On December 5-6 of this year, an international conference on the topic “The role of Turkestan in the history of the Turkic peoples” was held in Tashkent. The event was organized with the assistance of the Organization of Turkic States, the University of Journalism and Mass Communications of Uzbekistan and the Geographical Council of Turkic States. Its main goal is a deeper study of the history of the Turkic peoples, formed over thousands of years, interpretation of the political, economic, cultural, geographical past, isolating national and cultural identity from the general history, creating resources that serve the idea of unity and brotherhood to preserve and transmit them to future generations.

The conference was attended by scientists from Turkey, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and other countries, as well as representatives of higher educational institutions, international organizations and expert communities, whose reports determined the scientific and practical significance of the event.

Welcoming speeches were made by the Secretary General of the Geographical Council of Turkic States Oybek Norinboev, the rector of the University of Journalism and Mass Communications of Uzbekistan Sherzodkhon Kudratkhodja, and the Deputy Secretary General of the Organization of Turkic States Mirvahid Azimov. Presentations were made by the rector of Istanbul Tikaret University Abdulhamit Avshar and the director of the Institute of History of the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Uzbekistan Azamat Ziyo, who noted the historical significance of this conference.

The international conference was held in the following areas: “Politics and governance in Turkestan, the foundations of the traditions of Turkic statehood”, “Science and culture in Turkestan or Moverannahr, as a symbol of medieval classical Islamic culture”, “Architectural monuments and art of Turkestan”, “Turkic language and its role and significance in the life of the peoples of the region”, “Turkestan and the Turkic world”.

Participants in the international conference, held under the motto of the great scientist-thinker Imam Bukhari “There is no salvation except science,” had the opportunity to study the history of Turkestan and plunge more deeply into the topic of the cultural heritage and wealth of the Turkic peoples. The International Conference laid the foundation for further fundamental, scientific and applied, as well as interdisciplinary scientific research. The conference was held in the language of the member states of the Organization of Turkic States.

The second day of the international conference began with the report “History and interpretation of Turkestan from the point of view of Turkestan identity” by Z. Kamalova. Also, the report on the creation of interactive web maps of Islamic cultural heritage sites (using the example of Uzbekistan) aroused interest and lively discussion among the participants.

Following the results of the Conference, speeches, reports and scientific articles of speakers will be published in a separate international collection.