The Fifth Congress of the World Society for the Study, Preservation and Popularization of the Cultural Legacy of Uzbekistan: results, facts, figures, and plans
The Fifth Congress of the World Society for the Study, Preservation and Popularization of the Cultural Legacy of Uzbekistan: results, facts, figures, and plans
Within the framework of the International cultural forum "Central Asia at the Crossroads of World Civilizations", held on the initiative of the President of Uzbekistan with the support of UNESCO, Uzbekistan hosted the Cultural Legacy Week and the Fifth Anniversary Congress of the World Society "The Cultural Legacy of Uzbekistan - the Foundation of a New Renaissance". This year, events will be held in three cities of the Republic - Tashkent, Khiva and Nukus.
For the Congress, 15 new books-albums from the Cultural Legacy of Uzbekistan in the World Collections series were prepared. The total number of books in the series reached fifty. A unique achievement of the project for the Fifth Congress was the completion of work on the preparation of a volume dedicated to the decipherment and reading of epigraphic inscriptions on the architectural monuments of India of the Boburid (Great Mogul) period. This volume became a continuation of the Architectural Epigraphy of Uzbekistan series which symbolizes the beginning of research work not only with the monuments of our country, but also abroad. Based on the results of work on the first volume, it was also decided to start work on the study of the epigraphic heritage preserved on the monuments of Kazakhstan and Iran, which are our common cultural heritage, for example, the architecture of Iran of the Timurid period.
In addition, six more gift illustrated volumes were published. Among them are colorful books with many illustrations: four volumes are devoted to the masterpieces of the art of Uzbekistan, one illustrated volume is dedicated to the ceramics of Rishtan and one illustrated volume is to the miniatures of Kamol ud-Din Behzad.
About ten unique exhibitions dedicated to the presentation of books-albums have been prepared for the Congress. These are the photo exhibition “Miniatures of Kamol ud-Din Behzad”, the exhibition of paintings and multimedia project of Jalal Usmanov “Metaphysics of Contemplation”, the photo exhibition of the archaeologist, cultural researcher of Central Asia Leon Barszczewski, the exhibition of outstanding manuscripts of Uzbekistan, the photo exhibition “History of Uzbekistan in Photographs: discovering the past”, and an exclusive exhibition of Rishtan ceramics, as well as a special exposition "3D Technologies in Modern Science" - a virtual tour of the monuments of Shahrisabz and Samarkand.
More than 250 scholars from more than 40 countries of the world such as 9 academicians, 63 doctors of science, 66 professors, 28 associate professors and 28 PhDs, more than 40 heads of museums, libraries, and scientific organizations took part in the work of 12 sections of the Congress. About 100 reports were presented in Tashkent. Also, scholars of the World Society will take part in the sectional meetings of the International Forum and Cultural Heritage Week in Khiva and Nukus. They are devoted both to the work done and to the outlined plans of the World Society for the future. Such a large number of reports are evidence of the large-scale and grandiose work done by scholars for the Fifth Congress.
A sensational event of the Congress was the presentation of a facsimile edition of The Book of Fixed Stars made by order of the great ruler Mirzo Ulugh Beg. The unique facsimile was published by the Austrian publishing house Mueller&Shindler together with the World Society for the Study, Preservation and Popularization of the Cultural Legacy of Uzbekistan. This manuscript is kept in the collection of the National Library of France. This is the seventh facsimile edition of the greatest ancient manuscripts.
More than 30 foreign media and over 50 local media arrived to cover the Congress. At the moment, about 200 materials about the work of the Congress have been published in foreign and local publications.
Participants of the Congress, members of the World Society outlined the project's plans for the future. Among them is the publication of new books-albums of the Cultural Legacy of Uzbekistan in the World Collections series dedicated to the national cultural heritage kept in foreign collections - the Ukrainian Khanenko Museum, the State Hermitage, museums and libraries in Hungary, scientific collections in China, the United Arab Emirates and other countries. It is also planned to work on illustrated volumes about the cultural heritage of the museums of Bukhara and Termez. The History of Cartographic Representations of Central Asia from Antiquity to the 20th Century project will be developed.
The main outcome of the congress was the definition of plans for the Cultural Legacy of Uzbekistan in the World Collections project for the coming year.
The organizers of the events with the organizational and financial support of the Government of Uzbekistan are the World Society for the Study, Preservation and Popularization of the Cultural Legacy of Uzbekistan and the National Association of Electronic Media of Uzbekistan with the assistance of UNESCO, the Ministry of Tourism and Sports, the Ministry of Culture, and the oil service company Eriell Group.
