President of Uzbekistan supports youth initiatives

On June 30, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev met with active and enterprising young people from across the country at a special exhibition held in the Olympic Village to mark Youth Day.

The Head of State reviewed their projects, covering areas such as mahalla development, ecology, start-ups, engineering, and the promotion of a reading culture, and personally met with their initiators.

Islombek Muhammadjonov, youth leader of the Obod mahalla in Fergana district, trained 600 of his peers in modern professions and foreign languages through the Obod Talim educational center he established. He said he had succeeded in bringing the center’s activities to the global market by signing international contracts with leading German companies. As a result, the mahalla became free of youth unemployment and crime.

The initiatives of Gulirano Mamirova, coordinator of the Yashil Tashabbuslar Foundation and a master’s student at Green University, were also noteworthy. Her work developing environmental and social projects and launching start-ups in the field of green innovation attracted particular attention from the Head of State.

The President highly praised the creative aspirations of Odinakhon Mamurjonova, the winner of the “Most Original Idea” category in a painting competition, as well as the determination of Chinora Gulomova, who, despite her physical disabilities, is implementing the “Read and Develop” project for children studying at home. The responsible officials were instructed to ensure systematic support for their initiatives to strengthen an inclusive environment in society.

The exhibition section devoted to start-ups, entrepreneurship, and vocational education showcased the intellectual potential of young men and women from the country who are capable of competing successfully on the international stage.

Asilbek Ashurov, a graduate of the Presidential School and a student at the University of Chicago, founded the Makon AI start-up at 18 and developed an artificial intelligence platform for SAT/AP exam preparation.

He reported that, to date, his start-up has attracted $380,000 in investment from more than 100,000 clients and investors in the United States, the Middle East, and North Africa, and that the project has been valued at $3 million.

The achievements of Sardorbek Rakhmatulloyev, the first participant from Uzbekistan in the Y Combinator program, one of the world’s leading accelerators, were recognized as a success for the national start-up ecosystem. He founded a start-up in the United States with annual revenue of several thousand dollars and gained work experience at Meta Superintelligence.

The President emphasized that the widespread introduction of similar high-tech projects in the country and continued support for young entrepreneurs seeking to enter foreign markets would remain priority areas of state policy.

During the engineering and innovation presentations, students’ achievements in artificial intelligence and robotics were reviewed.

Biloliddin Ismoilov, a student at Turin Polytechnic University in Tashkent and the national drone-racing champion, reported that he is participating as an engineer in the development and improvement of domestically produced anti-drone systems.

A successful project in the “Next-Generation Vehicles” category by Aizada Asanova, a student at Nukus State Technical University and a resident of the Nukus Youth Technopark, also demonstrates the dynamic development of engineering schools in the regions. The Head of State noted the need to introduce these innovations across various sectors.

The achievements of the younger generation in the cultural and educational spheres, as well as in promoting a reading culture, were also among the central topics of the meeting.

It was noted that the achievements of Nigina Fakhriddinova, a winner of international beauty and art competitions, and of young musician Amina Avazova contribute to enhancing the international prestige of the national culture.

Digital projects to promote reading among the public were also presented. Sirojiddin Olimov, head of the Mutolaa project, reported that the mobile application he developed had been downloaded nearly 5 million times, and the number of books read through the app had exceeded 18 million.

Nilufar Ergasheva, a recipient of the Zulfiya State Prize, is the author of the book Yashil So’z (The Green Word) and a participant in the So’z (Word) project. She proposed developing a literary map of Uzbekistan to promote literary tourism and organizing large-scale poetry, music, and literary evenings, as well as other public artistic concert programs, at the Burhoniddin Marginoni Scientific, Educational and Tourism Complex.

During a sincere dialogue with young people, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev supported the promising projects and initiatives proposed.

UzA