On October 14-15, 2020, a number of environmental events were held in the Khorezm region within the UzWaterAware project funded by the European Union and implemented by CAREC. The events were organized during the final visits of the project to the regions of Uzbekistan with the support of the administration of the Khorezm region and the city of Urgench, as well as a project’s partner Khorezm Rural Advisory Support Service (NGO KRASS).
On October 14-15, water-saving eco-lessons were held in schools # 15, 12, and 7 of Urgench city, covering over 60 pupils and teachers. During eco-lessons, five informational videos developed for children and adults were shown to raise awareness on water resources management in various spheres of life – agriculture and water-saving technologies, household use and conservation, virtual water, and respect for resources.
Besides, the children’s book “Good knowledge of precious water” was presented in Russian and Uzbek languages for use by teachers and parents as additional teaching material for children about water and its saving. It is important to emphasize that at the request of the Ecological Movement of Uzbekistan, this book was translated into Karakalpak language and submitted to the Ministry of Public Education of the Republic of Karakalpakstan in the amount of 5,000 copies for further distribution in district schools.
On October 14, a meeting with representatives of water-ecological non-governmental organizations also took place in the House of Friendship and NGOs. During the meeting, five social and informational videos about water were demonstrated, and a conversation was held about methods of prevention and water saving in regions with limited water resources during the quarantine. Also, a master class was organized on using water-saving hydrogel technology in planting trees and plants with weather conditions and soil types as in the Khorezm region. It should be noted that the planting trees campaign under the UzWaterAware project will be held in Urgench in early November 2020 with favorable weather conditions.
Taking into account the situation with novel coronavirus in the country and the world, the project and partners took all measures to comply with the sanitary and epidemiological requirements. Besides, the participants in all environmental activities in the Khorezm region were provided with personal protective equipment like masks and antiseptics, as well as special colorful leaflets for children and adults.
Within these events in three regions, in total, 7 000 masks, antiseptics, and leaflets on protection against coronavirus were handed over to the Republic of Karakalpakstan (October 2-3), Surkhandarya (October 8-9), and Khorezm regions (October 14-15). More than 380 pupils and 100 school teachers, 80 representatives of regional subdivisions of the Ecological Movement of Uzbekistan, 40 employees of services on improvement and landscaping of cities, youth organizations, and the National Movement Yuksalish took part in these events.
It should be noted that these are not the first eco-lessons in Khorezm region. Within the Framework Agreement signed between the CAREC Branch Office in Uzbekistan and NGO KRASS, various awareness raising activities for target audiences were held in 2019-2020. In particular, a one-day seminar was organized for 25 teachers from Urgench schools and lecturers from four faculties of the Urgench State University on conducting eco-lessons with students. In their turn, trained teachers conducted over 15 eco-lessons in their schools and organized a contest of drawings and essays on water and environmental topics among their students. Also, a series of master-classes for youth and teachers on the aquaponics system was held by the project partners. The systems were constructed and handed over to the schools of the city and the Urgench State University. Besides, a meeting was organized with 25 representatives of water and environmental NGOs of Khorezm region and Beruni district of the Republic of Karakalpakstan.
On October 15, a grand opening ceremony of the sculpture took place in the park. The sculpture became a winner in a unique creative socially-oriented contest of sketches and sculptures on the theme “Symbol of water and life”. Welcoming speeches were given by Mr. Ravshan Khudaibergenov, Advisor on the State Language of the khokim of Khorezm region, Mr. François Begeot, Head of Cooperation Department of the European Union Delegation to Uzbekistan, Ms. Shahnoza Umarova, Director of CAREC Branch Office in Uzbekistan and the UzWaterAware Project Manager. The opening ceremony was also attended by representatives of the Ministry of Water Resources, NGO KRASS, the rectorate of the Behzad Institute, and the winner of the project competition, as well as Tashkent and local media.
“We are very glad that such a sculpture is installed in Urgench city. After all, the issue of conservation, efficient use, and protection of water resources is very important and relevant to the entire world community today. It is said that water is a source of life. Indeed, the existence of every person, animal, or plant depends on water. By treating water with care, we contribute to our future and that of our children. It is the duty of each of us to save water, use it wisely, and pass it on to the younger generation,” said Ravshan Khudaibergenov during the sculpture opening ceremony.
The contest was first announced on March 22, 2018, and ended in the fall of 2019. The participants of the contest became teachers, students, and pupils of the National Institute of Arts and Design named after Bekhzad, as well as the Republican Specialized Boarding School of Arts and the Republican Specialized School of Arts named after Benkov, representing Andijan, Bukhara, Djizakh, Kashkadarya, Namangan, Samarkand, Tashkent, and Fergana regions. About 60 works sent by the contest participants reflect the value and role of water in people’s lives; several works were dedicated to the Aral Sea and the Aral region.
“I am very pleased to be with you, unfortunately by video, to celebrate a very nice sculpture made by Mr. Yakubzhanov and representing a family. I think this is a very nice symbol because water is the topic of everyone. Every one of us should understand now that the contribution to the environment is not only an affair of society; it is an affair of the behavior of each of us. Therefore, I am sure that you will agree with me that we have to make an effort to protect water resources but, generally, we support behavior to protect air, biodiversity, forests, and have it at an individual level and equal responsible behavior. We need really to take advantage of our understanding of our environment, and we need therefore to respect it, believe in it, and, therefore, protect it,” said Mr. François Begeot in a video message.
As a result of the contest, a jury session was held with the participation of representatives of the Ministry of Water Resources of Uzbekistan (national partner of the project), State Committee on Ecology and Environmental protection of Uzbekistan, Ecological Party of Uzbekistan, UzA News Agency, UzDaily.com, and CAREC. The best 9 works were selected in three age categories (schoolchildren, students, teachers). The main selection criterion was the most interesting, creative, and informative reflection of the importance of water resources for human life and the environment in general.
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The sculpture of one of the winners, Mr. Khaitmirza Yakubzhanov, a graduate student of the Kamallitdin Behzad National Institute of Arts and Design, is inspired by the slogan of the UzWaterAware project: “Respecting water, we respect the future of our children.” It reminds us that water is life. People’s silhouettes represent a family – a father, a mother, and a child, growing up and aspiring to the future. The image of the family reminds us of the flow of water – its curves, smoothness, energyб and integrity,” said Ms. Shakhnoza Umarova.
The UzWaterAware project is implemented by CAREC with the financial support of the European Union during the period 2016-2020. The overall objective of the project is to sensitise and generate a greater degree of awareness on the strategic importance of water saving, water conservation and environmental protection under the conditions of climate change.
