UNESCO. General Conference; 30th; Records ... - unesdoc - Unesco

of a conference on security and cooperation in Eurasia. All this gives grounds for thinking that the revival of the
Great Silk Road at the present time will enable the countries of Central Asia, including Kyrgyzstan, together with
UNESCO, to create the necessary conditions for making the region a zone of stability, security, friendship,
cooperation and equal partnership.
(34.4) The tragic events in the Balkans and the Caucasus, in Afghanistan and Tajikistan, and the recent events in
the south of Kyrgyzstan, which were recently brought to a successful conclusion, clearly demonstrate that certain
forces, on the false pretext of religious dogma, would like to turn back the course of history and return to a period
of excesses that flout religion and universal human values. We are convinced that we should counter this evil with
unity and solidarity, in which an important role should be played by intercultural and interfaith dialogue such as
was begun on UNESCO’s initiative at the forum “Culture and Religion in Central Asia”, held in Kyrgyzstan this
September as part of the project “East-West Intercultural Dialogue in Central Asia”. Our forum made an important
contribution to the preparation of a strategy of intercultural, interfaith dialogue as a step towards a culture of peace,
as a model of civil peace and concord in Central Asia and in other regions of the world. Those taking part in the
forum called upon the world’s political leaders to work out cultural policies that would make it possible to preserve
the identity of their peoples and the identity of other cultures, both within those countries and beyond their borders.
They appealed to members of the clergy to use their influence to preserve human beings’ sacred need for faith and
to prevent the development of a religious factor in politics.
(34.5) Active work has begun in Kyrgyzstan on the inclusion of the country’s unique architectural and natural
sites and monuments in UNESCO’s World Heritage List. An outstanding event was the adoption in June 1999 of a
law “on the protection and use of the historical and cultural heritage”, which is in conformity with the ideas and
principles outlined by UNESCO in the field of protection of monuments. It is a great honour for me, on behalf of
the Government of Kyrgyzstan, to express sincere thanks to UNESCO for including the 3,000th anniversary of the
City of Osh and the centenary of the birth of Kasym Tynystanov, poet and dramatist, scholar and statesman, in its
list of outstanding anniversaries. Any nation that wishes to scale the heights of civilization always seeks inspiration
in its past. The Kyrgyz are one of the most ancient peoples of Central Asia, and Osh is one of the world’s oldest
towns, as witnessed by many archaeological finds, the evidence of ancient and medieval written sources,
mythology, and historical accounts. The celebration of the 3,000th anniversary of Osh will not only bring us closer
to the historical past and to the heritage of ancient civilizations, but will also be a significant international and
political event. With UNESCO’s support, we have an opportunity to re-establish the reputation of Osh as one of
the most ancient cities of the Great Silk Road linking East and West.
(34.6) We are grateful to UNESCO for the attention it pays to Central Asia and for its outstanding publication,
the “History of the Civilizations of Central Asia”. We consider it appropriate that this unique chronicle of the
culture and history of the Central Asian region should be published in Russian, thus making it considerably more
accessible to a wide readership. Future generations must be acquainted with their own history.
(34.7) Kyrgyzstan has taken an active part in the “Education for All - Assessment 2000” conducted by
UNESCO, and has been one of the first in the region to prepare its country report. The “Education for All”
programme is being carried out in Kyrgyzstan through a national educational programme. Ours is the only State
among the CIS countries in which a presidential education programme “Personnel for the twenty-first century” is
being carried out. It is aimed primarily at bringing the Kyrgyz education system into the world educational space in
this age of the globalization of all spheres of human activity.
(34.8) Particular attention is paid in our Republic to the computerization of schools, particularly in rural areas,
and to the development of distance education. We are profoundly grateful to UNESCO, and to the French
Government and its Ministry of Education, for their help in developing distance education through the child
education centres that have been opened in all regions of the country. These centres operate within the framework
of the “Meerim” International Charitable Foundation, which is headed by the country’s First Lady, Mairam
Akaeva. We are confident that UNESCO will continue to support our efforts in this direction.
(34.9) Kyrgyzstan is a land of many ethnic groups and many cultures, whose inhabitants include the
representatives of more than 80 nationalities and where the principle “Kyrgyzstan is our common home” is
genuinely put into effect. We hope that our initiatives to improve methods of teaching languages, including local
languages, using the latest multimedia technologies, and to renew and preserve the cultural heritage, will receive
the understanding and support of UNESCO. A number of schools in our country, including some in remote rural
areas, are taking part in the Associated Schools programme.
(34.10) International cooperation in higher education is facilitated by UNESCO’s UNITWIN/UNESCO Chairs
Programme. Three UNESCO Chairs have been created and are operating in the universities of Kyrgyzstan:
environmental education; gender policy and human rights; and world cultures and world religions.
(34.11) On the initiative of the President of the Kyrgyz Republic, Askar Alaev, the United Nations General
Assembly has proclaimed the year 2002 as the International Year of Mountains. This initiative by our President
was supported by the governments of many other countries. It is of particular relevance to Kyrgyzstan, given that
94% of the country is taken up by mountains. A Regional Scientific Coordinating Council on Mountain Problems
405
11