The international cultural forum “Central Asia at the Crossroads of Civilizations” was held in Khiva, Uzbekistan, from 14 to 16 September 2021. This event was put forward by the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev in his address to 75th Session of the United Nations General Assembly in September 2020 and was organized in collaboration with UNESCO.
The International Cultural Forum “Central Asia at the Crossroads of World Civilizations” was inaugurated by the Deputy Prime Minister. The Forum had a promising start as the conference started with a sparkling traditional performance. Within the framework of the Forum, a concert “Khiva – the capital of Turkic culture” was organised at the Ichan-Kala Museum-Reserve, as well as a concert program in the “Nurullaboy” complex as part of an official reception on behalf of the Government of the Republic of Uzbekistan. The Minister of Culture Ozodbek Nazarbekov also gave a mesmerising song performance.
Experts from all over the world were present, as well as Gabriela Ramos, Deputy Director-General for Social and Human Sciences of UNESCO, Minister of Culture of the Republic of Uzbekistan, Salem Bin Mohammed Al Malik, Director General, Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organizationh (ISESCO), Webber Ndoro, Director-General of International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property (ICCROM), Anar Karimov, Minister of Culture of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Baghdad Amreev, the Secretary General of the Turkic Council, Kairat Imanaliev, Minister of Culture, Information, Sports and Youth Policy of the Kyrgyz Republic, Sharifzoda Manuchehr, Deputy Minister of Culture of the Republic of Tajikistan, UNESCO Representative in Uzbekistan Alexandros Makarigakis, cultural experts, as well as committee members.
The conference kicked off with an agreeing political will and an important idea for Central Asian regional collaboration around cultural heritage. The working languages was Uzbek, Russian, English with simultaneous translation (Uzbek, Russian, English).
The conference began with a speech by the Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Uzbekistan, followed by Speech by Gabriela Ramos, Deputy Director-General for Social and Human Sciences of UNESCO. Then speech by Salem Bin Mohammed Al Malik, ISESCO Director General
Through video message; speech by Webber Ndoro, Director-General of ICCROM; speech by Anar Karimov, Minister of Culture of the Republic of Azerbaijan; speech by Baghdad Amreev, the Secretary General of the Turkic Council ; speech by Kairat Imanaliev, Minister of Culture, Information, Sports and Youth Policy of the Kyrgyz Republic; speech by Vladimir Norov, SCO Secretary General through video message; speech by Sharifzoda Manuchehr, Deputy Minister of Culture of the Republic of Tajikistan; speech by UNWTO Secretary General Zurab Pololikashvili through video message; speech by Shaazim Minovarov, Adviser to the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan on public relations and religion, Director of the Center for Islamic Civilization in Uzbekistan through video message.
The inaugural session was followed by plenary session of the conference. The working languages: Uzbek, Russian, English with simultaneous translation (Uzbek, Russian, English).
The first speaker was Murat Dzhumataev, President of the National Academy of Sciences of Kyrgyzstan (Kyrgyzstan): Central Asia – the center of science and culture in the Middle Ages: the revival of traditions in modern times
Followed by Charles Melville, President, British Institute for Persian Studies (UK): Manuscripts of Central Asian history in Cambridge University Libraries
Dr. Antonio Roldan-Ponce, Professor, Head of Studies, Tourism and Event Management, Dresden University of Applied Sciences (Germany): Travel & Tourism Competitiveness for Central Asia: recovery strategy for business tourism market
Dr. Michael Iliakis, expert of Greek-Achaemenid relations and their ramifications for Central Asia (Greece): Greek Presence in Ancient Central Asia: Cultural Influences and Heritage Management
Eric Huybrechts, architect and expert on urban planning and regional projects (France): Planning world heritage cities in Central Asia (Uzbekistan case)
Kamola Akilova, Doctor of Art History, Director of the Art Gallery of Uzbekistan (Uzbekistan): Artistic Culture of Central Asia: Unity of Diversity
The next session which was held after lunch was also on important themes and was conducted as parallel sessions keeping the large number of participants from all over the world including seven from India.
The Topics for the parallel sessions:
First: Contributions of commercial, scientific, and cultural exchanges to the development of Central Asian Heritage
Moderators: Alexander Sedov, General Director, State Museum of the East (Russia); Charles Melville, President, British Institute for Persian Studies (UK); Kathleen Göbel, Director of «Cultur-Сooperation International e.V.» (Germany)
Second: Contributions of the cultural and scientific heritage of Central Asia to the modern sciences/social and human sciences
Moderators: Murat Dzhumataev, President of the National Academy of Sciences of Kyrgyzstan (Kyrgyzstan);Prof.Anna Cieślewska, Researcher, Jagiellonian University (Poland);Khalid Chakor Alami, Scientist orientalist, specialist of the Department of Oriental Manuscripts of the National Library of France (France)
Third: “Cultural Heritage of Central Asia, a solid basis for dialogue and collaboration in the region”
Moderators: Farda Asadov, Ph.D. (candidate of historical sciences), Head Department of the History of Arab Countries, Institute of Oriental Studies named after Z.M. Buniyatov, NationalAcademy of Sciences of Azerbaijan (Azerbaijan); Dalia Cakar, Chair of the Uzbekistan-Netherlands Friendship Foundation (Netherlands); Viktor Rudenko, Deputy Chairman of the Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Chief Researcher at the Institute of Philosophy and Law of the Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Doctor of Law, Professor? Yekaterinburg (Russia)
Fourth: “Collaboration and exchanges through social and human sciences for countering the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic on the sustainable development of Central Asia”
Moderators: Eric Huybrechts, architect and expert on urban planning and regional projects (France); Dr. Antonio Roldan-Ponce, Professor, Head of Studies, Tourism and Event Management, Dresden University of Applied Sciences (Germany)
This session was followed by Group discussion following the Forum and Adoption of a resolution following the results of the International Forum “Central Asia at the Crossroads of World Civilizations”. The Declaration basically was about the unique, modern and timely initiative by Uzbekistan, crediting it for this a new strategy for a long-term development in the process of consolidation of the cultural and humanitarian forces of the countries of the region. It also mentioned that the UNESCO’s support for the promotion and protection Central Asia’s shared heritage and human and social capital is essential for the region’s peace and sustainable development. It also commended and supported outcomes of UNESCO’s other flagship programmes like, Silk Roads, the intercultural Dialogues etc. and supported conducting of such forums in future as well.
This was followed by reception. The evening reception was again a gala cultural event of traditional music and dance which continued till late in the evening.
I hope that the contributions of the experts from various fields would take the initiative few steps forward and lead to more of such innovative dialogues and collaboration between the countries in Central Asia.
