Event to round up outcomes of 2011

December 6, 2011

On November 21, the Youth Creativity Palace will host an event to unveil the results of the Fund Forum’s major youth project Kelajak ovozi 2011 (Voice of the future) Talented Youth Contest. The finalists of the contest will do presentations of their projects before the Public Council. Concurrently, an adjacent venue will be hosting the Fund Forum’s online report conference. Also, the winners of youth-oriented grant programs – the Educational Grants Program, the Program of Scholarships for Talented Students and the Sports Grants Program – will be honored.

Kelajak ovozi Talented Youth Contest tests the youth’s skills in 4 categories: architecture and design; information technologies, rationalization proposals and technical developments; traditional and applied art; and literature and journalism. The contest is open to young people aged 15-25. In 2011, over 76,000 people submitted applications for participation in the contest, a record number of applicants to contests organized in Uzbekistan. Over 550 participants in regional selection rounds have made it to the final round scheduled for December 10-20 in Tashkent. The awards ceremony for the winners will take place on December 21 at the Youth Creativity Palace.

Also, an awards ceremony for the winners of the Educational Grants Program 2011 will take place. The program is open to talented university applicants and covers the tuition fee for the winners. Applications were accepted from August 15 through September 5, 2011. Of the 2,200-odd applicants, 270 were selected by means of an interview with a selection panel. The Program of Scholarships for Talented Students was devised in an effort to encourage promising students in their 3rd and 4th year of study. Active, talented and goal-oriented students who pass the contest receive a stipend provided by the Fund Forum on top of their regular monthly stipends throughout an academic year. Around 1,500 applications were received from May 20 through August 20, 2011, with 300 having been selected. The Sports Grants Program is aimed at providing financial assistance for promising athletes from across the republic.

The online report conference is seen as a modern and effective way of summing up the Fund’s activities throughout the year. It is held annually in December as a direct online dialog with the broad public on www.on-line.uz website. The conference features a panel consisting of not only Fund Forum representatives but also renowned culture and art professionals, pop stars, film stars, athletes as well as winners of the Fund Forum’s projects, i.e. everyone who has contributed to the organization’s projects throughout the outgoing year. The online conference also includes discussions and roundtables focusing on a variety of topics of interest.

December 21 will thus see the Fund Forum unveil winners and grantees, answer questions from the public, round up the results achieved in 2011 and map out plans for 2012.