Addresses delivered in the general policy debate by the Head of Delegation at the General Conference

37 session of the General Conference

His Excellency, Mr Adkham Ikramov, Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Uzbekistan

Speech delivered during the General Policy Debate of the 37th session of the General Conference - revised and corrected version of the verbatim records of plenary meetings

36 session of the General Conference

H.E. Mr Abdulla Nigmatovich ARIPOV, Deputy Prime Minister

Speech delivered during the General Policy Debate of the 36th session of the General Conference and posted as received

35 session of the General Conference

H.E. Mr Gayrat Shoumarov, Minister of Education

(Translation from Russian)
“(…) We express our wholehearted gratitude to the Director-General, Mr Koïchiro Matsuura (…).”
“The Republic of Uzbekistan supports the revised version of UNESCO’s Programme and Budget for 2010-2011 (…).”
“(…) Regardless of the world financial crisis, the Republic of Uzbekistan increases every year the volume of investment in the social programme system. In 2010, over 55% of the State budget of Uzbekistan is due to be allocated to developing education, science, culture and health. In the past two years alone, 405 new vocational colleges and high schools have been built in our country, 3,833 middle schools have been built or restored and three new universities opened. Particular attention is being paid to the universal inclusion of the population in a lifelong education system, and improving the quality of teaching in all aspects of education. Reform in Uzbekistan involves not only the improvement of teaching processes and the creation of a modern educational infrastructure, but also enhancing the social role and participation of educational institutions in developing local communities (…).”
“We support programmes aimed at broadening the UNESCO Associated Schools Network and UNESCO Chairs, the development of a social partnership in the field of technical and vocational education, the introduction of inclusive education for socially vulnerable groups of the population and the implementation of educational programmes for sustainable development and international understanding.”
“The Republic of Uzbekistan supports UNESCO’s innovative programmes to safeguard the world’s tangible and intangible cultural heritage. Thanks to UNESCO, the unique cultural heritage of Uzbekistan has been made accessible to the world community, and with every passing year efforts are made to preserve for future generations both the tangible and intangible heritage of the most ancient cultures of countries along the Great Silk Road.”
“(…) We are concerned by the fact that, in the circumstances of global financial crisis, issues of environmental protection are being relegated to the back burner. In March 2008, on the initiative of the Republic of Uzbekistan and with the participation of United Nations system agencies, an international conference was held in Tashkent on the Aral disaster and its effect on the population’s health and gene pool, the main purpose of which was the practical development of a system to provide international support for the population and sustainable development of the Aral region, which is suffering from this ecological tragedy. In UNESCO’s programmes on the natural sciences we consider that it is essential to retain as a priority the management of freshwater resources which must be applied using an intersectoral approach. We are convinced that concerted and scientifically sound action by countries in managing water resources will be a source of peace on our planet, and we hope that new practical initiatives by UNESCO in this direction in the context of 2010, proclaimed International Year of Biodiversity by the United Nations, will be supported by the world community as a whole.”

34 session of the General Conference

H.E. Mr Rustam Kasimov, Deputy Prime minister

(Address delivered in Uzbek; English text provided by the Permanent Delegation)
Uzbekistan expresses its congratulations to Singapore and to Montenegro, which have rejoined UNESCO recently.
Uzbekistan is grateful to Mr Matsuura for efforts made in improving the effectiveness of UNESCO’s activities and in closer cooperation with other United Nation agencies. Uzbekistan firmly believes that it is necessary to cooperate to promote quality literacy and cultural diversity.
Uzbekistan supports the UNESCO’s Draft Programme and Budget for 2008-2009 as proposed by the Director-General.
It is necessary to pay “more attention to improving the quality of education. In the Republic of Uzbekistan, which continues to enjoy 100% literacy among its people, the quality of education […] is considered […] part of the development of teaching methods and establishing a modern educational infrastructure […] [and includes] participation of educational institutions in the development of local communities (makhallas), and in ensuring that everyone can enjoy access to lifelong learning.”
“We are grateful for UNESCO’s cooperation in undertaking large-scale and innovative reform within Uzbekistan’s education system, through the widening of the Associated School Projects network and UNESCO Chairs, development of social partnership on vocational training, the introduction of inclusive education to socially vulnerable groups in our society, as well as development of educational programmes for sustainable development and promoting international understanding.”
An intersectoral approach should be applied to the Natural Sciences programmes. Uzbekistan is particularly interested in the water resource management issues and in the development of engineering sciences. Furthermore, the Government is proposing to make the “Sun” complex near Tashkent as a category 2 regional centre for studies of solar energy.
“The Republic of Uzbekistan proposes that UNESCO departments be opened in academic and scientific research institutions.”
Uzbekistan appreciates UNESCO’s association in 2006-2007 with the celebration of the 2750th anniversary of Samarqand and the 2000th anniversary of Margilan, and hopes that its proposal to associate the Organization with the 2200th anniversary of the city of Tashkent in 2008-2009 will be approved.
“The International Year of Planet Earth (2008) should be reflected in all programmes of our Organization. […] We are requesting UNESCO to support our initiative to hold an International Conference on the Aral Sea catastrophe and its impact on human health.”

Celebration of anniversaries

2200th anniversary of the foundation of the city of Tashkent (2008)

Tashkent is one of the famous cultural and scientific centres of Central Asia. Historically, being situated on the Great Silk Road, Tashkent was the place where East and West met in brotherhood for intercultural and interreligious dialogue. Tashkent, the capital of the Republic of Uzbekistan, is one of the ancient cities of Central Asia. Tashkent was well known 2,200 years ago as Choch. The celebration of the 2,200th anniversary of the foundation of the city of Tashkent will certainly promote a new focus on the old city and on four world heritage sites at Shakhrisyabz, Samarkand, Bukhara and Khiva.

2000th anniversary of the foundation of the city of Marg’ilon (Margilan) (2007)

Situated along the Great Silk Road, Margilon (originally Marginan) was founded in the 1st century B.C. and had its peak of development during medieval times. The city has long been known in Central Asia for its silks that were exported to the Middle East, Asia and Europe. Also, it was famous for its mosques, traditional bazaars, various craft centres and the development of scientific studies in the field of philosophy and law of Islam after the Islamization of the region. Margilon has preserved the unique intangible heritage, expressed in such oral cultural forms as Maqoms (musical mode in Asian classical music), Ferghana Askiyasi (Ferghana Humour) and Katta Ashula (traditional songs with plates). Both cultural forms have been included in the country’s Tentative List for the UNESCO programme on “Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity”. Through the planned activities, the cultural heritage of Margilon will be better known and the celebration activities will contribute to a further restoration/revitalization of the Great Silk Road and enable the promotion of intercultural and interreligious dialogue in Central Asia.

2750th anniversary of the foundation of the city of Samarkand (2006)

Samarkand, inscribed on the World Heritage List in 2001, is a legendary city at the crossroads of great cultures and civilizations. The city, once the capital of the great Tamerlan (Timur), is well known not only for its architecture and townscape, masterpieces of Islamic cultural creativity, but also as one of the most important centres of cultural interactions along the Great Silk Roads. Celebrating the 2750th anniversary of the city of Samarkand would offer a precious occasion to recall its historical role in cultural interactions in the Eurasian space as well as the importance of cultural diversity in today’s world.

1,000th anniversary of the Academy of Ma’mun in Khorezm (2005)

The Academy of Ma’mun was founded in 1004 as a scientific centre where 40 wellknown scientists worked together and made significant contribution to the advancement of knowledge. At the time of its creation the academy was famous under the name of “Majlisi Ulamo” or “Dorul Hikma va maorif”.
Members of “Dorul Hikma va maorif” came from different countries of the East. They conducted important translation and research work and carried out analysis of the work of other scientists of their time. They made contributions, which led to the advancement of world science.
The academy attracted world-renowned scientists, philosophers, astronomers and thinkers. Famous names, such as Abu Ali Lobn Sino (Avicenna), Abu Sahl Masihi, and Abu Masr Inv Iroq are associated with the Academy of Ma’mun.
The Academy of Ma’mun occupies a significant place in history and the 1,000th anniversary of its establishment merits international recognition.

2,700th anniversary of Qarshi (2004)

The Qarshi oasis is situated in south-west Uzbekistan, near Shahr-i Sabz. The city has a long and rich history in Central Asia, since it has been a melting pot between nomad and sedentary populations during centuries before and after the Christian era. The city has therefore been continually embellished until the twentieth century with beautiful mosques, caravanserais and even a grandiose bridge constructed over the Kashka Darya River. The city of Qarshi is extensively mentioned in the multi-volume “History of Civilizations of Central Asia”, published by UNESCO.

900th anniversary of the birth of Khodja Abdulkholiq Al-Gijduvoni (2003)

Khodja Abdulkholiq Al-Gijduvoni (1103-1179) founded the Khodjagon Tarigat School (The Way of the Khodjagon) of Sufism in Central Asia, and was a major figure in teaching the ways for tolerance and peace. His written works include philosophical and ethical texts as well as poetry.

2700th anniversary of the foundation of Shakhrisyabz city (2002)

For many years the architectural monuments and wealth of history associated with the region of Shakhrisyabz-Kitob have made it a pole of attraction not only to scholars but also for all those interested in the cultural heritage of Uzbekistan. Thanks to the archaeological research carried out in the region, it has been possible to create a database on the birth of peasant culture and its development in the ninth-eighth centuries BC. Known in the sixth-seventh centuries AD by the
name of Kesh, it was not until the fifteenth century that the regional centre came to be called Shakhrisyabz. The development of Kesh-Shakhrisyabz reached its peak under the rule of Amir Timur and the Timurids in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. Shakhrisyabz boasts a number of great monuments, notably mosques and mausoleums, and ancient neighbourhoods that played a major cultural and political role in Central Asia in the Middle Ages. The historic centre of Shakhrisyabz was inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1998.

Two thousand five hundredth anniversary of the founding of the city of Termez (2001)

Archaeological excavations and existing written sources indicate that Termez is one of the most ancient cities in Central Asia.
Of the ancient cities located on the Silk Road, Termez is particularly significant for its architectural monuments, including the mausoleum of Hakim al-Termezi and the minaret of Dzharkurgan.

Five hundred and forty-fifth anniversary of the birth of Kamal al-Din Behzad (Uzbekistan and Tajikistan) (2001)

The Timurid period and the florescence of the Herat school (fifteenth century) was characterized by a refining of the artistic language of the miniature that led to a golden age of painting. It was associated, first and foremost, with the work of the Herat school and with the painting of Behzad and the artists of his circle who perfected the artistic resources and techniques of the genre. The fundamental discovery in his miniatures was the necessary relationship between all elements of the composition, within which man became the centre of the picture.
Kamal al-Din Behzad stands out clearly as a key figure in the overall development of the art of the miniature and is a renowned figure in Central Asia. Those of his works that have survived reveal a great master who, on the one hand, brought to a successful conclusion the fundamental creative experiments undertaken in the painting of the preceding period and, on the other, was the initiator of new processes which to a considerable extent were to determine the development of the miniature in Central Asia throughout the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.

Two thousand seven hundredth anniversary of the creation of the Avesta (2001)

This sacred book of the Zoroastrians, present all over the world today, was translated into Pahlavi during the first millennium BC. Its sources are reflected in the epic poems of the peoples of Khorasan (north-east region of the present Islamic Republic of Iran), Transoxiana and India. One of the written forms comes from Khwarazm (in present-day Uzbekistan).
The Avesta, which has been translated into several languages, has served as the basis for many encyclopedias (such as the Denkart, among many other major
works), religious books and various historical and religious treatises.

Thousandth anniversary of the popular epic Alpamysh (1999).

The popular epic Alpamysh, a folk work in song, has its roots in the myths and legends of the various tribes which peopled Central Asia. It was handed down from generation to generation by orator-artists known as ‘bachis’.
This heroic epic is of very considerable importance both to the people of Uzbekistan and to the whole region. It is sung in towns and villages, where it still arouses enthusiasm, and recounts the rich cultural past of the countries of Central Asia.
For this celebration, the authorities of Uzbekistan are planning to organize a variety of events, including publication of the epic in several languages (including English and French), an international scientific conference, etc.

One thousand two hundredth anniversary of the birth of the Uzbek scholar and astronomer Ahmad al-Ferghani (1998).

Ahmad al-Ferghani was recognized as an eminent scholar, astronomer, geographer, mathematician and encyclopedist, in both Central Asia and the Middle East. He was a member of the Academy and of the ‘House of Knowledge’ specializing in scientific research. Under his guidance, scholars set up two astronomical observatories and plotted the celebrated map of the Earth and the Cosmos known as the ‘al-Maamoun Table’.
Al-Ferghani’s book ‘the Action of Cosmic Objects’ was translated into Latin and was the main astronomical textbook used in schools in Europe until the sixteenth century; his works are scattered in various museums throughout the world, in Russia, Netherlands, Great Britain, Tunisia, France, etc.
The Government of Uzbekistan plans to organize a variety of activities and events, including an international scientific conference, the publication of the scholar’s complete works, and the erection of a monument to his memory in Tashkent and Ferghana.

One thousand two hundred and twenty-fifth anniversary of the birth of the scholar Ismail al-Bukhari (1998).

Ismail al-Bukhari was an Arab scholar of Persian origin, and left a rich and invaluable scientific legacy; he is one of the six famous authors of the ‘Collections of Tadîth’ (The reported sayings and acts of the Prophet); this book, which is still of contemporary relevance by reason of its educational role and its moral and religious value, is regarded in the Muslim world as the second sacred book after the Koran and is the foundation of canon law.
The tomb of the imam in Samarkand has become one of Islam’s holy places. Every year, thousands of Muslims from around the world make a pilgrimage there.

Two thousand five hundredth anniversaries of the cities of Bukhara and Khiva (1997).

Six hundred and sixtieth anniversary of Emir Timur (1996).