The event was organized within the framework of the “Asrlar Sadosi” Festival of Traditional Culture. The round table was organized by the UNESCO Office in Tashkent and the Fund “Forum of Culture and Art of Uzbekistan”.

The Round Table brought together government officials, leading experts and representatives of the professional community to consider the role of culture in achieving sustainable development in Uzbekistan and to formulate policy recommendations on how to integrate culture into the post-2015 development agenda.

Whereas culture was not part of the Millennium Development Goals defined by the international community in 2000, its role in development has since been widely recognized. The Outcome Document of the 2010 MDG Summit of the United Nations General Assembly, published ten years after the Millennium Declaration, emphasized the importance of culture for development and its contribution to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals.

Indeed, culture, in all its dimensions, is a fundamental component of sustainable development. As a sector of activity, through tangible and intangible heritage, cultural and creative industries and various forms of artistic expressions, culture is a powerful contributor to peace and security, inclusive social and economic development and environmental sustainability.

With the 2015 deadline for meeting the MDGs approaching, the UN has launched consultations on the post-2015 development agenda and the possible development goals that would mobilize the global community in support of human development and poverty reduction. It is in this framework that UNESCO encourages countries to consider the role of culture as a driver and an enabler of sustainable development in the design and implementation of the post-2015 UN development agenda so as to “realize the future we want for all”.

The round table organized in the framework of the “Asrlar Sadosi” Festival was an occasion to formulate Uzbekistan’s vision for the future, taking the country’s rich cultural heritage into consideration.