we live.
As the world’s economic woes are broadcast across the media and governments and, financial institutions battle the potential recessions some developing nations are seemingly faring better. The Covid pandemic and war in the Ukraine have, undoubtedly, been the cause of many worldwide issues but how are some countries and regions more able to weather the storm than others?
In central Asia for example, the growth of the Kazakhstan economy did slow in 2022. It reached 3.4% year-on-year in the first six months, from 4.1% in 2021. In 2023-24, GDP growth is expected to accelerate to 3.5 and 4.0%, according to the World Bank – such projections would be warmly embraced by many Western governments. The current situation builds on impressive economic growth from the early 2000’s driven by the first generation of market-oriented reforms, abundant mineral resources extraction, and strong foreign direct investment. Sustained economic growth has transformed the country into an upper middle-income economy, raising living standards and, as a result, reducing poverty. Indeed, Kazakhstan is still seen as a great place to invest for foreign organisations.
The slight recent slowing of economic growth has made some people question the resource-based and state-led growth model, and they wonder if this raises the risk that Kazakhstan could become stuck in the “middle-income trap.”
Individuals have aspired to become the ‘middle class’ – this is particularly evident in the cities, with property and vehicle ownership skyrocketing in the last fifteen years. Although Astana the ‘new’ capital is a unique example, here the building boom and investment in infrastructure has not always been able to outpace the population growth and number of vehicles on the roads. Local people are judgemental about the development of the city – “this road is only just finished and already we are sitting in a traffic jam” one taxi driver said to me on a slow journey from the airport – however I had just come from London and had a similar experience! There has been investment in public transport but people still point to the skeletal structure of a light rail system that was supposed to be ready for the EXPO that took place in 2017. Other issues are the number of schools and facilities being built to cope with an exponential influx of people from surrounding regions but interestingly this need is partly being met by local benefactors actually building schools and then donating them to the city.
In Almaty, the country’s second city, there are also traffic jams and regular complaints across social media about the slow progress, pollution and how some social projects such as pedestrianisation of some streets have not alleviated the situation as promised. But the city still feels very European and there is a ‘greening’ revolution going on! – sometimes the change seems slow if you are there day to day but as a regular visitor I have seen positive change in both cities.
As the population seeks greater personal status, the state needs to provide the infrastructure for this to happen. There are many more diagnostic systems in place to identify real needs and as a result it is recognised that Kazakhstan needs to strengthen competition and human capital, and improve public sector and state owned enterprises performances. The country is actively continuing to initiate reforms in fuel and energy pricing, strengthen social protection, and invest in climate adaptation. The forthcoming Elections give the populace an opportunity to directly comment on this with all candidates identifying economic development as a key issue. Whatever the outcome of the election there is transparency of the issues and systems and plans to help solve them.
As I travel back to Kazakhstan I obviously have a nostalgia and wish for the way things were but it is very interesting that I am experiencing new things and a willingness of people to improve what was there – for example, a small restaurant in Astana, that we used for an escape, has now become quite ‘posh’ with an investment in decoration and expanded service but thankfully the Shashlik is still excellent !
By the time the milky sun manages to burn off the early morning frozen mists blanketing Astana over ten percent of the population have voted in these presidential elections, called early to secure a nation’s mandate and future direction.
Even as polling stations opened at 7am, there were queues in the snow covered, freezing streets. Old people bundled up with fur lined boots and multiple layers of grey cloth, families with children in buggies, small children eager to put their parents ballots into the perspex box that sits at the centre of each polling station. There is genuine excitement hanging in the frozen chatter filled air. There is anticipation.
Astana is my second home and although it is the second coldest capital in the world by climate, it has to have the warmest people – welcoming and eager to share their culture, experiences and history and today I feel this is a part of their history.
There is also an irony in being here to cover the elections as a journalist. Some years ago I was asked to be an extra in a film here – playing a journalist! I remember that the weather was similar and, in a particular scene set in 1991, we had to clamour around an actor playing a newly elected First President asking about what reforms he intended to introduce – I was a stereotypical ‘hack’, the only foreigner and as a result I was heavily dubbed in the final movie.
Things have certainly changed. In 1991 there was only one name on the ballot -Nurzultan Nazarbayev – and he won 98% of the votes. Today there are six candidates, including two women and there is an air of expected change. Kazakhstan is a rapidly developing digital nation which was described as ‘an envy’ from one international observer – so we, the journalists, have a computer filled media centre, beaming the story around the globe as it happens. The TV is showing an “Online Marathon’ of entertainment, comment and regular updates of voting numbers across the fifteen regions of the country. The concept is an interesting one, designed to inform and entertain but also to encourage people to vote – especially the young. Kazakhstan has an interesting social demographic with more young people than old, which contrasts markedly with western countries. This has its own challenges, one of which is voter engagement. The elections are supported by an army of young volunteers, many too young to vote but all are well informed and know their roles. Smiling, keen to practise their English and even keener to be involved in the democratic process and their own future.
As I walk from the media centre across the frozen pavements, the sun has truly broken through and the coming winter is held off for a few more hours. The call to prayer sounds out from the golden dome glistening ‘old’ mosque and people fill the streets going about their business, heading for a mall, enjoying the outside time and many of them are going to vote.
Kazakhstan is about to reach a major milestone in its democratic development. While elections have taken place regularly since our independence in 1991, the upcoming presidential election on November 20 can be considered one the most consequential for the future of democratic politics in Kazakhstan.
This year has been the most tumultuous in our recent history. Our country was first rocked by the tragic events in January, when Kazakhstan suffered an armed coup attempt. Just over a month later a conflict erupted in Ukraine, indirectly impacting our country’s economy. Yet despite these challenges, our nation began writing a new chapter of our political development. In March, President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev proposed constitutional reforms to transform our country’s entire state model and form of government by limiting the powers of the President, strengthening the role of parliament, enhancing citizens’ engagement in political processes, and further strengthening the protection of human rights.
77 percent of our citizens voted in favour of these constitutional amendments in a June referendum. This was a demonstration of what a New and Just Kazakhstan represents – our firm commitment to democratic principles and an increased role for citizens in state decision-making. Thanks to the deliberate dedication of our people to democratic development, our nation has become a leading light for economic, social, and political reform in the post-Soviet space.
The implementation of concrete reforms has ensured that we are on firm footing as we look to a bright future. Our economic initiatives are focussed on diversification, de-monopolisation, and ensuring a fair distribution of the national income. Significantly, as per President Tokayev’s proposal, the presidential term has been reduced from two five-year terms to a single seven-year period without the possibility of re-election. This initiative will eliminate the risks of power monopolisation and strengthen the basic principles of democracy.
Given these substantial constitutional amendments and reforms, in September, incumbent President Tokayev decided to seek a democratic confirmation of his mandate for the fundamental transformation of Kazakhstan over the next seven years. Our country is changing at a swift pace, and it is important for our citizens to voice their opinion on the future direction of the nation. The election will offer an opportunity to reflect on the three years of Tokayev’s presidency, and to consider whether the people are on board with the vision for a New Kazakhstan.
This election will also be one the most diverse in our nation’s history. Six candidates are running with varying political views, including representatives of the opposition, giving the electorate extensive choice. In addition, for the first time in our history, two female candidates are running for president. This is another important step in Kazakhstan’s ongoing democratic development. Over many years, Kazakhstan has been taking concrete steps to ensure gender equality and to promote women’s role in business and politics. We are now witnessing the fruits of these efforts.
Kazakhstan’s presidential nominations process is designed to be open and fair. For example, all candidates must receive signatures from 1% of Kazakhstan’s registered electorate – around 118,000 people equally representing at least two thirds of regions, cities of republican significance and the capital. Six candidates, representing different policies and visions for the country, have received support from many citizens. This is further evidence of democracy at work.
Of course, it is crucial to ensure that the election will be free and fair. It is not a secret that our region is still developing the necessary democratic mechanisms to ensure completely open elections. Nevertheless, I believe that Kazakhstan is demonstrating that it is going beyond the general expectations. President Tokayev promised that the election will be held fairly, openly and with the broad participation of domestic and international observers. Previous elections were monitored by the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), and numerous other international organisations. Kazakhstan has always welcomed observers and their constructive feedback, and we look forward to welcoming them again for the upcoming election.
Given the significant global geopolitical challenges, the upcoming vote is not just important to Kazakhstan, but to the international community as well. As a country located between Asia and Europe, we play a key role in facilitating trade between the two regions. Given our diplomatic ties with all sides, we are also ready to contribute to the resolution of the conflict in Ukraine in any way we can. From the economic perspective, our government has also been vigorously improving Kazakhstan’s investment climate, making us the top investment destination in the region. I have no doubt that our government will continue on this path after the inauguration of the new President.
In January our countries celebrated the 30th Anniversary of our diplomatic relations. In this relatively short period we strengthened and expanded constructive political dialogue and diversified cooperation between our countries.
Efficient institutes of bilateral cooperation such as Strategic Dialogue, Intergovernmental Commission on Trade and Economic Cooperation and Business Council foster our partnership. Inter-parliamentary ties between our countries are deepened through the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Kazakhstan.
The UK is one of Top seven investors in Kazakhstan, with 16.2 bln. USD invested so far and a potential for growth. Currently, more than 600 joint-ventures and representative offices with British capital are operating in Kazakhstan, covering all sectors of economy from oil and gas, mining, agriculture, infrastructure, as well as education, financial and professional business services and hi-tech
Over the last 30 years people of Kazakhstan have built a stable, prosperous, and inclusive society. Exercising our democratic right through a national vote will help to strengthen what we have achieved. Given the strong foundation, I have every reason to be optimistic about the future relations between our countries.
By Magzhan Ilyassov
Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
of the Republic of Kazakhstan to the United Kingdom
On 1 September 2022, during the State of the Nation Address, President Tokayev announced snap presidential elections to take place, insisting that a “new mandate of trust from the people” was necessary as a basis of his decision. The ‘need’ for these elections comes after nearly three years of unrivalled political turmoil, intrigue and dissent in a country that has not only been at peace but is also seen as the peacemaker since its independence in December 1991.
The last Presidential elections in 2019 saw seven registered candidates, making it the election with the largest number of presidential candidates in Kazakhstan’s history. The nominees from political parties and public associations included Dania Espaeva, the first Kazakh woman to officially participate in elections.
Campaigning was focused on a number of issues including, the legacy of former President Nazarbayev’s policies and the current political system, in which presidential candidates proposed solutions from further democratisation and decommunization to the development of the nation’s values.
Tokayev’s victory was marked as the first peaceful transition of power in Kazakhstan’s history,despite “significant irregularities’ being observed on election day, including cases of ballot box stuffing, and a disregard of counting procedures meaning that an “honest count could not be guaranteed.” said the OSCE in their Statement of Preliminary Findings and Conclusions.
On 12 June 2019, Tokayev took the oath of office during a ceremony in the capital, Nur-Sultan, where he pledged to protect the interests of every citizen and consider any proposals and initiatives that would be put forward by political and community leaders.
Fast forward to November 2022 and the country seems a very different place – widespread unrest in January – described as a ‘Coup D’etat’, the purging of Nazarbayev’s supporters not to mention the effects of the Covid pandemic, inflation at previously unseen levels and a neighbouring country involved in a vicious military conflict, have all made their mark on the psyche of the everyday Kazakh. People are openly discussing and questioning the authorities, something that was unheard of under President Nazarbayev, and they are wanting answers and solutions.
At the November 2022 elections there are six candidates registered, two women and four men and despite the short time frame canvassing has been carried out feverishly, on many of the same issues as in 2019! Feelings are running high and many ordinary people believe that this could be the first truly free elections in Kazakhstan’s history but many have their reservations believing that new constitutional powers allow for ‘window dressing’ and the old order being returned to power, in particular younger people appear disenfranchised.
The elections are being overseen by the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) which has opened its election observation mission in Astana. The mission, headed by Urszula Gacek, consists of 11 international experts and 30 long-term observers which would be deployed across Kazakhstan from 26th October and that an additional 300 short-term observers would arrive several days before polls open on the 20th November.
To quote the disputed Chinese curse- “May you live in interesting times!” – from my own experiences Kazakhstan has always been interesting but these are very interesting times indeed!
