News about UNESCO: events, facts and developments on tafs uz.
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Ten landmark buildings of Tashkent modernism, built after the 1966 earthquake, have been inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage site. They include the State Museum of History, the Museum of Arts, the Palace of Friendship of Peoples, the circus and the Kosmonavtlar metro station. Many of the buildings continue to serve their original purpose, and the circus is currently undergoing restoration.
Otabek YusupovOn October 22, 2026, the Center of Islamic Civilization in Uzbekistan held at the Palace of Nations in Geneva the exhibition “Civilizations, Personalities, Discoveries” and an international conference dedicated to the scholarly and spiritual heritage of Maverannahr. The event continued the dialogue launched on October 7 at UNESCO headquarters in Paris, within the framework of the initiative of the President of Uzbekistan put forward at the UN in September 2025. Agreements were reached on library cooperation, and the books displayed were donated to the UN library.
Shahnoza ErgashevaPeru's Ministry of Culture has abolished the advance ticket booking system for Machu Picchu. Now a purchase on the official Tu Boleto website must be completed within 15 minutes, otherwise the booking is cancelled. Tickets have become strictly personal, visitor limits remain in place, and the system is operating in a test mode.
Sevara AzamovaOn October 20, at the 225th session of the UNESCO Executive Board in Paris, a draft resolution proposed by Uzbekistan on protecting cultural heritage in the context of globalization and climate change was unanimously adopted. The initiative was put forward by President Shavkat Mirziyoyev on October 30, 2025, at the 43rd session of the General Conference in Samarkand. The resolution had 54 co-sponsors. The decision also endorses the holding of an International Symposium in Khiva in 2027.
Javlon TursunovIn September, archaeologists worked on the Dnipro near Khortytsia Island close to Zaporizhzhia, despite hostilities roughly 45 km away. Among the finds are a Bronze Age deer antler, ceramics presumably Scythian, a fragment of a Byzantine amphora, an 18th-century anchor, and a wooden dugout boat about a thousand years old. After the destruction of the Kakhovka dam in June 2023, the territory of Velykyi Luh was exposed, with monuments from the Neolithic to the 20th century. More than 100 organizations are advocating for the territory's inclusion on the UNESCO list.
Madina UsmonovaOn October 7, 2026, an international conference dedicated to the intellectual heritage of Central Asia was held at UNESCO headquarters in Paris. More than 300 participants discussed the contributions of the region's scholars, the work of the Center of Islamic Civilization in Tashkent, the digitization of manuscripts, and international scientific cooperation. The initiative is linked to speeches by Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev at the UN in 2017 and 2025.
Shahnoza ErgashevaThe cats living in the Pompeii Archaeological Park, who have become social media stars, are the subject of the photo book 'Cats of Pompeii', published by Giunti Editore together with the park. The book is based on photographs by archaeologist and photographer Silvia Vacca. The colony numbers 40–50 animals, and the park, together with Archeogatti Onlus, ensures sterilization, veterinary care, and rehoming of the cats.
Shahnoza ErgashevaEuronews published a report on a journey through Dubrovnik: a walk through the Old Town — a UNESCO World Heritage site since 1979, kayaking along the city walls, a trip to the island of Lopud, the Blue Caves, cooking traditional peka and a zipline on Mount Srđ.
Shahnoza Ergasheva
