October 6, 2014
Three parties present papers to CEC to participate in parliamentary elections. 2
Academic year starts in Inha University in Tashkent2
Online Journalism: A Virtual Media Reality. 2
99th session of the Executive Council of the United Nations World Tourism Organization.. 5
Samarkand Hosts World Tourism Forum.. 5
Tourism Prospects on the Great Silk Road. 8
elections to the oliy majlis of the republic of uzbekistan and local Kengashes of people’s deputies
Three parties present papers to CEC to participate in parliamentary elections
Social-democratic party of Uzbekistan “Adolat”, Democratic Party of Uzbekistan “Milliy Tiklanish” and Liberal-Democratic Party of Uzbekistan submitted necessary papers to participation in parliamentary elections to the Central Election Commission (CEC), the press service of the CEC said.
The parties should submit an application to participate in the elections, a certificate of the Ministry of Justice on registration the party and signature sheets.
Each party should collect at least 40,000 signatures of the voters, who support participation of the party in elections. At the same time, number of signatures, collected in one administrative-territorial formation of the country, should not exceed 8% from required number.
After submission of necessary papers, the CEC will inspect the documents and signature sheets along with representatives of public organizations, specialists of interior affairs, justice bodies and others.
Authorized representatives of each political party can participate in inspection process of correctness of signature sheets.
After consideration of correctness of papers, the CEC will adopt a final decision on admission of the party to participation in elections.
(Source: UzDaily.uz)
International cooperation
Academic year starts in Inha University in Tashkent
A ceremony of start of academic year and opening of Inha University in Tashkent was held on 2 October 2014.
Deputy Prime Minister of Uzbekistan Adham Ikramo, President of Inha University (South Korea) Choonbae Park, Chairperson of the State Communication Committee of Uzbekistan Hurshid Mirzahidov, management of Inha University in Tashkent, teachers and 112 students participated in the event, the press service of the State Communication Committee said.
President of Inha University Choonbae Park expressed gratitude to the President of Uzbekistan Islam Karimov for his attention to South Korean University. He said that it is great honour for the university. He expressed gratitude for reconstruction of the building of Inha University in Tashkent, which meets modern requirements.
During the event, Adham Ikramov and Choonbae Park handed over grant certificates to 10 students, who collected the highest points in entry exams, for free education.
After the event, the participants familiarized with the building of Inha University in Tashkent and conditions created for students – modern rooms, labs, information-resource centers, sport halls, educational rooms, etc.
Inha University in Tashkent was founded in line with the resolution of the President of Uzbekistan Islam Karimov from 24 March 2014. The decision was adopted to improve training of specialists in ICT sector.
(Source: UzDaily.uz)
Society
Online Journalism: A Virtual Media Reality
Internet journalism development trends in the spotlight of media community.
The focus group of the two-day national academic and practical workshop has been the enthusiastic youth and skilled experts of online journalism, lawmakers and IT specialists, as well as media workers.
What are the development trends of the domestic internet journalism like? What mechanisms can improve the quality and expand the range of online publications? How to catch the attention of the audience and ‘trick’ the search engine? What is the idea and mission of SEO and SMM technologies in the context of incessant promotion of the online offspring? These and many other questions have been highlighted at the scientific and practical workshop on the relevant issues of national online journalism development, organized by the Public Fund for the Support and Development of Independent Print Media and News Agencies of Uzbekistan jointly with the concerned parties, in accordance with the Decree of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan on additional measures for the implementation of youth policy in the Republic of Uzbekistan, signed February 6, 2014.
GADGETS OMNIPRESENT
From the very step in I am looking around the conference room in one of the capital’s hotels, the workshop’s venue. My look involuntarily follows the flashes of cameras, ubiquitous communicators, and about a dozen of gadgets for amplification, the right illumination, sound recordings and online broadcasts. Yet before the seminar’s start it was easy to realize that the event on online journalism is going to be held in both real and online modes. Internet journalists conventionally reported on the commencement of ‘open dialogue’ – first in the history of Uznet media space – between the representatives of traditional media and online outlets about the trends and prospects of online journalism.
Deemed as a platform for exchange of views on the national scale, the workshop has kicked off the implementation of new and creative ideas through generating recommendations of skilled experts and enthusiastic young people. The first, but not the last in the long term, the forum has brought together about two hundred actors of media space. Such an involvement of the younger and older generations meets the demand, which generates supply, as we know.
Today every average user spends at least two hours a day online, browsing news feed of media and social networks. For comparison, a week’s news feed of an ordinary news website equals to lifetime knowledge of a person who lived in the 18th century.
The popularity of online space is gaining momentum worldwide as much as people’s awareness of the benefits entailed by the development and expansion of advanced technologies and the internet. Brought by IT innovations, positive changes have covered the activities of government agencies and civil society institutions, economic and social sectors, science and education, culture and the way of life in general. Uzbekistan keeps abreast these processes through an active involvement in building the global information society. The long term socio-economic development strategy of Uzbekistan also focuses on the path towards information society and on the creation and implementation of prerequisites and conditions of its formation.
UZNET REALITIES
The rapidly developing global online journalism has been bolstering its positions in the media space of Uzbekistan. Both the target audience and the primary user of the online space, the younger generation plays a key role in the development processes.
As repeatedly emphasized by President Islam Karimov, in the globalization era the young people should have the knowledge and skills of modern means and methods of information exchange, information and communication technologies, and handle the basic tools of personal data protection, to be able to clearly sort out credible and objective information from the negative content.
“Today, Uzbekistan is taking integrated measures to ensure favorable conditions for the physical and spiritual development of young people. There are over a hundred legislative and other regulatory acts aimed at protecting the rights and interests of the future generation, including the laws on the basics of the national youth policy, the Education Act, the National Specialist Training Program, decrees and resolutions of the President and the Cabinet of Ministers, as well as national programs,” says Ekaterina Soboleva, chief specialist of the Public Fund for the Support and Development of Independent Print Media and News Agencies of Uzbekistan. “That is why the youth is the target audience of the workshop. The assistance to the future generation with navigating in the information environment and attracting young talents to the new format creation is the requirement of the time.”
With this in mind, over 150 ambitious and enthusiastic boys and girls, top bloggers and the leading online journalists debated and came up with proposals at the two-day seminar dedicated to an open dialogue between the beginners and experienced media workers to discuss the trends and prospects of national online journalism.
“The fact that the number of websites has been increasing since the domain UZ was registered on April 29, 1995, is a direct evidence of the rapidly growing popularity of online journalism. The 10,000th website was registered in February 2010, and by this September their number exceeded 18.3 thousand,” said Ibrohim Juraev, Director of the Center for Development and Implementation of Information and Computer Technologies at Uzinfocom. “It is the outcome of the rapid development of internet media industry. At the moment, over 300 online outlets offer information and analytical content daily to their users.”
Indicators as such have been achieved by Uzbekistan owing to the priority of liberalization and democratization of the information sector, the introduction of ICT into media companies and channels.
In such a tandem, step by step, IT technologies, the media market and enthusiastic young people are building the current image of Uzbekistan in the world wide web, taking new bars of disseminating information, and augmenting this segment of the media among the audience.
So dynamic an evolution of the most innovative area of journalism would have been impossible without a robust normative foundation that would aptly regulate the mechanism of the media operation in general and the development of innovations in particular. The youth needs the platform of this scale to make their creative ideas true, and exchange views on the problems of development of domestic web resources and ways of their solution.
ONLINE STARTUP AS AN OPPORTUNITY TO MAKE A NAME
“Find an idea for which you are willing to work for 24 hours a day,” suggests Editor-in-Chief of information-analytical portal Uz24.uz Abror Ismailov to the recruits in online journalism, and bloggers.
It is senseless to talk about any success formula if an author of a project is not addict to this idea in the online or offline world. The idea unanimously ran through all speeches by practicing online journalists successfully running projects of their own in the web. Students of corresponding departments of the National University of Uzbekistan and the Uzbek State World Languages University watched keenly the yesterday’s graduates tell passionately about their projects, asked, shared their impressions, received advice, presented their works in this field. Thus, the workshop was also a creative laboratory for young journalists and practitioners.
Two hours of interactivity with representatives of the leading national online outlets proved as a grand opportunity for the young people not only to acquire new information, but also offer their own vision of successful practices.
“In between the reports we presented our project, infografika.uz, which is aimed at the business sector, young entrepreneurs and players of the economic sector. We were delighted to see the interest it has aroused both among fellow students, and practitioners. The work in internet portals and online news agencies today is equal to the work of traditional media,” Jamshid Kholikulov, journalism student at the National University of Uzbekistan, has shared his impressions.
Experts’ reports briefly summarized the current theoretical concepts of genre identity in the internet, the ways of presentation of audio and visual information, methods and techniques of influencing the online audience.
During interactions in sections, young people and experienced practitioners talked about the relevance of professional filling the online space with quality, analytical and impartial content taking into account the canons of journalism, the experience and traditions of the country, and the needs of the audience.
WHAT DO BLOGGERS WRITE ABOUT?
The participation of bloggers, the so-called ‘civil journalists’ in an event of national scale is another novelty that has stirred up the local segment of social networking. Today the whole world is arguing about the prospects of this segment of online space, and the role of bloggers in the media arena. Perhaps the most complicated issue in the global media space is so popular and relevant that representatives of the traditional professional journalism and bloggers, with evident satisfaction and heated arguments and without a drop of doubt, argue that in fact the specifics of the operation of both directions is conceptually different just like the consumer sectors of information goods produced by bloggers and the mass media.
Many image realities of the domestic and international web segment are shaped both by online journalism and the blogosphere. During the seminar, renowned bloggers shared their secrets of successful attraction of public attention and presented the concept of their blogs.
The analysis of trends of civil journalism and the blogosphere, as well as the impact of social networks on the realities of the media space is particularly relevant in the context of amendments and addenda introduced on September 5, 2014, to the Information Act. Bloggers have conceived the most discussed law with satisfaction. The legislative act introduced the term of a ‘blogger’ and specified the requirements for the performance and responsibility for the accuracy of the information posted.
“Today is our day,” the celebrated blogger, author of many trends in the national blogosphere of Uznet Evgeniy Sklyarevskiy wrote on his page. “This is, perhaps, the best visual confirmation of the relevance of the media platform in the blogger environment.”
Recommendations and proposals elaborated during four breakout thematic sessions were the final chord of the workshop. In the same composition the participants worked out and presented their own vision toward the forward movement of the national online journalism. They revealed the possible changes in the thematic content of the web, focusing on the fact that promptness is far from being the only criterion for a journalistic text, even if the outlet works in advance.
Experts also summed up the contemporary trends in the presentation of audio and video content on the web, offering many ways of attracting the audience by the effect of pictures or a harmonious combination of text and visual presentation in info-graphic or multi-script format.
Participants of the third section, in turn, came up with proposals for a further refinement of the legislative framework in terms of regulating the rights and liabilities of online journalists and specifying the procedure of registration of online media.
The presentations assigned enormous significance to aspects of specialist training for the new segment of journalism. Representatives of provinces, who took part in the workshop by video conference, as well as heads of regional branches of the Creative Union of Journalists, who had come to Tashkent especially for the seminar, agreed that the journalists’ proficiency, as well as the specialization of media workers in online media is essential at both the national and regional levels. Establishment of dialogue platforms in each region of the country is equally pressing.
All recommendations and proposals and workshop materials were assembled into a thematic collection to be prescribed for use in educational institutions, state agencies and administration.
This is the fruitful wrap up of the first national academic and practical workshop to discuss topical issues in local online journalism. Its results, as the experts suggested, will undoubtedly be apparent in practice: new topics, interesting author stories, heated debates and a positive feedback, prompt coverage of pressing issues, local trends and fresh creative ideas, start-ups and much more make up the prospects of the domestic online journalism.
(Source: «Uzbekistan Today» newspaper)
99th session of the Executive Council of the United Nations World Tourism Organization
Samarkand Hosts World Tourism Forum
On October 2, the Executive Council of the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) started its ninety-ninth session in Samarkand’s Forumlar Majmuasi Complex.
The international forum is attended by representatives of UNWTO member nations, specialists from dozens of countries with advanced travel industry, including the United States, France, Spain, Germany, China, South Korea, Japan, India, Egypt, Turkey and Indonesia, among others, along with leaders of international tourism organizations and experts.
President Islam Karimov delivered a keynote speech at the opening ceremony of the session.
Taleb Rifai, Secretary General of the UNWTO, expressed earnest gratefulness to the head of our state for special attention to hosting the 99th session of organization’s Executive Council in Samarkand.
Tourism is assigned the function of a peculiar bridge among the cultures of the world’s peoples and is one of the most profitable and dynamically progressing sectors of economy. Currently, more than 235 million people are employed in this filed. According to UNWTO data, the number of tourists worldwide has been increasing every year by 4-5 percent.
In the independent development years, Uzbekistan joined the ranks of advanced nations with modern tourism infrastructure. The influx of tourists arriving to our country has been growing consistently. The cities of world renown like Tashkent, Samarkand, Bukhara, and Khiva host meetings at the highest level, international conferences, and prestigious sporting competitions.
The peace and harmony reigning in Uzbekistan, the atmosphere of mutual respect and concord, the famed Uzbek hospitability, the modern hotels and recreation areas, the high quality services create an environment and opportunities conducive for exciting leisure.
Uzbekistan wields an enormous tourism potential and ranks in the world’s top ten countries in terms of historic monuments. Our country houses in excess of seven thousand historic and cultural monuments. Samarkand, Bukhara, Khiva and Shahrisabz are included in the UNESCO World Heritage List. Ecological tourism, geo-tourism, extreme, medical and cultural tourism, travels on horseback, camelback, by car, as well as alpinism, fishing, rafting have been on the rise.
As a result of the elaboration of new tour routes, construction of international and local airports, perfection of transport communications, the inflow of tourists from abroad has been increasing. In 2011-2013, their number grew by 129.5 percent. The volume of tour services rose by 175.8 percent, while their exports increased by 180.2 percent. At the level of world standards the tourists are served by more than a thousand national travel organizations, in particular 550 tour agencies, over 500 hotels.
Thanks to the colossal creative works carried out in the country, dozens of high-class hotels have been erected to be able to receive foreign guests and delegations and provide them with services meeting contemporary requirements. A network of private hotels for smaller groups and family travelers has been created along with hotels offering services under such world-renowned brands as Radisson, Lotte, Dedeman, Grand Plaza, among others.
The steadily advancing air and rail transport allows for the organization of travel with speed, comfort and safety. The high-speed Afrosiyob train that began running between the capital city and Samarkand in 2011 is pretty convenient for passengers, especially tourists.
Uzbekistan Airways has its own well-deserved position in the international market of air transportation. Eleven international airports are operating currently in Uzbekistan. Modernization of the flying stock and airports, and expansion of the geography of shipping are instrumental in the development of tourism and attraction of travelers to our country.
The 10 October 2012 resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Uzbekistan on measures to further support and develop tourism in the country constitutes an important guideline for action in the advancement of the sphere and tour infrastructure and in the active promotion of national tourism services at the international market.
Uzbektourism National Company, Uzbekistan Airways National Air Company, Uzbekistan Railways State Joint-Stock Company and other organizations are regular in traditional biggest international fairs as part of the national stand “Uzbekiston”. This allows the tour organizations of our country to establish new contacts with foreign partners and build up mutually advantageous cooperation.
The development of tourism is by and large contingent on the qualification of cadres in the sector. Specialists in fields like tourism marketing and management, provision of tour services, international tourism, hospitality business are trained currently at the Tashkent State University of Economics, Samarkand Institute of Economics and Services, Management Development Institute of Singapore in Tashkent, in tourism colleges of the capital city, Samarkand, Bukhara and Khiva.
Each region of our country is distinct with its tour attractions, folk traditions and customs, historical monuments, picturesque nature and favorable climate. Owing to the growth in population incomes and the perfection of tour infrastructure, internal tourism has also been on the rise. Building on the peculiarities and capacities of each province, targeted programs are implemented. For instance, in regions with smaller number of historical monuments, emphasis is placed on ecological tourism, geo-tourism, off-road travels, while mountain zones are conducive for extreme tourism. In line with region-targeted programs, objects of cultural heritage are restored, tour facilities are built and reconstructed, new routes are elaborated, and the activities of travel organizations are being refined.
Uzbekistan acceded to the UNWTO in 1993. Samarkand houses a regional center of the organization for the promotion of tourism on the Great Silk Road. During the UNWTO General Assembly in 2011 in South Korea, Uzbekistan was elected for the second time as member of the Executive Council of this organization. Very few nations of the world have been honored with such a status.
The decision to hold the next, 99th session of the UNWTO Executive Council in Samarkand was taken at the 98th session that took place in June 2014 in Spain’s Santiago de Compostela.
This ancient and eternally young city, called the Ornament of the Face of the Earth and the Pearl of the East, has from time immemorial attracted with its exceptional beauty and magnificence. The antique monuments and modern buildings of the town and its picturesque nature enhance the capacities for the development of tourism.
In the words of our country President, each and every inch of the land of Samarkand is associated with a legend, while each street, square and alley has its inimitable appearance. Each and every rock in the buildings of this ancient and the eternally young city embodies the great creative talent and mastery of our people and its enduring values.
In independence years, Samarkand has become even more beautiful and magnificent. Timed to the 660th birthday anniversary of Amir Temur and the 600th of Mirzo Ulugbek, titanic construction works were undertaken in Samarkand. A splendid monument to the Sahibkiran was erected in the city center. The Observatory and Madrassah of Mirzo Ulugbek underwent restoration works. The 18 October 1996 presidential decree awarded the city of Samarkand with the Amir Temur Order. Ever since, this date is marked as the Day of Samarkand.
Initiated by the head of our state, immense efforts have been spearheaded to restore the original historical appearance of Samarkand and boost its economic capacities. The 2,750th anniversary of the town was widely celebrated in 2007. As part of preparations for the celebration of this resplendent holiday, this eternal city has transformed to a great extent. The dozens of erected social and public facilities, education institutions and sports complexes, medical centers and hotels, highways, gardens and squares have served for the creation of a proper environment for the residents and guests of Samarkand and afforded it a more magnificent appearance. The mausoleums of Amir Temur and Ruhobod, the Registan Complex, the mosques of Hazrati Hizr and Bibi-Khanum, the Shahi-Zinda Monument, the Mirzo Ulugbek Observatory have undergone complete reconstruction and restoration. The layout of a minor ring-road connecting them has created additional convenience for city dwellers and tourists.
The tour capacities of Samarkand serve as an important factor in driving the city’s economy into progress and providing the local population with jobs. More than a hundred travel agencies and around a hundred hotels operate currently in town.
The 99th session of the UNWTO Executive Council is another favorable opportunity for the wider familiarization of the world community with the tremendous potential of our country in tourism, and it will serve for the further expansion and consolidation of cooperation with foreign tour organizations and companies. The meeting will also allow the leading experts of the entire world to discuss the current state, the prospects and trends in the evolution of global tourism market, its pressing issues, and to define new dimensions of interaction.
Participants of the international forum got familiar with the Registan Complex, the mausoleums of Amir Temur and St Daniel, the Mirzo Ulugbek Observatory, the Afrosiyab Museum and other sightseeing, as well as modern education institutions in the city. The guests voiced their high appraisal of the wide ranging construction and beautification works undertaken in Samarkand during independence years under the leadership of the country’s President, the immense tourism potential of the town, and the particular significance attached to training specialists for the travel industry.
At the plenary meeting of the session, participants heard and discussed reports into such topics as the Great Silk Road and new prospects in the evolution of international tourism, educating specialists and raising the proficiency of personnel in the sphere, the role of tour routes in the stimulation of regional development and integration, the current state and prospects of the development of international tourism, and other subject matters.
The event also serves for the exchange of views and experience with foreign specialists on issues related to boosting the inflow of tourists into Uzbekistan, and for the discussion of tasks pertinent to the enhancement of international cooperation on this front.
The international conference continues its work on October 3.
(Source: UzA)
Tourism Prospects on the Great Silk Road
Samarkand has hosted the 99th session of the United Nations World Tourism Organization’s Executive Council.
It was stressed in particular that President Islam Karimov’s keynote speech at the opening ceremony of the international forum afforded the event an even deeper sense.
The session of the UNWTO Executive Council addressed the topic “The Great Silk Road: New Prospects in International Tourism”.
As the head of our state noted, the Great Silk Road is one of the most remarkable cultural and socio-economic phenomena in world history.
The route that for centuries used to connect the countries and peoples has not forfeited its designation even in our days. It serves for the promotion of trade-economic, investment, cultural and enlightenment ties among many nations.
Located in the heart of this transcontinental route, Uzbekistan attaches a special significance to cementing interrelations with other countries and international institutions. Notably, joint projects are undertaken to advance tourism with the UN World Tourism Organizations.
The 99th session of the UNWTO Executive Council has provided with an opportunity to share views on the current state and swap visions on the prospects of evolution of the global tourism market, exchange expertise, deliberate on new prospects in this sphere, discuss pressing issues and search for new ways of interaction on this front. The forum participants got familiar with our country’s rich tourism potential and expressed their appreciation of the efforts being spearheaded to promote this industry.
Reports were presented during the session into the state of affairs and prospects of international tourism, into the institution of new models of cooperation in tourism and culture, on training specialists and raising the proficiency of cadres, on the role of tour routes in the regional development and consolidation of integration. Views and experiences were exchanged dedicated to the enhancement of tourist inflow into Uzbekistan. Also under discussion were issues related to boosting the international cooperation in the tourism industry and to attracting new investments to the sector.
The meeting participants approved the draft decisions of the 99th session of UNWTO Executive Council.
Uzbekistan and the UN World Tourism Organization signed agreement on the consolidation of mutual ties, cooperation in furthering the development of tourism in our country, on training cadres and retraining specialists in the sphere and the popularization of tourism on the Great Silk Road.
(Source: UzA)
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