"UN Fridays". Kick-starting 2012
Today the United Nations Information Office (UNO) held its first UN Friday of 2012 at the UN Country Office in Tashkent, continuing a series of events which has proved extremely successful since its instigation in 2011. This week’s event served as a milestone in many ways. It was the first UNO event of 2012, it was an ideal opportunity to look back to last year’s successes, it concluded the annual competition ‘Ask the UN in Uzbekistan Your Questions' competition and it helped to readdress the vital role that UN agencies play in Uzbekistan and throughout Central Asia. The UN Friday saw a particularly strong response from local media, with 30 journalists in attendance.
The event began with a presentation of the original short film ‘UN in Uzbekistan, 2011 Highlights’, produced by UNO’s multimedia volunteer Anton Husainov, which reviewed some of most important moments of 2011 including the ‘One Day On Earth’ project in Nukus, the celebration of UN Day in Tashkent, the series of previous UNO UN Fridays and UNFPA’s World of 7 Billion Campaign. UNO Communications Assistant Bobir Komilov then reinforced the importance of the projects undertaken in the previous year, before introducing the ‘Ask the UN in Uzbekistan Your Questions’ competition.
Held each year by the UNO in Tashkent, this unique contest encourages Tashkent residents and Uzbek citizens to submit any and all questions regarding the UN’s operations both in their nation and around the globe. The best ten questions are selected out of the invariable multitude of responses, these inquiries are answered and their submitters are awarded accordingly. The competition has received strong responses every year and this year’s reincarnation was no exception. Over the proceeding four months UNO had received over a hundred responses via email and Facebook, which made selecting ten questions a difficult task.
The set of selected ten questions, submitted by four Tashkent students, addressed a variety of topics ranging from the UN’s role in preventing global conflict to the importance of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the ideas and logic behind the concept of Human Development. These questions were answered by representatives from the United Nations Resident Coordinator’s office (UNRCO) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). After hearing answers to the ten finalist questions the participating journalists asked the UN representatives inquiries of their own. The purpose of the competition is to raise interest in learning about the UN’s operations, so these additional inquiries was considered a very positive sign. Khikmatullo Ubaidullayev, a Tashkent university student who submitted award winning questions regarding UNRC in Uzbekistan, shared his thoughts with UNO about why young people should have an understanding of the UN and participate in its public events.
“I think if people ask questions about the UN, they will obtain a lot of interesting information that will help them in their education and professional lives,” Mr. Ubaidullayev said. “By taking part in UN events, like UN Fridays, they will be able to improve their public speaking abilities. These skills will be important if they decide to work for UN agencies or in the business world.” The three other competition winners, including Lena Tsiganenko, Azizakhan Safieva and Ruziali Ruzimatov, were unable to attend the event and will receive their prizes by mail.
Following the conclusion of the ‘Ask the UN in Uzbekistan Your Questions’ competition, the attending journalists then watched the first of a series of documentary screenings which over the coming months will document UNDP’s work in preserving Uzbekistan’s fragile environments and ecosystems. The first film, ‘Achieving Ecosystem Stability on Degraded Land in Karakalpakstan and the Kyzylkum Desert’, addressed the work undertaken by the UNDP in preventing the movement of the region’s sands and thereby improving the livelihoods of local residents. This film received a round of applause by the UN Friday participants, who were then encouraged to stay for the event’s final segment.
It required a little technical skill and patience, but connecting with the UNO communications specialist Utkirbek Tadjimov in New York was well worth the trouble. While taking annual leave in the city that never sleeps Mr. Tadjimov woke himself up at 5am to participate in a live Skype chat with the UN Friday participants, in order to discuss his participation in a Model United Nations event currently held at the prestigious Columbia University.
Consequently it was particularly fascinating to discuss with Mr. Tadjimov the differences between MUN conferences in New York and Tashkent. This long-distance conversation highlighted the true international nature of the United Nations; that volunteers and colleagues from around the world are all working towards the same goals.
This week’s UN Friday event was the most dynamic and comprehensive yet in a series which has made significant steps in encouraging public interest in the UN’s operations in Uzbekistan. It has set a standard for other UN Fridays throughout 2012.