Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- An extended meeting of the Republican Council on Spirituality and Enlightenment was held on 22 December under the chairmanship of President Shavkat Mirziyoyev.

The event was attended by the leadership of the Oliy Majlis and the Cabinet of Ministers, deputies and senators, ministers, khokims, as well as representatives of the spheres of spirituality and culture, literary and artistic figures.

As you know, the chairman of this republican council is the President, and the local councils are the first heads of the regions. This is due to the fact that science, education, upbringing and spirituality are a priority issue in our country.

The head of our state noted that the development of these areas requires strong economic foundations and listed the measures taken in this direction. In particular, this year the largest amount of funds was allocated for the social sphere - 134 trillion soums. Compared to 2016, this is 5.6 times more.

It was noted that the pace of development in the world has become rapid, and the influence of unfavorable processes does not bypass our country.

– It is known from history that in a difficult situation, when threats to the Motherland and the fate of the people intensified, it was the selfless patriots of the nation - representatives of the intelligentsia, poets and writers, artists, workers in the field of spirituality and enlightenment who courageously entered the arena with an awakened heart and soul. “At present, when our country is entering a new, high stage of its development, we need, like water and air, mature personnel like our Jadid ancestors, who, along with mastering the achievements of Western science, are also brought up in the spirit of national values,” noted Shavkat Mirziyoyev.

It has been determined that a Presidential resolution will be adopted to study and develop the ideas of our Jadid ancestors. President. In particular, the State Museum of Jadid Heritage will be built in a historical area in Bukhara. A new newspaper “Jadid” will begin publishing.

In recent years, large-scale work has been carried out in the spiritual and educational sphere. A Trust Fund to support the sphere of spirituality and creativity, as well as an Institute for Social and Spiritual Research, have been created. The number of employees in the system of the Republican Center for Spirituality and Enlightenment has been doubled, and measures have been taken to provide them with financial incentives.

The adopted Law “On cultural activities and cultural organizations” is of great importance in the development of the sphere. In order to preserve and enrich our national traditions, centers for maqom, the art of bakhshi and askia have been created. The activities of more than 20 institutions have also been established, such as the Bakhor dance ensemble, the State Philharmonic, and the State Symphony Orchestra. 11 new museums, 2 theaters, 28 children's music and art schools, 5 universities were created.

In general, the volume of state support for the sphere of culture and art has increased 5 times compared to 2017; in 2023, funds in the amount of over 712 billion soums were allocated for these purposes.

International festivals such as “Makom”, “The Art of Bakhshi”, handicrafts, and “Lazgi” began to be traditionally held. The Days of Culture of Uzbekistan were held at a high level in 24 foreign countries, in particular, neighboring countries.

In recent years, 9 more examples of our national heritage have been included in the UNESCO List of World Intangible Cultural Heritage, and the city of Bukhara has been included in the “Network of Creative Cities”. This September, the birthday of our great ancestor Abu Rayhon Beruni was widely celebrated at UNESCO headquarters.

Uzbek cinema is also entering the path of development. Historical films are being created about our great commanders and thinkers. Almost a quarter of a century later, the Tashkent International Film Festival has been revived.

The Alley of Writers was created, the majestic building of the Writers' Union was erected in the capital, and new houses of creativity were built in the regions. Writers engaged in fruitful creative work are provided with new housing on a preferential basis. The anniversaries of outstanding creative figures were widely celebrated. In order to comprehensively support young talents, the Zaamin Seminar has been revived.

Published for the first time are such literary collections as the 100-volume “Turkish Adabiyot Durdonalari” (Pearls of Turkic Literature), the 30-volume “Mustaqillik Davri Navoishunosligi” (Navoi Study of the Independence Period), “Korakalpok Adabiyoti Durdonalari” (Pearls of Karakalpak Literature), “Mard Askarga Sovga” "(Gift to a Brave Soldier) became an important event in our spiritual life.

The meeting reviewed priority tasks in these areas. The head of state outlined his vision in nine areas of work and put forward important initiatives.

It was emphasized that it is necessary, first of all, to develop a separate program document on the development of the national idea, which will serve as a methodological guide for our work in the field of spirituality and enlightenment.

It is noted with regret that among some groups there are increasing cases of advancing religious views that contradict our Constitution and laws, and even put them above them, considering secular values to be sinful. The President cited the words of the great educator Ibrat-Domla: “If the ulema work, the nation will certainly become better.” It is noted that the intelligentsia, the older generation, compatriots who have performed Hajj and Umrah should promote spirituality and encourage people to do good deeds.

The focus will remain on education. It is necessary to ensure equality in this area, in particular, girls’ access to education and vocational training is important for the development of society, it was noted at the meeting.

Secondly, the responsibility of khokims for spiritual and educational work will be increased. Houses of spirituality and enlightenment will be opened in cities and regions.

– Today, the sphere of spirituality must be ten steps ahead of other spheres, spirituality must turn into a new force, into a new movement! - said the President.

Based on the proposal made by representatives of the intelligentsia during a recently held meeting in Surkhandarya region, in addition to the 4 sectors operating in the regions, a spirituality sector will be created. The sector will act as a working structure for councils on spirituality and education.

Thirdly, a program for the development of theatrical art will be developed. It will provide for creative orders for the best plays, improving the skills of creative and support workers abroad, establishing the Mannon Uygur Prize for young directors and other measures.

The importance of declaring one day a month as “Theater Day” in departments and institutions and organizing team trips to theaters was noted.

Fourthly, the activities of the existing 837 cultural centers are very important for the meaningful leisure time of the population. They have about 4 thousand clubs, in which more than 120 thousand young people are involved.

However, some centers do not have their own building; there is a need for 8 thousand musical instruments. Khokims were given appropriate instructions in this regard.

Also, starting next year, the activities of one cultural center will be organized in each district, which will have an auditorium, a library, a cinema hall and study groups. A program will be adopted to improve the material and technical base of more than 600 local amateur art groups, and we will allocate 100 billion soums for this.

Fifthly, the scientific study and development of the art of maqom and bakhshi will be strengthened.

To date, 120 maqoms, dastans of the art of bakhshi, folk songs and melodies have been recorded in the “golden fund”. Recently, the President signed a decree on the protection, scientific study and promotion of intangible cultural heritage. It, in particular, specifically defines the tasks of creating the Institute of Cultural Studies and Intangible Cultural Heritage, the study of ancient music and folklore, and provides for the translation into a modern format of more than 3 thousand dastans, maqoms and folklore works stored in the funds of our country.

Another important news is that schools will be created that continue the traditions of unique examples of cultural heritage, such as maqom, katta ashula, bakhshi art, atlas and adras, pottery and jewelry.

Sixthly, the development of music and dance will receive further support. In particular, the Bakhor collective will carry out its activities in the famous palace of arts, where the Philharmonic was previously located. Tours of popular song and dance ensembles abroad will be increased.

In order to scientifically study issues of musical and dance art and increase scientific personnel in the field, grants for scientific research will be introduced.

The building of the Tashkent State Circus will also be renovated.

Seventh, cultural diplomacy abroad will be expanded. Next year, a conference on the global creative economy will be held in Tashkent, and an international scientific conference “Culture of the Aral Sea” will be held in Nukus.

A seven-year program for improving the activities of museums will be adopted. It is planned to build new buildings for the Museum of History and the Museum of Art. The exhibitions of the museums of the History of the Temurids and Nature will be updated. The Alisher Navoi Literature Museum will be overhauled.

In addition, new exhibitions about the First and Second Renaissance, the history of statehood and the activities of great thinkers will be created in museums, in particular in the Center of Islamic Civilization.

The activities of the National Restoration Center will be established jointly with France. The conservation and restoration of the pages of the Koran of Uthman will also be carried out.

18 archaeological sites telling about the ancient history of our country will turn into open-air museums. Also in Samarkand, the gardens of Amir Temur’s Sahibkiran will be restored, the Great Silk Road Museum will be built and the Bibikhanum complex will be restored.

Eighth, the development of cinematography will receive a powerful impetus. A program is currently being developed to create 50 feature films dedicated to the glorious past of our Motherland in the “Living History” series. Not only domestic but also foreign creative figures, film companies and investors will be involved in the implementation of this program. The need to also provide for the creation of multi-part animated films about the instructive life path of our great ancestors was noted.

For the development of cinema as not only an art, but also a branch of the economy, the task has been set to create free economic cinema zones in the Bukhara, Samarkand and Tashkent regions.

The need for a radical reform of the production system of national series, bringing their ideological, artistic and technical execution to a level attractive for public viewing, was pointed out. For this purpose, it was proposed to organize a “Cinema Park” similar to the free economic zone “IT Park”.

Ninth, a separate program will be adopted for the further development of the field of fine and applied arts. In particular, the Central Exhibition Hall will be reconstructed and equipped based on world standards. A modern gallery and a Center for Young Artists, consisting of 40 creative workshops, will be built on the territory of the Art Fund. In order to connect the art of calligraphy and miniature art with practice, a training and production workshop for making paper in the national style will be created.

Initiatives have been put forward to improve the quality of education in the field, increase the salaries of teachers in music and art schools, and cover the utility costs of schools from the budget.

The head of state paid special attention to improving the efficiency of teaching the Uzbek language. It has been determined that teachers in the subject “Uzbek language and literature” who have a national certificate will be paid a 50 percent bonus starting from the next academic year.

At the same time, measures will be taken to encourage compatriots with a different language of instruction to study the state language. In addition, the hours of teaching the state language in specialized schools with a different language of instruction will be increased. Subject Olympiads in the Uzbek language will be held.

Work has begun to improve the culture of reading books and will continue. The volume of orders for publishing books and the amount of fees for authors and translators will be increased. To expand the financial capabilities of publishing and printing enterprises, they will be exempt from taxes for a period of 5 years.

The President touched upon the importance of the translation profession and proposed the establishment of the Ogahi International Prize to adequately reward their work.

The importance of the development of Internet literature was noted, and the task was set to create for this purpose the “Uzbek Culture” portal, which would cover the topics of literature, cinema, history, art and oral folk art.

Writers and poets, cultural and artistic figures, and decision-makers in the field spoke at the meeting; they expressed their opinions and suggestions.