Over the past recent years, new ways of cooperation have emerged to accelerate progress towards the 2030 goals. Private / public partnerships, multi-agency cooperation and community engagement have enabled progress in programme implementation. An example of such strategic shift can be seen in the work conducted by UNESCO in Uzbekistan.
UNESCO and Uzbekistan renewed their cooperation through a major programmatic action plan for 2018-2021 during President Mirziyoyev’s visit to UNESCO Headquarters in October 2018, the first such agreement in 20 years. UNESCO is currently reinforcing its cooperation with Uzbekistan, especially on systemic educational reform and the preservation of heritage.
In line with SDG4 on Quality Education, UNESCO launched in July 2020 the project "Skills Development for Employability in Rural Areas of Uzbekistan", funded by the European Union in a total amount of €9.6 million. The aim of this four-year project (2020-2024) is to enhance living standards in rural areas through better employability and to prepare women and men with relevant skills for the needs of sustainable, diversified and modernized agriculture.
"The project is very timely and relevant in terms of assisting our government reforms to promote rural people who have most affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, lost their jobs and revenues. It also helps us to nurture the young generation in the post-COVID period and increase its resilience to meet future challenges", Chairperson of the National Commission of Uzbekistan for UNESCO.
"By testing and piloting these new and innovative initiatives and approaches for a more efficient agriculture, including the training of teachers and trainers in the agriculture and irrigation sectors, the project could have the potential to serve as an example for transitioning to smart farming and precision agriculture in the region and beyond",
“Year 2020 became the year of huge changes in secondary special and vocational education of Uzbekistan- transfer of colleges and technical schools to the line ministries. The project can have a big impact in this regards through providing support for modernizing soft and hard components at selected colleges”,
The project will contribute to improving the quality, relevance, efficiency and effectiveness of the Skills Development System in the Agriculture and Irrigation sectors in four selected regions of Uzbekistan: Bukhara, Karakalpakstan, Khorezm and Surkhandarya. UNESCO will provide assistance in developing, testing and piloting new initiatives and approaches with a view to scaling up transversal methods, high technology agriculture and food processing, as well as innovative approaches benefitting to rural communities throughout the country. The project has now entered its implementation phase, to get more information, follow the website and telegram channel.
In May 2021 Uzbekistan participated for the first time at the Venice Architecture Biennale. The Uzbek pavillion took the form of a Mahalla, a traditional neighborhood which is a vital part of Uzbekistan's cultural heritage. Mrs. Saida Mirziyoyeva, Deputy Chairwoman of the Council of the Art and Culture Development Foundation under the Ministry of Culture wrote on her Facebook page: “Our pavilion, dedicated to the history and transformation of the mahalla, aroused genuine interest among the participants.”
UNESCO is working at preserving and safeguarding cultural sites, and, in particular, those listed on the World Heritage List. Another joint project, the Organization has been implementing since 2018, in cooperation with the European Union, is the «Silk Roads Heritage Corridors in Afghanistan, Central Asia and Iran - International Dimension of the European Year of Cultural Heritage». Uzbekistan stands at the heart of the silk roads and as such has a very special place in the exchanges and dialogue that have forged the unique identity of central Asia.
The project aims to protect, raise awareness and promote the common cultural heritage on the Silk Roads, as well as use the heritage as a foundation for sustainable development. The project covers capacity building of local communities, including women and youth, in the field of traditional craftsmanship in Uzbekistan and thus contributing to the creation of income-generating opportunities. An example is the conservation and restoration of the Bogbonli Mosque in Khiva, as well as the elaboration of a tourism development plan for Khiva by 2021. Within the framework of the project, the UNESCO Tashkent Office held a series of trainings and an online course for crafts people and designers in Margilan in 2020 year. More than 40 people from different parts of Uzbekistan gained new knowledge and skills in traditional craftsmanship and entrepreneurship.
I learned a lot of useful information for myself during the training. I gained this knowledge just as I was planning to open a school for crafts people in Nukus. Now I hope to implement my idea and build my business.
UNESCO supports the development of sustainable tourism development in Karakalpakstan through the UN Joint project “Addressing human insecurities in the Aral Sea region through promoting sustainable rural development”. The project was launched in 2019 and funded by the UN Multi-Partner Human Security Trust Fund for the Aral Sea region in Uzbekistan (MPHSTF). It addresses the environmental, social and economic insecurities in the most vulnerable communities of the Aral Sea region. Comprehensive solutions to the environmental issues are implemented to promote access to basic services, improve living standards and develop sustainable tourism and hospitality industry in Karakalpakstan.
Karakalpakstan is a great place for the development of tourism. I would like to thank UNESCO for promoting and developing sustainable tourism in this region. From our side, we are ready to be fully involved in this process”.
In 2020, the Art of Miniature, a traditional craft considered as an integral part of each society’s social and cultural identity, was inscribed on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity of UNESCO (together with Azerbaijan, Iran and Turkey). Thus, at the moment the List includes eightelements from Uzbekistan: «Shashmaqom» (2008), «Cultural Space of Boysun» (2008), «Katta Ashula» (2009), «Askiya» (2014), «Culture and Traditions associated with Palow» (2016), «Navruz» (2016), Khorazm dance «Lazgi» (2019), and Art of Miniature (2020). Thus, all the above mentioned projects, valuing several millions of USD, benefit the Uzbek communities and show the gradual expansion of multilateral close ties notably with the European Union in the educational and cultural areas of UNESCO mandate, and their consequent achievements.