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07/12/2024 17:29
Their rights and legitimate interests as well as social protection are safeguarded by a solid legal framework created in the country. In particular, the national Constitution contains provisions aimed at meeting a great diversity of vital needs of young people, including education, professional development, employment by their specialization, healthcare, family and housing.
Detailed descriptions of rights and their guarantees are provided in the Law of the Republic of Uzbekistan “On Youth Policy”. The document offers a list of goals and principles of government policy in the field of youth affairs, matters related to their legal and social protection, the right to education, state support for talented young men and women, as well as other essential and pressing issues of social development.
Thus, in accordance with the law, state bodies were established that are authorized with executing youth policy, along with public social associations representing the interests of young people. Today, the country has a state organization to further the interests of youth and support their proposals and initiatives – the Youth Affairs Agency of Uzbekistan, as well as the largest public organization of young people – the Youth Union of Uzbekistan, along with a number of non-governmental organizations.
In addition, more than 20 laws have been adopted to promote the youth cause in the country, including those “On Physical Culture and Sports”, “On Education”, “On Guarantees of the Rights of the Child”, “On the Prevention of Neglect and Delinquency Among Minors”, “On Volunteer Activity”, along with over 70 decrees and resolutions of the President of Uzbekistan, in excess of 200 regulatory acts of the Cabinet of Ministers, ministries, state committees and other government agencies.
Moreover, the Oliy Majlis (Supreme Assembly, the national parliament) has ratified a number of international agreements on the rights of children and youth, also serving as critical legal basis on this front.
In order to make a more effective use of international best practices in youth policy and develop mutually advantageous partnerships, interaction has been established with 13 youth organizations abroad. In 2018, Uzbekistan was admitted to the Youth Council of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, and in 2020 – to the Youth Council of the Commonwealth of Independent States.
A new system set up and gradually been implemented currently seeks to established mechanisms for training and promoting young leaders.
It is noteworthy that the share of youth elected to the Legislative Chamber (lower house of the parliament) of the Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan exceeds 6 percent of the total number of deputies. A Youth Commission and Youth Parliaments have been operating under the Senate and the Legislative Chamber. Members of the Youth Parliament are working to reflect the interests of young people in legislation and prepare proposals for introducing appropriate amendments and addenda to them. In addition, international cooperation has been enhancing remarkably. Members of the Youth Parliament have been active in meetings of the Youth Interparliamentary Assembly – IPA CIS, as well as other international forums.
Owing to the initiative and practical support from the President of the country, Shavkat Mirziyoyev, youth policy has been taken to a completely new level and is being successfully implemented.
Thus, 30 June was declared Youth Day in Uzbekistan in 2017, and the date is widely celebrated every year as a holiday for the nation’s younger generation.
Over the past period, a Youth Book has been compiled to include young people who are currently unemployed or in need of social protection. In order to engage them in entrepreneurship, the country’s banks offer preferential loans, vocational and entrepreneurial education and skills courses. Young people interested in handicrafts are provided with equipment. Local authorities have allocated free and unused land to boys and girls who want to involve themselves in agriculture, as well as livestock for starting livestock farming activities. In addition, a Youth Fund has been created to be used to financially support young people from the Youth Book. The number of types of assistance provided through the Youth Book has grown to 30, and the processing time for applications has been reduced to 5 days.
Work in this direction has covered 7 areas. In 2023 alone, 396 thousand young people in need of special care from the state were assigned to officials and top leaders, and through individual work with them, 331 thousand young people managed to find their place in life. Of these, 94 thousand people were provided with employment, another 56 thousand young people were trained in professions.
This year, on the recommendation of youth leaders, 338 thousand boys and girls were provided with assistance in the amount of 444 billion soums. In particular, 132 billion soums of tuition fees were paid for 49,453 students in need of social protection to continue their studies, 18,544 unemployed young people were allocated equipment and tools worth 59.8 billion soums, and their employment in mahallas was ensured.
The costs of training 17,321 unemployed young people in sciences, foreign languages, modern professions and driving, amounting to 26 billion soums, were also reimbursed. 7,605 unorganized young people were drafted into the conscription reserve for mobilization, for whom 39.4 billion soums of military fees were paid. And 31,459 persons with disabilities and sick young people were provided with medical services, their treatment was paid for in the amount of 38.1 billion soums.
In addition, 213,651 young people who need social protection for farming, entrepreneurship, obtaining passports, participating in competitions, temporary residence and implementing projects were provided with financial assistance in the amount of 135.7 billion soums.
Each mahalla (Uzbek traditional neighborhood community institution) has been implementing Youth Employment Program, and as a result, 236 thousand unemployed boys and girls and 189 thousand school graduates found jobs.
Another priority area of state policy is the education of the younger generation. It is for this reason that children’s access to preschool education has increased 3.5 times, and the opportunity to obtain higher education grew threefold.
Over the past short period, 224 thousand girls have been provided with preferential educational loans in the amount of 5 trillion soums for studying at universities. More than 3,000 girls pursue undergraduate studies on the basis of special quota, over 10,000 girls have studied at the graduate level at the expense of public funds.
Thanks to the opportunities being delivered to improve research and analytical work, the proportion of young people under the age of 30 receiving degrees and titles of Doctors of Philosophy, Doctors of Science, and professors has been growing considerably over the last years.
In order to support talented youth, the first 24-hour Creative Park was set up at the Youth Creativity Palace in capital Tashkent. Moreover, 2 million people joined Zakovat and other intellectual games, and over 6 million young people joined the movement of young book lovers.
The victory of young Uzbek chess players at the World Chess Olympiad became one of the significant events in the history of the country and the world. Uzbekistan has won the right to host the 2026 Chess Olympiad for the first time. In order to develop this intellectual sport for young players, an international chess school equipped with modern infrastructure has been built and commissioned recently. This institution is capable of training 1,700 boys and girls per year, covering 7,500 young people with various activities. All conditions have also been created here for holding international competitions, such as the World and Asian Championships, as well as the Universiade.
Apart from that, youth programs have been developed to implement the youth policy. In 2024, priority tasks and forecast indicators have been identified in 8 areas for targeted work with representatives of the growing generation in local communities.
A new approach to working with youth will be introduced in every region of the country, ministry and other government agency. On the recommendation of local youth leaders, the types of assistance provided will be transformed, and attention will be paid to training in modern professions. Additional infrastructure will be built across the nation, and broader opportunities will be delivered for the full organization of young people’s free time and the realization of their abilities.
In a word, youth policy in Uzbekistan is defined as the most critical task for officials and leaders at all levels, as well as the general public, the entire society. Support for the younger generation to choose a worthy path in life and pursue certain professional development determines the strategic course of the youth policy in the country.