The contest was arranged by the Mahalla public charity foundation in cooperation with the Ministry of Higher and Secondary Special Education and the Ministry of Public Education of the Republic of Uzbekistan as well as the Kamolot public youth movement and other organizations.

The contest was arranged by the Mahalla public charity foundation in cooperation with the Ministry of Higher and Secondary Special Education and the Ministry of Public Education of the Republic of Uzbekistan as well as the Kamolot public youth movement and other organizations.

It was said during the event that special attention was being paid to strengthening the role of this unique system of self government – neighbourhood - in the life of the state and society, to improving its legal organizational basis and expanding its remit in the process of reforms on the basis of the principle of “From a strong state to a strong civil society”.

In this contest, 9 teams of citizens’ self-government bodies comprising students of secondary special education and vocational training establishments and schools participated.

Team members’ knowledge about the history, specific features and traditions of their territory, the extent to which they understood the essence and significance of the idea “Who were we in the past, who are we today and what high goals should we achieve tomorrow?” and their essays on work directed towards the development of the institution of neighbourhood were evaluated.

The “Young people with initiative” team of the Furqat neighbourhood citizens gathering in the town of Bukhara were declared the winner and given the right to participate in the regional stage of the contest.

“In our neighbourhood, educational work among young people has been put on a systemic basis. Here cooperation among families, the neighbourhood and educational establishments are especially important,” says M.Ramazonova, advisor of the neighbourhood citizens’ gathering on issues of moral education and spiritual enlightenment.