"From the first days of the existence of the Cultural Legacy of Uzbekistan in World Collections project it was obvious that it would change the sphere, bring a lot of news to our field.
But I am sure the world community could not have imagined that the initiative would reach such a scale.
The study and preservation of legacy in Uzbekistan have rightfully become priorities. Why rightfully? I am convinced that only knowing history you can understand who you are. This is especially true for such states as Uzbekistan, which really has something to be proud of. Let's look around. Everyone has a phone in their hands, in their pocket. But it is known for certain that the algorithm by which they operate is based on numbers, for which we are grateful to the creator of algebra — Muhammad al-Khorezmi. Al-Beruni in 1025 suggested the existence of the Americas long before their discovery. And this is only a small part of the achievements made by the great scholars of these lands.
Another brilliant son of Uzbekistan is Alisher Navoi, who is directly connected with the Renaissance, the second Renaissance. That is why now, on the threshold of the third Renaissance, Navoi has become one of the symbols of Uzbek culture. Much attention paid to his personality, and his works are studied.
When President Shavkat Mirziyoyev addresses young people, he speaks of the need to pay attention to those representatives of culture who can give an incentive to develop, to look to the future with hope. And this highly spiritual message is very valuable. For our part, we will store what we have.
I would also like to note that culture is embodied, of course, in people. Let's take manuscripts, which are created by people. They compose, copies, decorates, stores and publishes them. It is people who are responsible for the emergence of new art and the preservation of ancient examples. In this context, it is impossible to overestimate the fact that Uzbekistan is a country led by interested people who advocate the preservation of ancient culture.
I thank the World Society and the project, with special gratitude to the leadership of the country, for the opportunity to meet in this way for several years, discuss achievements and problems, talk about joint projects and implement them. It's hard to even imagine what else we will learn and discover during this congress," Irina Popova said.
