Life & Culture - The Times Of Central Asia

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Qazaq Culture Portal Launched in Kazakhstan

In an enlightened new initiative to attract international attention to the country’s rich cultural and historical heritage, the Ministry of Culture and Information of Kazakhstan has supported the creation of an information and educational portal on Qazaq Culture. Available in the six official languages of the United Nations, as well as Kazakh and Turkish, the portal offers a unique and comprehensive insight into Kazakhstan’s many diverse regions. Visitors to the site will be afforded a virtual exploration of the country’s landmarks and attractions in the section, ‘Culture of Kazakhstan Through the Prism of Artificial Intelligence’, and delve deeper into its heritage by accessing source material and publications held in the Archive Fund of Kazakhstan. In addition to a cultural news blog covering a vibrant array of festivals, contests, film and theatre premieres, books, and art exhibitions, the website will feature a single ticket system for all the cultural facilities in Kazakhstan.

World Nomad Games

Sell-Out of U.K. Tours to World Nomad Games in Kazakhstan

Due to an unprecedented demand, U.K. package tours, organized by Regent Holidays and Wild Frontiers, to attend the Fifth World Nomad Games in Astana from 8-14 September 2024, have already sold out. The news, reported by Kazakh Tourism, is perhaps not surprising given that the magazine 'Wanderlust', listed Kazakhstan as one of its top 24 destinations in 2024 on account of the country's hosting the event. With reference to Kazakhstan being the only Central Asian country to make the list, Kairat Sadvakasov, chairman of the board of Kazakh Tourism, commented, "Year after year, Kazakhstan is becoming a center of attraction for foreign tourists. That's because we are a relatively new destination, particularly for American [and] European readers of Wanderlust. To appear on the publication's list shows great progress in the development of our tourist industry. It's also important for us to let everyone know about the World Nomad Games in our capital city. We hope that (it) we will open up a new perspective on Kazakhstan and especially, Astana." The World Nomad Games are international competitions in indigenous ethnic sports historically played by nomadic peoples. Aimed to support the development of ethno-sports and ethno-cultural development, the Games are included in UNESCO's list of intangible cultural heritage. Comprising 20 sports, this year's event will involve some 3,000 competitors from more than 100 countries. Costing $17.9 million to present, the Games are expected to attract 20,000 foreign spectators.

Saiga Antelope Revival Pleases Kazakh Naturalists — And Leonardo DiCaprio

Kazakhstan's steppe is now home to booming numbers of saiga antelope, with the country's authorities and environmentalists pulling together to revive the country's iconic species. News that the saiga population is no longer classified as "endangered" has reached the Hollywood actor Leonardo diCaprio, who recently wrote on his Instagram page: "This unprecedented recovery reflects the remarkable conservation of saigas in Kazakhstan. A species that once numbered 48,000 in 2005 has now grown to over 1.9 million individuals in the wild." The animal is, however, still listed as "threatened" in Kazakhstan. The Kazakh Ministry of Ecology estimates that the saiga population will rise above 2.6 million after the calving season this year. However, as their number has grown, the Kazakh authorities have reclassified the saiga as a species that may be hunted. Environmental scientists in the West Kazakhstan region have calculated that around 340,000 adult saigas -- around 18% of the population -- can be culled this year, to which end over 40,000 have already been killed. Saiga meat is sold in stores and bazaars in Kazakhstan, often to be used in stews, and is also found online on the Russian marketplace Ozon. Kazakh society is divided about the treatment of these indigenous antelopes. Some support the cull by pointing out the damage that they cause to crops, which lost the West Kazakhstan region alone over $25 million last year. Others argue that saiga hunting, if not properly regulated, could lead to poaching and the resale of saiga antlers on the black market. This could lead to another drastic decline in a species that has been thriving in recent years.

EU Project Grants to Empower Civil Society in Uzbekistan

The European Union Delegation to Uzbekistan has announced a new wave of project grants. Aimed at empowering civil society in Uzbekistan, particularly women and marginalized groups, funds of over EUR 3.5 million will be allocated to the development of eight initiatives. In her report on April 3rd, Charlotte Adriaen, EU Ambassador to Uzbekistan, stated: “Today's EU-funded project launch is just a glimpse into our ongoing commitment to bolster civil society organizations in Uzbekistan. Our yearly efforts are dedicated to empowering these vital entities, fostering inclusivity, vibrancy, and democracy. Prioritizing projects for women, children, and marginalized groups, we amplify voices, promote inclusive development, and drive or support Uzbekistan’s reform agenda. Together with civil society and state partners, we contribute to the pluralism and inclusivity crucial for a thriving democracy and a peaceful society.” Scheduled to operate from 2024 to 2026, the projects will focus on enhancing work undertaken by organizations concerning inclusion, gender equality and gender-responsiveness, and advances in the Green Agenda.

Towards a New Tashkent

On April 3rd, Uzbekistan President Shavkat Mirziyoyev attended a ceremony to celebrate the start of construction of New Tashkent; a twin capital located on 20,000 hectares east of the existing city of Tashkent, between the Chirchiq and Karasu rivers. Speaking at the launch, President Mirziyoyev emphasized the historical significance of the ground-breaking project and its far-reaching impact on the future of Uzbekistan: “Today we are laying the foundation for the campuses of Yangi Uzbekistan University and Tashkent State Pedagogical University, the National Library, the National Theater, the International Research Center, the Museum of Literature, and the Alisher Navoi School of Creativity. It is no coincidence that the construction of a new city begins with the abodes of knowledge and spirituality. They will become the basis and model in the formation of an enlightened society.” The new city’s campus of Tashkent State Pedagogical University will provide teaching facilities for 20 thousand students, dormitories for 5 thousand, a kindergarten for 300 children, and a school for 616 pupils. It will also include a sports centre, a palace of culture, and an amphitheatre. Yangi Uzbekistan University, rated as one of the most prestigious universities in the country for engineering, management, information technology, agricultural technology, humanities, and natural sciences, will be complemented by a second campus in New Tashkent. Once in operation, the new facilities will accommodate 10 thousand students, a library, sports complex, and an Olympic-sized swimming pool. Ambitious plans for the second city also include a new National Library of Uzbekistan with the capacity to house over 10 million books and accommodate over 1,400 users at any given time. Concluding his speech, the president underlined his belief that New Tashkent was set to become a centre for excellence in science, education, and culture not only for Uzbekistan but also for the entire region. It was earlier reported that master plans for New Tashkent had been developed by the UK’s Cross Works design company.

Migrant Workers

Marginalized But Indispensable – What the Crocus City Hall Attack Means for Central Asian Migrants

As previously reported by TCA, in the wake of the terrorist attack on the Crocus City Hall on the outskirts of Moscow which left 144 dead and 551 injured, Central Asian migrants in Russia have been living in a climate of fear. “There is panic, many people want to leave [Russia],” Shakhnoza Nodiri from the Ministry of Labor of Tajikistan said of the outflow of labor migrants. “We are now monitoring the situation; we have more people coming [to Tajikistan] than leaving.” One of the most remittance-based economies in the world, in 2023 official figures released by the Ministry of Labor, Migration and Employment of Tajikistan - often underestimated - stated that 652,014 people left the country to work abroad, largely to Russia. According to the World Bank, in 2022 remittances made by migrants accounted for 51% of the country’s GDP. As anticipated, despite the U.S specifically warning the Russian authorities that the Crocus City Hall was a potential target, whilst seeking to lay the blame for the attack on Ukraine, the Russian Government is intensifying its control over migrants. On April 1, a Ministry of Internal Affairs' spokesperson announced that the regulations will include mandatory fingerprinting and photographing of all foreigners upon entry into Russia, a reduction in the legal duration of stay from 180 days to 90 days, and the registration of migrants and their employers. In addition, whereas in the past a migrant could only be deported following a court's decision, this will no longer be the case. Against this backdrop, on April 3, the Davis Center at Harvard University hosted a seminar entitled, “The Crocus City Hall Terror Attack and Its Repercussions for Central Asians and Central Asia.” Opening the discussion, Yan Matusevich, a Ph.D. Candidate in Cultural Anthropology at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York, highlighted the fact that the “migration system has been in place for a very long time [and] the Central Asian migrant community in Russia has lived through crisis after crisis. But there are not a lot of alternatives out there,” he started, “so it's really hard to disentangle oneself from that. It’s been difficult for migrants for a long time, but they also know how to navigate the system, as violent and oppressive as it is. “Migrants are also under a lot of pressure to join the war effort, because a lot of Russians have left fleeing mobilization. Migrants are very resilient, though, and paradoxically, because there is such a major labor deficit in Russia, there are a lot of employment opportunities. Bringing in brigades of migrants in uniforms who are completely segregated and work in slave-like conditions would be the Russian ideal, but the problem is the reality doesn't match up given the dependence on migratory labor.” Malika Bahovadinova, a Post-Doctoral Fellow at the University of Amsterdam, addressed the “ambiguity” migrants face over whether their “status is legal or illegal.” Criminalization of migration laws has been a trend since 2013, she argued, with increased tracking...