The Fourth Congress of the World Society for the Study, Preservation and Popularization of the Cultural Legacy of Uzbekistan

The Fourth International Congress "The Cultural Legacy of Uzbekistan as the Foundation of a New Renaissance" and the Cultural Heritage Week were held on December 15-18, 2020. Ernesto Ottone, Deputy Director General of UNESCO for Culture, addressed the participants with a welcoming speech.

On December 15, the International Conference "The Legacy of Uzbekistan: Mutual Influence of Civilizations and Renaissance" was held.

On December 15, in Tashkent, a large-scale fashion show was organized by the World Society according to the traditions of the Uzbek national costume.

On December 15, the guests of the congress saw paintings with augmented reality - the World Society created 3D models of images of medieval scholars

Two days of the Fourth International Congress "The Cultural Legacy of Uzbekistan as the Foundation of a New Renaissance" were devoted to the reports of foreign scholars dedicated to revealing the value of the cultural heritage of Uzbekistan. More than 150 reports were made.

At the Congress, collectors from the USA and Italy for the first time revealed their treasures stored in their collections with masterpieces created by the hands of Uzbek artisans - embroideries, fabrics and clothing samples. These collections have been collected with love for many years.

Also, the participants in the event saw for the first time the new version of travels to Turkestan by the famous photographer Sergei Prokudin-Gorsky. Despite the fact that many publications about him have been issued, archival materials allowed the author of the book-album “S.M. Prokudin-Gorsky and His Turkestan Cycle of Photographs in the US Library of Congress” to clarify many details of his amazing biography.

The congress participants also got acquainted with the rarest manuscripts - little-known translations of the works by great Avicenna, which are now kept in the libraries of Europe and Turkey. Thus, the Canon of Medicine created by him was the main textbook on medicine for 600 years in all educational institutions of the world, including the most famous universities in Europe. The theme of Avicenna's heritage has been at the center of attention of the World Society since the first days of its activities.

Within the framework of the Fourth International Congress "The Cultural Legacy of Uzbekistan as the Foundation of a New Renaissance", the famous scholar, historian from the USA Frederick Starr proposed to conduct a virtual reconstruction of the architectural monuments of Uzbekistan so that future tourists and students could experience them "live".

“Such a project could significantly enrich tourism and ancient monuments, and, of course, expand museum collections. These virtual reconstructions would allow future generations of students to recover the lost past. Equally important, this would allow Uzbekistan to rewrite the history of world architecture, adding magnificent examples of building art that have long disappeared from this land,” said Frederick Starr.

The event featured multimedia "bases", 3D installations with historical paintings coming to life, historical reconstructions with scenes from historical films and books, and craftsmen themed zones.

The organizers prepared interactive platforms, historical reconstructions with scenes from films, "pictures come to life", and holographic reconstructions of historical artifacts that were recreated in 3D.

December 16 - Scholars of the World Society adopted an appeal to the President of Uzbekistan.

On December 17, within the framework of the Cultural Heritage Week, a film conference “Cinema of Uzbekistan: Past, Present and Future” was held. For the first time, the revival of the legendary Tashkent Film Festival was announced.

On December 17, the youth forum "New Renaissance as New Generation" was held and was dedicated to the popularization of culture and science among young people.

On December 18, a historical theatrical performance "Jaloliddin Manguberdy" was held in honor of the participants and guests of the Fourth International Congress and Cultural Heritage Week.

The Congress approved the Roadmap of the work of the World Society until 2025. There was also a ceremony of presenting certificates for album books of the Cultural Legacy of Uzbekistan in the World Collections project and a facsimile of unique manuscripts to museums and libraries of our country. Traditionally, there was a presentation of 35 unique books-albums from the Cultural Legacy of Uzbekistan in the World Collections series.