The Ministry of Higher and secondary education of the Republic of Uzbekistan The Uzbekistan state World Languages University

Сhapter I. UZBEKISTAN AND UNESCO

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   Cooperation between Central Asia and UNESCO
   

Central Asia, one of the oldest cradles of human civilization, is a remarkable region with an extremely rich history, vibrant cultural heritage, magnificent landscape, vast natural resources and a highly educated population. The countries of Central Asia are actively cooperating with UNESCO, one of the 15 UN specialized agencies for science, culture, education and information, which is a universal international institution that connects national centers of science, culture and education. At the same time, this organization enriches countries with an integrated experience of world intellectual development, attaches them to the richest cumulative experience of mankind [1]. UNESCO's interest in Central Asia has been evident since the East-West project (1957-1966), when it already tried to consider the influence of historical factors on complex interethnic relationships. An even greater impact was to be made by the scientific study carried out within the framework of the Silk Road - Path of Dialogue Comprehensive Study project (1988-1997), during which the Steppe Route Expedition crossed all these five countries. Its results are still fruitful today. In addition, the six volumes of The History of the Civilizations of Central Asia published since 1992 give a contemporary picture of the history and cultures of Central Asia, and the articles included in this publication were written by well-known experts, many of whom belong to the respective countries. Since the independence of the five main countries of this region in 1991 and their subsequent accession to UNESCO in 1992 and 1993, the Organization has intensified its cooperation with Central Asia. In 1994, the UNESCO Office in Almaty was established, which became the cluster office for Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. In 1996, UNESCO opened the National Office in Tashkent, which focuses its activities mainly on Uzbekistan. The UNESCO Office in Tehran, established in 1996, covers activities in Turkmenistan.
The five countries of Central Asia were, until recently, little known to the rest of the world. However, the region where these countries are located and where the ancient trade routes that connected East and West passed and received the general name of the "Silk Roads" was the cradle not only of nomadic states, but also (and for long periods in its history) of a settled civilization, knowledge and the brightest culture. In this regard, he especially deserved the keen interest that UNESCO showed in 1992 in the “Expedition along the Steppe Road in Central Asia”, which took place within the framework of the project “Integrated Study of the Silk Roads - Paths of Dialogue”. At the initiative of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan I. A. Karimov, in 1995, the UNESCO International Institute for Central Asian Studies (ICASI) was established in Samarkand. The main goal of IICAI is to develop and support international interdisciplinary scientific cooperation in the study of the history and culture of Central Asia. Currently, the Institute's member countries are Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, the Republic of Korea, China, Pakistan, Azerbaijan, Iran and Turkey. Scientists from Japan, Germany, France, India, Mongolia, Russia and Great Britain also take part in the scientific programs of the Institute.
Based on the proposals of the Republic of Uzbekistan, under the auspices and with the participation of UNESCO, anniversaries were celebrated: 1994 - the 600th anniversary of MirzoUlugbek, 1996 - the 660th anniversary of Amir Temur, 1997 - the 2500th anniversary of Bukhara and Khiva, 1998 - 1225- 1200th anniversary of Imam Bukhori and 1200th anniversary of Ahmad Fargoni, 1999 - 1000th anniversary of the epic "Alpamysh", 2000 - 545th anniversary of KamoliddinBehzod, 2001 - 2700th anniversary of the creation of "Avesta", 2002 - 2500th anniversary of Termez and 2700 1000th anniversary of Shakhrisabz, 2003 - 900th anniversary of AbdukholikGijduvoni, 2005 - 2700th anniversary of Karshi and 1000th anniversary of the KhorezmMamun Academy, 2007 - 2750th anniversary of Samarkand and 2000th anniversary of Margilan, 2009 - 2200th anniversary of Tashkent. In the field of culture, cooperation with UNESCO is based on the preservation and development of the cultural (material and spiritual) heritage of Uzbekistan. Historical and cultural sites of Samarkand, Shakhrisabz, Bukhara and Khiva are included in the UNESCO World Heritage List. The cultural space of Boysun, as well as Shashmak, Kattaashula, Navruz and Askiya are included in the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. The Koran of Osman and the collection of manuscripts of the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Uzbekistan are included in the international list of the program "Memory of the World"
Also, the General Conference approved the inclusion of the 100th anniversary of the birth of the director and actor Sh. Aimanov (2014) and the 100th anniversary of the birth of the writer I. Yesenberlin (2015) in the UNESCO Calendar of Commemorative Dates and Events for 2014-2015. In addition, from Kazakhstan, the UNESCO calendar of memorable and anniversary dates includes: the 150th anniversary of the birth of AbaiKunanbaev, the 100th anniversary of the birth of MukhtarAuezov, the 1500th anniversary of the founding of the city of Turkestan, the 500th anniversary of Muhammad KhaidarDulati, the 100th anniversary of the birth of SabitMukanov and KanyshSatpaev. With the participation of the UN and UNESCO, the 2000th anniversary of Taraz, the 100th anniversary of GabitMusrepov, the 200th anniversary of MakhambetUtemisov, the 100th anniversary of AbylkhanKasteev, the 100th anniversary of AlkeyMargulan, the 100th anniversary of AkhmetZhubanov were celebrated. In the UNESCO Calendar of Memorable Dates and Events for 2008-2009, the UNESCO General Conference included the 500th anniversary of the creation of the Kyz-Zhibek epic. In 2001, UNESCO approved the "Preliminary List of Cultural and Natural Heritage Sites" presented by the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan. Among them are the Mausoleum of Khoja Ahmed Yasawi (which was included in the World Heritage List) and the petroglyphs of the archaeological landscape of Tamgaly [4]. In July 2008, the object "Sary-Arka - the steppe and lakes of Northern Kazakhstan" was included in the list of unique natural monuments, which became the first natural object of Central Asia in the World Heritage List. At the same time, we consider it expedient to include in the World Heritage List a number of such unique natural monuments of Uzbekistan as the Stone Forest in the Uchkuduk district of the Navoi region and the Sangardak waterfall in the Boysun district of the Surkhandarya region. At the initiative of Kyrgyzstan, the 1000th anniversary of the Manas epic, the 3000th anniversary of the city of Osh, the 2200th anniversary of the Kyrgyz statehood, etc. were widely celebrated. In 2008, Tajikistan celebrated the 1150th anniversary of the birth of the poet Abu AbdallahRudaki, who is considered the founder of the Persian classical literature and who was born in today's city of Penjikent.
Since the late 1990s, UNESCO and its offices in Tashkent and Tehran have been supporting the Ministry of Culture of Turkmenistan in the implementation of the World Heritage Convention, in particular in the areas of capacity building, conservation, cataloging and, very importantly, preparing for the successful inscription of sites in The World Heritage List, thanks to which the cities of Ancient Merv and Kunya-Urgench, as well as the Parthian fortresses of Nisa, were included in it [5]. Under the auspices of UNESCO, jubilee events were held on an international scale in honor of a number of ancient cities, the memory of great scientists and historical figures. For example, between 1994 and 2009 anniversaries of 19 historical figures, more than 10 ancient cities, 3 folk epics, more than 3 ancient historical heritage and 1 historical scientific institution were marked. At the same time, we emphasize that after 2010, no such events have been held in Central Asia in cooperation with UNESCO, and in this regard, we consider it appropriate to mark at the international level the anniversaries of the great scientists generally recognized in the world community AlisherNavoi and Zahiriddin Muhammad Babur, as well as the most ancient cities of the region. The Central Asian Republics and the UN, within the framework of various institutions, including, first of all, UNESCO, have a broad partnership in the field of culture, education and the preservation of the rich cultural heritage of Central Asia. Humanitarian cooperation is an important aspect of national, regional and global sustainable development in the face of complex globalization processes.

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