Participants of the media forum. Photo by the Center of Islamic Civilization
The international media forum «Islamic Civilization: A New Look — New Discoveries» has wrapped up in Uzbekistan, producing some 20 cooperation agreements and memorandums with foreign partners, according to the press service of the Center of Islamic Civilization (CIC).
The forum drew about 300 representatives of media, academia, and the creative industries from nearly 50 countries to Tashkent and Samarkand. CNN and Euronews served as general media partners, with BBC Studios, TRT World, Oman TV, Report.az, The London Post, and other foreign outlets also taking part.
One of the main outcomes was a roadmap for further international cooperation. The declaration adopted by participants proposes creating an international media alliance, launching an international media competition called «Voice of Civilizations,» developing educational programs and professional exchanges for journalists, and jointly producing content on the history and cultural heritage of Uzbekistan. Participants also proposed establishing an international media club, «Voice of Islamic Civilization,» based at the CIC.
Euronews general and editorial director Klaus Strunz proposed holding the forum in Tashkent annually. CNN representatives, in turn, pointed to the prospects of cooperation with the CIC and of promoting material on Uzbekistan's history, culture, and scientific heritage to international audiences.
According to the CIC, more than 100 projects devoted to Uzbekistan's history and culture, the country's ongoing reforms, and the work of the center have already been carried out jointly with foreign media partners. Roughly 50 more international media projects are slated for the next phase.
Training young journalists was a separate focus of the forum. The CIC and the University of Journalism and Mass Communications of Uzbekistan are launching a joint program to study and promote the country's cultural heritage, offering scholarships and professional internships to top students.
As part of the forum, master classes, creative meetings, and presentations featuring representatives of CNN, BBC Studios, TRT World, Report.az, and other international media were held at universities in Tashkent and Samarkand.
In Samarkand, foreign journalists, media executives, and producers visited the Imam al-Bukhari memorial complex, the International Research Center for Hadith Studies, the Imam al-Bukhari Innovation Museum, and the city's historic landmarks. During the trip, they recorded interviews, filmed reports, and prepared material for television channels, news agencies, documentary projects, and digital platforms.
Participants also adopted an address to the president of Uzbekistan. In it, media and expert-community representatives underscored the continued relevance of the principle «Enlightenment against ignorance,» put forward by Shavkat Mirziyoyev from the rostrum of the UN General Assembly in 2017, and stressed the media's role in countering religious intolerance, Islamophobia, and the spread of stereotypes.
ℹ️ The Center of Islamic Civilization is being built in Uzbekistan's capital, next to the Hast-Imam complex. Designed in the style of medieval architectural monuments, it features four portals 34 meters high and a central dome 65 meters tall. Inside are a Quran hall, a 550-seat conference hall, and a museum whose exhibits span the entire history of Uzbekistan, from pre-Islamic times to the present. The CIC is intended to serve as a platform for studying ancestral heritage and reinterpreting it for today, in cooperation with the International Islamic Academy of Uzbekistan and with academic and educational centers around the world.
