World Society for the Study, Preservation and Popularization of the Cultural Legacy of Uzbekistan
HISTORY OF THE ORIGIN, PREREQUISITES FOR THE CREATION OF A WORLD SOCIETY
Uzbekistan is the successor of great states that wrote bright pages in the history of world civilization. Objective and comprehensive study of the rich cultural heritage is an urgent task not only for Uzbekistan, but also for the whole world, since the cultural heritage of Uzbekistan is the heritage of all mankind.
Since 2016, this area has been affected by fundamental changes. President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev, as soon as he became the head of the republic, introduced issues such as careful preservation and study of the historical, cultural and intellectual heritage of the Uzbek people, and education of the younger generation on the basis of universal and traditional values to the state policy.

Shavkat Mirziyoyev, President of the Republic of Uzbekistan
Crucial changes also took place in the foreign policy – Uzbekistan has opened up to the world in the humanitarian sphere and tourism. The updating of all aspects of social life sharply intensified the activities of civil society.
Thanks to the conditions conditions created in the New Uzbekistan, Firdavs Abdukhalikov, a public figure and Honored journalist of the Republic of Uzbekistan, with the support of the state developed and, together with like-minded people and interested partners, began to implement an original non-profit project to collect, catalog and popularize monuments of cultural heritage in Uzbekistan, for various reasons stored in various collections in many countries across the world. Bakhtiyor Fazylov, Head of the Eriell Group oilfield services company, and Edward Rtveladze, Academician at the Academy of Sciences of Uzbekistan and Georgia, were the first to fully support this civil initiative as hard as they could.
Thanks to the sponsorship and organizational support from the Eriell Group headed by Bakhtiyor Fazylov, Firdavs Abdukhalikov and his colleagues made a number of research trips to foreign countries, which made it possible to publish unique illustrated books-albums as part of the Cultural Legacy of Uzbekistan in the World Collections series.
Book-albums from the Cultural Legacy of Uzbekistan in World Collections series
Academician Edward Rtveladze took responsibility for the research component of this project and the establishment of contacts with the management of museums and libraries and the world academic community as a whole.
Academician Edward Rtveladze, Research Manager of the project
The team of researchers received full support from the Government of Uzbekistan and researchers from different countries engaged in the study of the cultural heritage of Uzbekistan. Many foreign scholars involved in the Project took the initiative to create a society that would consolidate the efforts of all parties interested in implementing this unique project, the only one of its kind in the global research space.
The first five books-albums from the Cultural Legacy of Uzbekistan in the World Collections series were presented at the 1st International Congress "Cultural Legacy of Uzbekistan – a Path to Dialogue between Peoples and Countries" with the participation of orientalists specializing in the study of cultural and historical heritage of Uzbekistan in 2017 in Samarkand. The costs of organizing the forum were assumed by the company "Eriell Group".
For the first time, the idea of uniting Oriental scholars into a World Society was voiced in Samarkand during the First International Congress. Following the results of the congress, a resolution was adopted on the need to create the World Academic Society for the Study, Preservation and Popularization of the Cultural Legacy of Uzbekistan. This historical document was read at Registan Square out by Christa Pikkat, Acting Head of the UNESCO Representative Office in Uzbekistan, Professor Alexander Naimark, Director of the Middle East and Central Asia Program at Hofstra University (New York, USA), Irina Popova, Director of the Institute of Oriental Manuscripts under the Russian Academy of Sciences and project manager Firdavs Abdukhalikov.
The Congress also sent an appeal to the President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev, in which the activities of the head of state in the preservation and study of the cultural heritage of Uzbekistan were highly appreciated. It should be emphasized that the costs of organizing this forum were assumed by the company "Eriell Group".
In 2018, at the Second Congress of the World Society in St. Petersburg, 300 orientalists from 30 countries voted for the charter and elected the managing bodies of the World Society for the Study, Preservation and Popularization of the Cultural Legacy of Uzbekistan. Firdavs Abdukhalikov, the author of the project Cultural Legacy of Uzbekistan in the World Collections, was unanimously elected Chairman of the Society. Philanthropist Bakhtiyor Fazylov was elected Vice-President of the World Society, Academician Edward Rtveladze was elected research director.
The speakers at the congress were Mikhail Piotrovsky, Director General of the State Hermitage Museum, Professor and Doctor of Historical Sciences Karl Baipakov, Academician of the National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Dr. Robert Bracey, Head of the South and Central Asia Collections Section of the Department of Coins and Medals at the British Museum, Sergey Laptev, Special Researcher of the MIHO Museum (Sigaraki, Japan), Sali Shahsivari, Managing Director of the British Foundation Al-Furqan, Shirin Akiner Chairman of the Britain–Uzbekistan Society, Professor and Doctor of Historical Sciences Irina Popova, Director of the Institute of Oriental Manuscripts under the Russian Academy of Sciences, Elena Titova, Director of the All-Russian Museum of Decorative, Applied and Folk Art (Moscow), Honored Worker of Culture of the Russian Federation, Tobias Mericke, Director of the Department of Islamic Art at the Museum Arts and Crafts (Hamburg, Germany), Dr. Francis Richard, former Director of the Department of Islamic Art at the Louvre Museum (France), Pierre Leriche, Honorary Director for Research at the National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) (France) and others.
MISSION
The World Society promotes international cooperation between state and public organizations, researchers, experts, scholars, the media sphere and interested people in the field of preservation, study and popularization of the cultural legacy of Uzbekistan as an integral part of the world cultural heritage.

Firdavs Abdukhalikov, Chairman of the Board of the World Society for the Study, Preservation and Popularization of the Cultural Legacy of Uzbekistan,
and the staff of the World Society at the ceremonial closing of the 6th International Congress of the World Society.
OFFICIAL REGISTRATION
In 2018, at the 2nd International Congress held in St. Petersburg, the creation of the World Society for the Study, Preservation, and Popularization of the Cultural Legacy of Uzbekistan was officially announced.
In August 2019, the World Society received official registration in France, in Paris.
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Certificate for official registration of the World Society for the Study, Preservation, and Popularization of the Cultural Legacy of Uzbekistan in Paris, 2018.
World practice has not yet known such a large-scale phenomenon, when scholars from all over the world united to study the cultural and historical heritage of one country.
STATE SUPPORT
President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev and the Government of the country have adopted more than a dozen resolutions aimed at preserving and studying the cultural heritage of Uzbekistan.
In his address to scholars studying the cultural and historical heritage of Uzbekistan - participants of the 3rd International Congress of the World Society, held in Samarkand in August 2019, the Head of state noted: "The scale of the planned projects aimed at education and enlightenment is huge. Their fulfillment is not only a matter of honor for us, but also the main vector determining the future of Uzbekistan. After all, it is enlightenment and education that lead to peace and creation."
At this congress, scholars appealed to the head of Uzbekistan with a request to print books-albums prepared within the framework of the Project as textbooks for schools and universities in the republic and provide them to libraries in Uzbekistan and the world. The proposal was supported at the highest level. Thus, the multi-volume series Cultural Legacy of Uzbekistan has been published and donated to educational institutions and museums and libraries across the world.
Participants of the 3rd International Congress of the World Society for the Study, Preservation, and Popularization of the Cultural Legacy of Uzbekistan appealing to the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev. The document is being read by Alexander Naimark, Professor at Hofstra University (USA), Pavel Lurie, Ph.D. in Philology, Head of the Central Asia, Caucasus and Crimea Section of the Oriental Department of the State Hermitage, Sergey Laptev, Special Researcher at the MIHO Museum (Japan), Francis Richard, ex-curator of the Oriental Department of the French National Library, Frederick Bressand, President of the Temurid Association (France), and Andrey Omelchenko, Ph.D. in History, Senior Researcher at the Central Asia, Caucasus and Crimea Section at the Oriental Department of the State Hermitage.
The World Society has held 6 International Congresses, and 13 foreign media events, organized a number of media festivals, established the Heritage for the Future Award, and revived the legendary Navoi Readings in St. Petersburg.
PUBLISHING ACTIVITIES
The following books have been published under the auspices of the World Society:
- 60 illustrated books-albums from the Cultural Legacy of Uzbekistan in the World Collections series telling about the masterpieces of Uzbek culture stored in world museums, libraries and private collections. Books-albums have been prepared about unique exhibits of Uzbek culture and art in world-renowned museums such as the Louvre, French National Library, Library of Congress, British Museum, Huda Bakhsh National Library in India, Topkapy Palace Museum Library, State Hermitage, Tretyakov Gallery, Miho Museum, Ethnographic Museum in Berlin and many others. More than 200 scholars and researchers from museums and libraries whose collections were published as part of the project have become the authors of the books;
- 19 books-albums from the Architectural Epigraphy of Uzbekistan series, in which orientalists decipher inscriptions on architectural monuments located in the capital and all regions of Uzbekistan;
- 6 gift editions. Among them are the album Kamoliddin Begzad Who Shamed Mani and Ceramics of Rishtan, the four-volume edition Masterpieces of Uzbekistan, On the Sides of the Aral Sea and the Amu. The Art of the Karakalpaks and the four-volume edition Ornament: Aesthetics, Magic, Meaning;
- 8 facsimiles of ancient and medieval manuscripts. Among them are facsimiles of ancient manuscripts Kattalangar Quran, Mirajnameh, Zafarnameh, Diwan by Hussein Baykara, Regulations of Temur, Rauzat-as-Safo – Garden of Purity, The Book of Fixed Stars by As-Sufi and others.
CONGRESSES
In 2017, the First International Congress "Cultural Legacy of Uzbekistan – a Path to Dialog between Peoples and Countries was held from May 15 to 16 in Tashkent and Samarkand.
Chairman of the World Society Firdavs Abdukhalikov presented the Roadmap of the society's work for the coming year and presented the first five volumes of illustrated books-albums Cultural Legacy of Uzbekistan in the World Collections. Their authors were Tigran Mkrtychev, Ekaterina Ermakova, Maria Filatova, Vera Myasina, Bakhtiyor Babajanov, Jangar Ilyasov, Kamola Akilova, Tatiana Zelyukina, Olga Polyanskaya, Tatiana Emelianenko, Elena Kubel, Elmira Gul, Olga Vasilyeva and many others.
More than 100 reports were presented at the Congress, in which scholars shared the latest achievements and discoveries in the field of the archaeology, numismatics, history and applied art of Uzbekistan.
Alexander Naimark, Professor, Director of the Middle East and Central Asia Program at Hofstra University (New York, USA), Sergey Laptev, Special Researcher at the MIHO Museum (Japan), Pierre Lerish, Honorary Director for Research at the National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) and other took part in the solemn ceremony of reading the Resolution of the Congress.
In June 2018, the 2nd International Congress "Cultural Legacy of Uzbekistan – a Path to Dialog between Peoples and Countries" was held. It brought together more than 350 participants from 40 countries – heads and workers of research and cultural institutions, state and public organizations, representatives of the diplomatic corps and experts. Within the framework of the 2nd Congress, five academic sections and the presentation of 15 volumes of book-albums from the Cultural Legacy of Uzbekistan in the World Collections series were held.
Chairman of the World Society Firdavs Abdukhalikov presented a roadmap for new projects by the society and also documentaries shot by journalist Shakhnoza Ganieva in museums in Germany, the State Museum of the History of Religions, State Hermitage Museum, State Museum of Arts of Uzbekistan, as well as museums in Spain, Canada and the USA.
Researchers such as Svetlana Zhurkina, Deputy Chairman of the Committee for External Relations of St. Petersburg, Krista Pikkat, Director of the UNESCO Cluster Bureau (Central Asia), Roik Bahodirov, Director of the Center for Research of Cultural Values of Uzbekistan Located Abroad under the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Uzbekistan, Elena Titova, Director of the All-Russian Museum of Decorative, Applied and Folk Art (Moscow), Tigran Mkrtychev, Director of the I. V. Savitsky Museum in Nukus, Vladimir Grusman, Director of the Russian Ethnographic Museum, Andrey Golovnev, Director of the Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography named after Peter the Great (Kunstkamera), Russian Academy of Sciences, Zhannat Ismailova, Director of the Museum of the History of the Temurids, Vasila Fayzieva, Director of the State Museum of Arts of Uzbekistan, Svetlana Frolova, Head of the Directorate of museums under Kazan Federal University, Sergey Laptev, Special Researcher at the MIHO Museum (Sigaraki, Japan), Sali Shahsivari, Managing Director of the Al-Furqan Foundation (Islamic Heritage Foundation) and many others delivered their reports.
On August 22-23, the 3rd International Congress of the World Society for the Study, Preservation and Popularization of the Cultural Legacy of Uzbekistan and the Heritage Week "Uzbekistan – the Intersection of Great Roads and Civilizations: Empires, Religions, Cultures" were held. The events were held in Samarkand under the auspices of UNESCO with the participation of Director General Audrey Azoulay, who took part in the opening of the Bagishamal Garden Tourist Park, imitating one of the gardens of Amir Timur.

UNESCO CEO Audrey Azoulay at the closing ceremony of the 3rd International Congress of the World Society

UNESCO CEO Audrey Azoulay, Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Uzbekistan Aziz Abdukhakimov, and Chairman of the Board of the World Society Firdavs Abdukhalikov at the opening of the Bagishamal Garden Tourist Park, 2019
More than 300 orientalists, UNESCO experts, representatives of the Government of Uzbekistan, foreign and national media took part in the Congress and Heritage Week. The event was attended by scholars such as Shaesta Bedar, Director of the Huda Baksha Oriental Library, Kathleen Gobel, Director of CULTUR-COOPERATION INTERNATIONAL e.V.
Sali Shahsivari, Managing Director of the Al-Furqan Foundation (Islamic Heritage Foundation), Frederick Starr, Chairman of and expert from the Central Asia-Caucasus Institute (USA), Frederick Bressand, Founder and President of the Timurid Association (Paris, France), Charlotte Kramer and Alexander Wilhelm, President and Vice President of Mueller & Schindler Publishers, respectively, Eiza Yusif, Director of the Department of Archaeology and Material Heritage, Chairman of the World Heritage Committee for the Cultural Landscape of the Central Region, Irina Popova, Director of the Institute of Oriental Manuscripts under the Russian Academy of Sciences, Francis Richard, ex-Director of the Louvre, Pierre Lerish, Honorary Research Director for the National Center for Scientific Research – CNRS (Paris, France), Alexander Naimark, Professor, Director of the Middle East and Central Asian Program at Hofstra University (New York, USA) and many others. Chairman of the World Society Firdavs Abdukhalikov presented a report on the activities of the society over the past year and shared plans for the future.

Participants of the 3rd International Congress of the World Society for the Study, Preservation and Popularization of the Cultural Legacy of Uzbekistan and the Heritage Week "Uzbekistan – the Intersection of Great Roads and Civilizations: Empires, Religions, Cultures", Samarkand, August 22-23.
In 2020, the 4th International Congress "Cultural Legacy of Uzbekistan — the Foundation of a New Renaissance" and the Cultural Heritage Week were held. The Congress approved the Roadmap for the work of the World Society until 2025. It was presented by the Chairman of the World Society Firdavs Abdukhalikov.
In September 2021, within the framework of the international cultural forum "Central Asia at the Crossroads of World Civilizations" initiated by the President of Uzbekistan with the support of UNESCO, the Cultural Heritage Week and the 5th Congress of the World Society "Cultural Legacy of Uzbekistan – the Foundation of a New Renaissance" were held in Uzbekistan.
The events took place in three cities – Tashkent, Khiva and Nukus. About ten unique exhibitions were prepared for the Congress, each of which was organized as part of the presentation of 40 new books-albums from the Cultural Legacy of Uzbekistan in the World Collections series.
Plenary sessions of the 5th Congress of the World Society for the Study, Preservation and Popularization of the Cultural Legacy of Uzbekistan and Cultural Heritage Week
One of the main partners of this event was Aziz Abdukhakimov, Head of the Complex on Education, Health, Physical Culture, Sports and Tourism (2018-2022), Rector of the Silk Road International University of Tourism.
Speakers at the congress were Mark Tutan, Researcher at the National Center for Scientific Research - CNRS, Frederick Bressand, Founder and President of the Timurid Association, Larisa Kulakova, Researcher at the State Hermitage Museum, Shirin Melikova, Director of the Azerbaijan National Carpet Museum, Benedict Peri, Director of the Institute of Oriental Studies at Etves Lorand University, Jamie Comstock-Skipp, representative of the Trustee Center for the Study of India and Iran, Giovanni Francesco Malafarina, Director of Alumina. Pagine Miniate magazine, Michael Jung, Curator of the Islamic Department and the Department of Antiquities at the Museum of Civilizations - Museum of Oriental Art, Komal Pande, researcher at the National Museum of India and many others.

Plenary session of the 5th International Congress of the World Society "Cultural Legacy of Uzbekistan – the Foundation of a New Renaissance" in Tashkent, 2021 At the presidium, left to right: Chandler Shekhar, Director of the Cultural Center of India in Uzbekistan, Irina Popova, Director of the Institute of Oriental Manuscripts under the Russian Academy of Sciences, Firdavs Abdukhalikov, Chairman of the Board of the World Society, Akmal Saidov, Academician at the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Uzbekistan, head of the editorial Board of the project Cultural Legacy of Uzbekistan in the World Collections, Sadik Safayev, First Deputy Chairman of the Senate of the Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan, Lukas Milos, PROUNION a.s Technical Director, Charlotte Kramer, Director of Mueller&Schindler Publishing House, Alexander Wilhelm, Vice President for International Marketing and Business Development at Mueller&Schindler Publishing House.
In July 2022, the 6th International Congress of the World Society Cultural Legacy of Uzbekistan - the Foundation of a New Renaissance will take place in Uzbekistan.
The congress was attended by more than 250 leading orientalists from 40 countries – 33 directors of famous international museums, 15 directors of national museums, more than 15 academicians, more than 20 professors and more than 20 doctors.
Among the participants were Sara Noshadi, head of the UNESCO Representative Office in Uzbekistan, Sali Shahsivari, Executive Director of the Al-Furqan Islamic Heritage Foundation, Frederick Starr, Chairman of the Central Asia-Caucasus Institute, Muzaffer Sheker, President of the Turkish Academy of Sciences, Mahmoud Erol Kilic, Director General of the Research Center for Islamic History, Art and Culture, Murat Dzhumatayev, President of the National Academy of Sciences of Kyrgyzstan, Charlotte Kramer, President of Mueller&Schindler publishing house, Julio Blasco, Secretary General of UNESCO ICCN, Kerimli Temur Hashim oglu, Director General of the Institute of Manuscripts named after Muhammad Fuzuli, Gilad Levian, Director General of the Museum of Islamic Art, Shaesta Bedar, Director of the Huda Bakhsh Library, Bilel Shebbi, Expert on Culture and Communications, ICESCO, Heba Nayel Barakat, Chief Curator of the Museum of Islamic Art, Joe King, Senior Director of the General Office, ICCROM representative, and others.
The Congress was also attended in an online format by the Rector of the Silk Road International Institute of Tourism Aziz Abdukhakimov, Director General of ICESCO Dr. Abidin Zin, Director General of the Russian State Library Vadim Duda, as well as UNESCO Deputy Director General for Culture Ernesto Renato Ottone Ramirez.

Video message to the Congress by Ernesto Renato Ottone Ramirez, UNESCO Deputy Director General for Culture, at the Plenary session of the 6th International Congress of the World Society "Cultural Legacy of Uzbekistan – the Foundation of a New Renaissance", Samarkand, July 22-24, 2022. At the Presidium, left to right: Charlotte Kramer, Director of Mueller& Schindler Publishing House, Irina Popova, Director of the Institute of Oriental Manuscripts under the Russian Academy of Sciences, Sali Shahsivari, Managing Director, Al-Furqan Islamic Heritage Foundation, Sarah Noshadi, Head of the UNESCO Representative Office in Tashkent, Frederick Starr, Chairman, Expert, Central Asia-Caucasus Institute (USA), Muzaffer Sheker, President of the Turkish Academy of Sciences, Firdavs Abdukhalikov, Chairman of the Board of the World Society, Bahrom Abdukhalimov, Vice-President of the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Uzbekistan, Murat Dzhumatayev, President of the Academy of Sciences of the Kyrgyz Republic.
Also, within the framework of the Congress, the Chairman of the World Society Firdavs Abdukhalikov presented new publications, On the Sides of the Aral Sea and the Amu. The Art of the Karakalpaks and Ornament: Aesthetics, Magic, Meaning.
MEDIA EVENTS AND FORUMS
Throughout its activity period, the World Society has held about 20 international media events in Uzbekistan and abroad, the purpose of which was to demonstrate and popularize the cultural heritage of Uzbekistan around the world, establish cooperation with scholars and organizations for further study of the cultural heritage of Uzbekistan in world collections. So, from 2018 to 2022, media events and round tables were held in Tashkent, India, France, USA, Poland, Czech Republic, Japan, UK, Germany.
Among them was the round table "Cultural Legacy of Uzbekistan in the Collections of the Russian Federation", which was held at the All–Russian Museum of Decorative, Applied and Folk Art on September 13, 2017. The round table featured about 200 prominent scholars, directors of Russian museums and libraries, as well as the Minister of Culture of the Republic of Uzbekistan (2017-2020) Bakhtiyor Sayfullayev, Chairman of the World Society Firdavs Abdukhalikov, Doctor of Art History Kamola Akilova, Honored Worker of Culture of the Russian Federation, Director of the All-Russian Museum of Decorative, Applied and Folk Art Elena Titova and others.
In November 2017, Tashkent hosted the International Media Forum "The Crossroads of Times: the Great Legacy of the Past – the Foundation for an Enlightened Future". The forum featured the presentation of a new series by the project, Masterpieces of Written Monuments in the East, authored by Firdavs Abdukhalikov. Within the framework of the media forum, scholars such as Doctor of Historical Sciences, Professor Edward Rtveladze, Vice-President of the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Uzbekistan Bahrom Abdukhalimov, Doctor of Art History Kamola Akilova, Vice-President of the publishing house Mueller& Schindler Publishers Alexander Wilhelm, and Director of the Institute of Manuscripts under the Russian Academy of Sciences Irina Popova read their reports.
On March 16, 2018, the international media forum “Road map” of the project Cultural Legacy of Uzbekistan in the World Collections for 2018 was held in the Media Hall of NAEMM.
On April 15-20, 2018, the international round table Cultural Legacy of Uzbekistan in the Collections of Great Britain was held in London. Within the framework of the event, Chairman of the World Society Firdavs Abdukhalikov and Ambassador of Uzbekistan to the UK Sardor Rustamov donated a 10-volume collection of books-albums from the Cultural Legacy of Uzbekistan in the World Collections series to 10 major libraries and museums in the UK on behalf of the society.
The round table featured the representative of the House of Lords of the British Government Lord Iltaf Sheikh, Managing Director of the Al-Furqan Islamic Heritage Foundation Sali Shahsivari, Director for Research at the Cambridge Center for Persian Studies Firyuza Melville, Senior Researcher at London School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) (UK) Shirin Akiner, Director of the Department of the Turkish and Turkic collections of the British Library Michael Erdman, President of the Islamic Manuscript Association, Vice-President of the British Institute of Persian Studies and Director of the Cambridge Shahnameh Project Charles Melville, Director of the Oxford Center for Islamic Studies Farhan Ahmad Nizami and others.
On September 25, 2018, a media event dedicated to cultural and educational cooperation between the peoples of Uzbekistan and India was held in Delhi. The event was held on the eve of the state visit of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev to this country. The event was attended by First Deputy Chairman of the Senate of the Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan S.Safoev, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Uzbekistan to India F.Arziyev, Deputy Minister of Culture of India A.Goel, Director of the National Museum of India B.Mani, researcher at the National Museum of India Katibur Rahman and others.
On October 5, on the eve of the official visit of the President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev to the French Republic, the media event Cultural Legacy as a Bridge between Uzbekistan and France was held in Paris, which brought together more than 60 world-famous scholars and orientalists from France and other countries. Speaker on behalf of UNESCO was Deputy Director General for Culture Ernesto Renato Ottone Ramirez, on behalf of Uzbekistan - First Deputy of the Senate of the Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan Sodyk Safayev and Chairman of the World Society Firdavs Abdukhalikov.
The round table was attended by Associate researcher of the Paris 1 Pantheon-Sorbonne University, specialist in the field of Islamic archaeology Sterenne Le Mager-Guyon, Doctor at Paris 1 Pantheon-Sorbonne University, Director of the French-Uzbek Archaeological Expedition in Northern Bactria Segolene de Ponbriand, Director for Research at the National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS), EHESS Claude Ropin, Doctor, Researcher at the National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) Marc Tutan, Professor, Head of the Uzbek-French archaeological expedition in Sogdiana Franz Grenet, Doctor of Archaeology, Researcher Rocco Rante, Doctor, Director of the Department of Islamic Art, the Louvre, Yannick Linz and others. Multi-volume editions by the World Society were donated to 20 major museums and libraries in Paris.
On December 10, the State Museum of the History of the Temurids in Tashkent hosted the grand opening of the permanent exhibition of the project Cultural Legacy of Uzbekistan in the World Collections and the International Forum "Project Cultural Legacy of Uzbekistan in the World Collections". Results of 2018. Roadmap for 2019.
On January 15, 2019, the International Research and Cultural Forum "The Legacy of the Great Silk Road as a Bridge between Uzbekistan and Germany" was held in Berlin. The event was timed to coincide with the official visit of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev to the Federal Republic of Germany. The media event was attended by First Deputy of the Senate of the Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan Sodyk Safayev, Chairman of the World Society Firdavs Abdukhalikov, Regional Representative of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation for Central Asia Dr. Thomas Kunze and President of the Landtag of Saxony Dr. Matthias Ressler, Deputy Director of the Museum of Islamic Art in Berlin Dr. Ute Franke, curator of collections in North Africa Ingrid Schindlebeck, researcher at the Central Asia Department of the Berlin State Library Aisima Mirsultan, researcher at the Museum of Arts and Crafts in Hamburg Nora von Achenbach and many others.
A gala evening "Uzbekistan - the heart of the Great Silk Road" was held as part of the media forum. 150 participants and guests of the evening, including politicians, scholars, and representatives of the German mass media, Were given the results of Uzbek-German cooperation in the field of culture and art. Books from the Cultural Legacy of Uzbekistan in the World Collections series were donated to 25 major German museums and libraries.
On February 8, at the 100th anniversary of the State Museum of Art, the chairman of the World Society Firdavs Abdukhalikov presented the book-album Collection of the State Museum of Arts of Uzbekistan, published as part of the project Cultural Legacy of Uzbekistan in the World Collections.
On April 18, with the participation of the Chairman of the World Society, the media event "New Uzbekistan. Unique Cultural Initiatives", dedicated to the celebration of the 28th anniversary of the independence of the Republic of Uzbekistan, was held at the famous Travellers Club in London. The event brought together more than 60 leading British scholars studying the cultural heritage of Uzbekistan. Among them were Director of the Fitzwilliam Museum Luke Syson, Representative of the Trustee Center for the Study of India and Iran Jamie Comstock-Skipp, Coordinator for International Initiatives at the V&A Museum Evgenia Ravtsova, Curator of Islamic Art at the Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology Francesca Leoni, Doctor of the Institute of Archaeology Milyana Radivojevich and others.
On September 17, the media event "New Uzbekistan: Unique Cultural Initiatives" was held in London and featured the presentation of two new books by the project Cultural Legacy of Uzbekistan in the World Collections: Sogdian Numismatics in the Collection of the British Museum and Central Asian Art in the Collections of the University of Cambridge.
From September 19 to 27, a number of media events were held under the general title "New Uzbekistan: Unique cultural initiatives" in Paris, Warsaw, Prague and the USA. They were attended by members of the World Society who are the authors of the series of books Cultural Legacy of Uzbekistan in the World Collections – Coordinator for the USA and Canada Irina Bogoslovskaya, Chairman of and expert at the Central Asia-Caucasus Institute (USA) Frederick Starr, Head of the Department of Cultural Programs and Communications at the Museum of Asia and the Pacific in Warsaw Carolina Krzywisska and many others.
In December, more than 70 outstanding scholars and orientalists from Japan met at the international research conference "Uzbekistan and Japan on the Great Silk Road", which opened in the capital of the country of the rising sun.
Participants of the international conference "Uzbekistan and Japan on the Great Silk Road" acquainting themselves with the World Society's publication Cultural Legacy of Central Asia in Museums of Japan, December 16, 2019
The conference was attended by the Director of the Institute (National Center) for Human Rights of the Republic of Uzbekistan, Academician at the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Uzbekistan, Doctor of Law, Professor Akmal Saidov, special researcher of the MIHO Museum (Shigaraki, Japan) Sergey Laptev, Former Deputy Director of the Archaeological Museum of the Nara Prefectural Archaeological Institute (Kashihara, Nara Prefecture) Kinoshita Wataru, Honorary Director, Shosoin Treasury, Office of the Imperial Court of Japan Eneda Yusuke, Honorary Professor at the Department of Archaeology of Kanazawa University, Japan, Sasaki Tatsuo, Chief Curator of Hiroshima Prefectural Museum Fukuda-Sidikki Hiroko, Academician of the Academy of Arts of Uzbekistan Sh. Yusupov.
Visiting the MIHO Museum, Tokyo, within the framework of the International Academic Conference "Uzbekistan and Japan on the Great Silk Road", December 16, 2019
On October 22, 2021, at the international media hall, the Chairman of the World Society Firdavs Abdukhalikov presented the project Cultural Legacy of Uzbekistan in the World Collections to foreign observers and experts who arrived for the presidential elections in the Republic of Uzbekistan.
The honorary guests of the event were representatives of the diplomatic corps, international observers, researchers, representatives of metropolitan and regional museums and institutes, journalists, and bloggers.
In December 2022, Navoi readings were held in St. Petersburg on the occasion of the 580th anniversary of the founder of Uzbek literature and the 80th anniversary of the celebration of his anniversary in besieged Leningrad. The idea of reviving the legendary readings belongs to Firdavs Abdukhalikov.
The organizers were the World Society for the Study, Preservation and Popularization of the Cultural Legacy of Uzbekistan, the State Hermitage Museum, and the Institute of Oriental Manuscripts of the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS) in St. Petersburg. Mikhail Piotrovsky, Director of the State Hermitage Museum, and Irina Popova, Director of the Institute of Oriental Manuscripts under the Russian Academy of Sciences, made their reports.
The Chairman of the World Society also initiated the Heritage for the Future Award, established by the World Society for the Study, Preservation, and Popularization of the Cultural Heritage of Uzbekistan. Laureates of the first national award were Hero of Uzbekistan, outstanding translator and writer Ibrahim Gafurov, People's Artist of Uzbekistan Bobur Ismailov, Academician at the Academy of Arts of Uzbekistan, Doctor of Art History Akhmedova Nigora, and many others. The award was organized with the support of the oilfield services company Eriell Group and its head Bakhtiyor Fazylov and was awarded in 7 nominations.
On December 16, an exhibition of publications Cultural Legacy of Uzbekistan in the World Collections was held at the Presidential Library of Belarus in Minsk. The exhibition featured illustrated editions of the Cultural Legacy of Uzbekistan in the World Collections, books-albums, examples of decorative and applied art of the Uzbek people, and copies of miniatures of rare handwritten works of medieval scholars and thinkers of Central Asia.
Participants of an exhibition of books-albums Cultural Legacy of Uzbekistan in the World Collections, December 16, 2021
In December 2022, the World Society for the Study, Preservation and Popularization of the Cultural Legacy of Uzbekistan together with the Alisher Navoi National Library of Uzbekistan initiated a humanitarian event dedicated to the topic "A good book is a basis for quality education". In total, more than 10,000 books were donated. The event was attended by the Director of the National Library of Uzbekistan Umida Teshaboeva, Doctor of Philology, Rector of the Tashkent State University of Uzbek Language and Literature named after Alisher Navoi Shukhrat Sirozhiddinov, researcher at the Bukhara State Museum-Reserve Sherali Juraev, Chairman of the Republican Tajik National Cultural Center of Uzbekistan Gulandom Subkhanova and many others.
On March 3, 2023, the Museum of Applied Arts of Uzbekistan hosted an exhibition of 30 volumes of books-albums from the Cultural Legacy of Uzbekistan in the World Collections series and two volumes of the series Cultural Legacy of Uzbekistan in the World Collections titled Traditional Uzbek Costume Based on the Materials of Museum and Private Collections in Uzbekistan. First Deputy Chairman of the Senate of the Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan Sadyk Safayev, director of the State Museum of Handicrafts and Folk Applied Arts, author of two volumes from the Cultural Legacy of Uzbekistan in the World Collections series, Vice-rector of the Tashkent Institute of Light and Textile Industry Khalida Kamilova and others made their reports.
On April 10-11, 2023, a delegation from the World Society for the Study, Preservation and Popularization of the Cultural Legacy of Uzbekistan took part in the Second International Academic Conference "Handwritten Heritage of the East" in St. Petersburg. The event was organized jointly and with the support of the Institute of Oriental Manuscripts of the Russian Academy of Sciences and personally its director Irina Popova, as well as a number of orientalists from Russia, China, Uzbekistan. The conference featured a report by Firdavs Abdukhalikov on a remarkable monument of medieval literature written by one of the prominent representatives of the Temurid dynasty, the ruler of Khorasan Sultan Hussein Baykara.
On May 13-14, the gift album Ceramics of Rishtan was presented in Rishtan within the framework of the traditional forum "Crafts of the Turkic Peoples".
ONGOING PROJECTS
- 114 Qurans. One of the most ambitious projects by the World Society related to the topic of Islam that has no analogues in the world. It consists in searching the world for the most beautiful handwritten Quranic scrolls related to our region, but now stored in different countries of the world. It will feature exactly 114 manuscripts - according to the number of surahs in the Quran.
The partner of the project is the Austrian publishing house Mueller & Schindler Publishers, represented by its President Charlotte Kramer and Vice President Alexander Wilhelm;
- 100 Outstanding Handwritten Masterpieces from Uzbekistan For the first time, the facsimile edition will include examples of the best manuscripts made in different historical periods. The research team of the World Society devoted several years to a program for the identification of manuscripts related to the culture of Uzbekistan. More than 100 of the most iconic and outstanding manuscripts were selected from thousands of handwritten works. These are works by scholars Abu Ali ibn Sina, Beruni and al-Khorezmi, manuscripts by historians Sharafiddin ali Yazdi, Mirkhond and Khondamir, outstanding religious texts by Imam al-Bukhari, Naqshbandi, Termizi and Maturidi, literary masterpieces by Nahshabi, Alisher Navoi and Babur;
- Mahallas of Uzbekistan. The project plans to publish a series of books-albums. Each book dedicated to a specific geographical location will capture the specificities of this unique public institution, with both traditional Uzbek mahallas and Jewish quarters presented. The project is supported by Frederick Starr, a member of the World Society, Founder and Chairman of the Central Asia-Caucasus Institute (CACI) at the US Foreign Policy Council. For the next two years, work is planned in three locations: the mahallas of Tashkent, the mahallas of Samarkand, the Jewish quarters and traditional mahallas of Bukhara;
- Map of archaeological sites in Uzbekistan. This project is a multi-volume fundamental illustrated catalog in Russian, Uzbek and English, which will represent the widest range of archaeological monuments in Uzbekistan. The project to map archaeological sites will coordinate the actions of different research groups, combine the collected information into a single database and publish it in the format of books-albums from the Catalog of Archaeological Monuments of Uzbekistan series;
- Catalogue of Architectural Monuments of Uzbekistan. The aim of the project is to create a multi-volume fundamental work in the form of a catalog, which would include a complete list of architectural monuments in Uzbekistan, and to popularize this architectural heritage among the broad public. For specialists, the catalog can serve as an excellent reference, and for students of specialized institutes it will be interesting as a textbook;
- Cartography of Uzbekistan. The main purpose of the publication is to reconstruct the history of the creation of a cartographic image of the Central Asian region both at the level of cartographic terminology and in relation to changing cartographic schemes. The project partner is Svetlana Gorshenina, Doctor of Historical Sciences, art historian for Central Asia, Associate researcher at the Center for Archaeological Research, ENS-CNRS (France);
- 3D Installation of Ancient Cities. It all started with an experimental project and a joint initiative by the World Society headed by Firdavs Abdukhalikov and Global Digital Heritage (USA) headed by Herbert Mashner. A joint technical team of specialists from the USA and Uzbekistan conducted a business trip and took 73,000 photos and made 1,321 laser scans in 12 days in Samarkand alone! The specialists scanned the Bibi-Khonum mosque, Gur Emir mausoleum and the crypt located under it, and the massive statues of Amir Temur in Samarkand, Shakhrisabz and Tashkent. In Shakhrisabz they worked on the memorial complex of Amir Temur and the Ak-Sarai Palace. The team spent four days in Registan, and was mainly engaged in external scanning of the museum, mosque and some other objects. Today, the 3D Printing department of the World Society creates models of the best architectural monuments of Uzbekistan. Models of the Miri Arab madrasah and the ancient Ark citadel in Bukhara, the monument to Amir Temur in Tashkent, the Ichan-Kala historical center of Khiva, the Registan Square in Samarkand and many others have already been created with filigree accuracy;
- 3D-mapping light and music show on Registan Square, which was first demonstrated during the First Congress of the World Society.
The creative group was represented by the giants of their time: the show was directed by Bahodyr Yuldashev, an Uzbek theater and cinema actor, Honored Artist, People's Artist of Uzbekistan; the research consultant were Edward Rtveladze, academician of the Academies of Sciences of Uzbekistan and Georgia, and Akbar Khakimov, academician of the Academy of Sciences and Academy of Arts of Uzbekistan; the project coordinator was Anvar Yuldashev. The most challenging technological task was implemented by the German company Adhoc, with the participation of film director Thomas Muller and specialist in mapping technologies Helge Schafer. The main characteristic feature of the world's only permanent light and music show in 3D format, Cultural Legacy of Uzbekistan – the Legacy of All Mankind, was that it was based on real historical facts and events;
AWARDS AND ACHIEVEMENTS
On November 10, the international prize – the Avicenna Prize PRIX INTERNATIONAL AVICENNE 2019, was awarded in Paris. Chairman of the Board of the World Society for the Study, Preservation, and Popularization of the Cultural Legacy of Uzbekistan Firdavs Abdukhalikov received an international prize for achievements in the field of education and enlightenment. With the support of the Embassy of Uzbekistan in France and the Ambassador of the Republic of Uzbekistan to France Sardor Rustambayev, the President of the Medical Academy of France Tran Ba Hui, President of the Avicenna–France Association Marc Bonnel, Dean of the Faculty of Medicine Montpellier Michel Monden, Doctor, Islamic scholar and researcher of Avicenna Galeb Bensheikh took part in this event.

Awarding the PRIX INTERNATIONAL AVICENNE to Firdavs Abdukhalikov, Chairman of the Board of the World Society. Paris, November 10, 2019
On December 25, the Parliamentary Commission for the Management of the Public Fund for the Support of NGOs and Other Civil Society Institutions under the Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan named the project Cultural Legacy of Uzbekistan in the World Collections "Project of the Year". The award was given by the Director of the National Center for Human Rights of the Republic of Uzbekistan, Academician of the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Uzbekistan, Doctor of Law, Chairman of the editorial board of the project Cultural Legacy of Uzbekistan in the World Collections, Professor Akmal Saidov.

Cultural Legacy of Uzbekistan in the World Collections proclaimed "project of the year", December 25, 2019. Left to right: Firdavs Abdukhalikov, Chairman of the Board of the World Society, Edward Rtveladze, research manager for the project Cultural Legacy of Uzbekistan in the World Collections, Elmira Gul, research coordinator for the project Cultural Legacy of Uzbekistan in the World Collections, Ekaterina Soboleva, coordinator for the project Cultural Legacy of Uzbekistan in the World Collections, Sergey Laptev, special researcher at the MIHO Museum, Saidaskar Hashimov, head of the branch of the World Society, and the project team
On November 9, in Paris, the World Society for the Study, Preservation, and Popularization of the Cultural Legacy of Uzbekistan, with the support of the Embassy of the Republic of Uzbekistan in France, installed a bronze bust of Avicenna in the throne room of the Board of Directors of the Medical Academy of France. Among the awardees was the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the World Society for the Study, Preservation, and Popularization of the Cultural Legacy of Uzbekistan Bakhtiyor Fazylov. The awards were distributed by the President of the Medical Academy of France, Mr. Tran Ba Hui. The ceremony was also attended by Ambassador of the Republic of Uzbekistan to France Sardor Rustambayev, Professor of the University of Paris Joel Chandillier, Islamic scholar, expert from the National Center for Scientific Research of France Karim Ifrak, President of AVICENNE-France, Executive Secretary of the award Marc Bonnel.
The World Society was awarded in the first-degree nomination at the Tashkent International Book Exhibition "Tashkent Book Fest" as "the best art and decorative publication" for the book The Works of Alisher Navoi in the Masterpieces of Literary Art in the 15th and 16th Centuries.
On April 7, the World Society for the Study, Preservation, and Popularization of the Cultural Legacy of Uzbekistan presented its publications at the 2nd International Exhibition-Fair "The Book as the Key to Perfection" at the Center of Islamic Civilization of Uzbekistan. At the exhibition, the World Society presented 74 books-albums, which reflect the richest history of Uzbekistan and the most beautiful objects of art. The project was awarded "for the contribution to the popularization of reading and the implementation of the national idea 'Kitobsevar Millat' (a nation that loves a book)".