On the occasion of Youth Month, leaders of all levels are holding open dialogues with young people
There is no better way to get to know a person, hear their pain, or make a serious decision about a situation than to talk to them face to face. In the same way, there is no more effective tool than open communication with students, young people, and employees in a field to determine its shortcomings, proposals for its development, the wishes of young people, and future plans.
Therefore, meetings in the format of “Minister and youth”, “Hokim and youth” and “Leader and youth” are organized in the country. No official or leader is left out of this process. The next dialogues were held in connection with the Youth Month from June 21 to June 26 at the Palace of Youth Creativity in Tashkent. The meetings were full of exciting questions and answers. Proposals, problems, projects, and initiatives raised by young people were personally studied on the spot by ministers and leaders, and practical assistance was provided to them.
How did the minister spend his school years?
The first meeting was held on June 21, with the participation of the Ministers of Preschool and School Education, Digital Technologies and Higher Education, Science and Innovation. Minister of Preschool and School Education Hilola Umarova held an open dialogue with more than 200 active, young pedagogues and talented students. At the meeting, the participants raised issues such as the integration of knowledge acquired in educational institutions into practice, changes implemented in the 2023-2024 academic year, the use of innovative projects in education, and inclusive education.
The Minister of Digital Technologies, Sherzod Shermatov, emphasized the importance of young people choosing the right direction to get quality education and gain a profitable career in the future. At the same time, tasks were given to those responsible for solving problems related to the choice of profession in IT and studying proposals.
At the meeting with the Minister of Higher Education, Science and Innovation, Qungirotboy Sharipov, one of the young people asked the minister how he spent his school years and whether he thought about becoming the holder of this position. The minister said he was born and raised in the remotest village of Karakalpakstan.
“Borsa-kelmas is the name of our neighboring village, on the other side of Kungirat, on the shores of the Aral Sea. We studied there, got an education, and studied in the 1st grade at school. There were old desks at that time, which cannot be compared with the present ones. There was a big iron stove in the middle of the classroom, which was used in winter. After graduating, I entered the Irrigation Institute but did not enter the first year. I studied in Moscow. I came to the Irrigation Institute in 1992 and worked as an ordinary laboratory assistant. I became a deputy and thought I had my own title so everyone would welcome me on the red carpet. But they told me there is no work”, Qungirotboy Sharipov said.
Proposals, problems, and projects by young people were heard at the meeting. The minister told young people about the need to study well and strive towards their goals:
“The time will come when you will occupy big positions. You take the burden of the future on your shoulders. For this, study well, set big goals, and strive for them”.
Innovative initiatives were promoted
The Minister of Culture of the Republic of Uzbekistan, Ozodbek Nazarbekov, opened the June 22 meetings at the Palace of Youth Creativity. The dialogue was an excellent opportunity to communicate with young people who are creative in culture, exchange ideas, and promote new proposals and initiatives.
In the afternoon, the Minister of Poverty Reduction and Employment, Bekhzod Musayev, met with young people working in the system. The minister gave necessary recommendations to the youth to help them achieve their goals. He noted the importance of hard work, language learning, and reading books to achieve the desired result. The meeting was mutually beneficial. Young people have put forward exciting and, most importantly, innovative initiatives in line with the spirit of today’s times. Their proposals, such as training abroad, organizing workouts, learning a language, repairing electric cars in mono-centers, and opening mechatronics departments, were received with great interest, and practical measures were taken.
What should a leader be?
On June 24, the Minister of Energy and the head of the Republican Center for Spirituality and Enlightenment participated in meetings. At the meetings, information was given about the work related to young people in the system. In particular, more than 106,000 workers are working in the fuel and energy industry today. 17,526 of them are employees under the age of 30. To organize the experience of young professionals, they are sent to foreign countries on business trips and to prestigious higher education institutions for education. In 2023 alone, 260 employees improved their skills in training and retraining courses abroad.
In the second half of the day, the dialogue with the participation of the head of the Republican Spirituality and Enlightenment Center Otabek Hasanov was held in the form of questions and answers. At the meeting, Otabek Hasanov expressed opinions on such issues as “How should young leaders be?”, “What does the future expect from them?”, “What are the ways to achieve the goal?”.
Suggestions are not ignored
On June 25, meetings were held with the participation of the Minister of Sports Adham Ikramov and Deputy Minister of Transport Ilhomjon Abdugafarov.
“Regardless of what field you are in, knowledge and education will glorify you”, Adham Ikramov said at the meeting.
Young athletes also expressed several proposals and initiatives. For example, Malika Komilova, a mahalla youth leader in Mirzo Ulugbek district of Tashkent city, said:
“I was in the “red” category because my mahalla had no infrastructure facilities. Today, the youth of the mahalla won the competitions organized within the framework of the “Olympiad of Five Initiatives”, and sports fields were built in our region. My suggestion is that it would be even better if we organize an exchange of skills with foreign experts to promote our mass sports events at the international level”.
The participants also discussed issues related to the development of mass sports, expanding the ranks of sports volunteers, improving the language skills of young people involved in sports, and ensuring that young athletes practice in decent conditions.
In the dialogue with the participation of Deputy Minister of Transport Ilhomjon Abdugafarov, it was noted that the total number of employees working in transport and road management in the country today is 131,953, and 33,237 of them (25 percent) are young people.
At the meeting, young employees discussed problems and solutions in transport and road management. It is gratifying to note that the proposals of the Minister of Transport scholarship, the holding of the “Innovative Ideas” contest, the organization of an educational and scientific training ground for Tashkent State Transport University, and the opening of the pilot training course at Tashkent State Transport University have been put into practice. This means that the organized meetings are not going in vain.
On June 26, Ozoda Parpiboyeva, the Chairman of the Family and Women’s Committee of the Republic of Uzbekistan, participated in a dialogue.
