Poet Sirojiddin Sayyid,
Chairman of the Writers’ Union of Uzbekistan
In today’s New Uzbekistan, a lot of attention is paid to the development of reading culture and book publishing. As the head of our state says, “There will be no break in education,” in every meeting with representatives of the intellectuals, culture, literature and art, in every historical speech that sounded like an appeal to our people, he paid special attention to the issue of studying and gaining knowledge about the fundamentals world civilization, the achievements of modern world science. He never gets tired of emphasizing the words “knowledge, knowledge, knowledge” over and over again.
President Shavkat Mirziyoyev: “Each country in the world, each nation is powerful primarily with its intellectual potential and high spirituality. It is not for nothing that he said that the source of such mighty power is the great discovery of human thinking – books and readers.
Decree of the President of Uzbekistan dated January 12, 2017 “On the establishment of a commission on the development of the system of printing and distribution of book products, the promotion of book reading and reading culture”, The decision of September 13, 2017 “On the program of comprehensive measures to develop the system of publication and distribution of book products, increase and promote book reading and reading culture” together with the decision “On additional measures for the further development of the publishing and printing industry”, It is well known that great work has been done on the decisions “On further improvement of information-library services to the residents of the Republic of Uzbekistan”.
On December 14, 2020, the decision of the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Uzbekistan “On approval of the national program for the development and support of reading culture in 2020-2025” was adopted.
The processes of implementation of this National Program are showing positive results.
The fourth initiative put forward by our President – to raise the spirituality of young people, to widely promote reading among them – serious practical work is being carried out in our country. Young people, especially teenagers and children, are widely participating in reading contests.
Members of the Writers’ Union of Uzbekistan actively participate in events dedicated to book reading and development of reading.The Children’s and Adolescent Creative Council operates under the association, master classes are regularly held by well-known poets and writers in all schools, higher and secondary educational institutions of our country.
By the Administration of the Republic of Uzbekistan in April-May of this year in order to attract students and pupils of all higher educational institutions and general education schools in our country to reading books, to raise the level of artistic literacy and educate them in the spirit of patriotism and concern for the future of our country as part of the “Sharing Enlightenment” project, 156 famous artists held meetings with writers and educational events in 202 higher educational institutions and 606 secondary schools, under their auspices. At these events, 150 works of art were recommended for reading, films and performances were shown.
During 2020-2023, the Writers’ Union of Uzbekistan published 403 books in the fields of prose, poetry, playwriting, children’s literature, literary studies, and artistic translation. Over the past years, our poets, writers and translators prepared 100-volume “Masterpieces of Russian Literature” and 100-volume “Masterpieces of Turkish Literature” for publication. This great project was supported by the Head of State, published and distributed to the regions.
At this point, it should be noted that the 16-volume set of books entitled “Masterpieces of Karakalpak Literature” was prepared for publication and submitted to the press by the Writers’ Union of Uzbekistan.
Within the framework of the “Book campaign” project, in the first quarter of 2023, 4,679 books were sent to higher education institutions, general education schools, 14,800 books to the provinces, 50 books to the penal colony, 950 to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Spirituality, Information and Library Centers, 500 to the State Security Service, 7,267 to event participants, book authors, 461 to newspapers and creative houses, 300 to Uzbekistan-Kyrgyz Friendship Society, 350 to neighborhoods, 134 to the Office of Muslims, More than 30 thousand 791 books were distributed indiscriminately to Uzbekistan “Veteran” Association of combatants-veterans and disabled people, 500 books to Halq Bank, and 600 books to children’s camp. To date, more than 1 million books have been distributed in four years.
At the moment, the 100-volume set of books “Masterpieces of World Children’s Literature” is being prepared for publication by the Writers’ Union of Uzbekistan.
In 2020-2023, the first books of 87 young authors were published in tens of thousands of copies each in the “My first book” project by the Writers’ Union of Uzbekistan, and presentation events were held. The books were freely distributed to higher education institutions, general education schools, and military units.
All these are aimed primarily at the development of reading among young people, children and adolescents. Publication of books and promotion of book reading will be continued consistently.
At the end of our speech, we found it necessary to present our poem “Get a Book”:
Buy a velvet from Otchopar*,
Take as much as you can,
But when you return home
Get a book, hey, man.
Buy ornament from Urikzor*,
From Sirgali* get a car,
Kill ignorance if you can,
Get a book, hey, man.
A thousand kinds of wine – to you,
Pilaf ‒ to you, kebab ‒ to you,
I moan to you, I beg to you,
Get a book, hey, man!
You’re great with your goods,
Qazi*, Norin* are your foods,
Now look to your kids’ moods,
Get a book, hey, man.
You say “okay” with a smile,
Think for yourself for a while,
Be blessed by enlightment,
Get a book, hey, man.
Make a shop, make a market,
You like house made of parquet,
Enjoy the sweet worry ‒
Get a book, hey, man.
Life is passing – hurry up,
Get a hold of yourself,
Be swift as running water,
Get a book, hey, man.
Who will stay on your trail,
Whether he’s male or female,
First of all to your kids,
Get a book, hey, man.
May God bless you,
May your life be blessed,
Bring the Sun to your home ‒
Get a book, hey, man.
Translated by Begoyim Kholbekova
Otchopar*- the name given to the market;
Urikzor* – market of various goods;
Sirgali* – car market;
Qazi*, Norin* – names of national dishes.