President Shavkat Mirziyoyev delivered his opening address to the 43rd session of the UNESCO's General Conference in Samarkand on Thursday.
Among those present were the UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay, president of Serbia Aleksandar Vučić, president of Slovakia Peter Pellegrini and officials of foreign governments, international and regional organizations.
He stressed the growing role of UNESCO in preserving the national identity of peoples, their cultural heritage, and fostering close dialogue among different religions.
“It is deeply symbolic that our forum is being held in Samarkand — a city that has entered human history as a center of humanistic ideas, invaluable knowledge, and intercivilizational dialogue.”
“There is enormous concern that geopolitical tensions and armed conflicts are causing damage to unique monuments and cultural heritage, and that the widening gap in access to knowledge and digital technologies exacerbated global inequality.”
“In such challenging conditions, strengthening solidarity in order to achieve UNESCO’s main objectives takes on special importance, he said. I want to reiterate Uzbekistan’s commitment to the goals of the organization and its readiness to serve as a bridge between East and West, North and South, providing an open platform for constructive cooperation”.
“Therefore, we propose a number of and initiatives aimed at developing key areas of UNESCO’s activities.”
“The development of inclusive education and the use of artificial intelligence is a key priority. We propose to create a UNESCO Platform for the Development of Inclusive Education for children with special needs and called for a World Summit on Vocational Education.”
“Uzbekistan is also ready to implement the pilot Artificial Intelligence-School project and organize an International Forum of Experts on AI Ethics under the auspices of UNESCO.”
“It is vital to preserve intangible cultural heritage. We propose advancing the UNESCO Memory of the World Program, established to protect and ensure access to unique heritage objects, such as oral traditions, manuscripts, archives, valuable historical documents and cultural records.”
“We put forward an initiative to declare 19 November as International Documentary Heritage Day and to establish an International Institute of Digital Heritage within UNESCO’s structure.”
“We also propose holding an International Congress on Crafts and Folk Arts in Bukhara in 2027 within the framework of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network.”
“To promote gender equality and develop women’s leadership skills, the president advocated for the establishment of a UNESCO Academy for Women’s Leadership and the organization of a Global Forum of Women in Education, Culture, and Science in Samarkand, with the participation of renowned researchers, artists, educators, and innovators from all continents.”
“There is a need for effective joint action to address the climate crisis. The negative impact of climate change on cultural heritage and proposed the establishment of an international initiative UNESCO Eco-Capital, as well as the development of a UNESCO Executive Board resolution on preserving cultural heritage in the context of globalization and climate change.”
“Uzbekistan is ready to host an international symposium on this topic in Khiva”.
“There is also a need to counter the spread of misinformation in the digital space, protect public opinion, and combat discrimination”
“We propose organizing an International festival of children’s cultural content and developing a Comprehensive UNESCO strategy for media literacy development.”
“ We want to stress the importance of strengthening interfaith harmony, combating radicalism and Islamophobia, and promoting Islamic culture and enlightenment worldwide, stating: “It is important to widely promote such universal values as tolerance, mutual understanding, and concord”.
“We propose to actively leverage the potential of unique projects in Uzbekistan — the Center of Islamic Civilization and the research centers of Imam Bukhari, Imam Maturidi, Imam Termizi, and Bahauddin Naqshband.”
Concluding his address, president of Uzbekistan expressed confidence that the forum would become an important step in establishing new areas of cooperation, strengthening mutual trust, fostering global partnerships and promoting sustainable development.
He wished the conference participants a successful and productive sessions, emphasizing the symbolic significance of holding the forum in Samarkand — a city representing peace, friendship, and mutual understanding among peoples, which underscores Uzbekistan’s high international standing and its contribution to advancing the dialogue of civilizations, strengthening mutual understanding and preserving humanity’s cultural heritage.
