The city where Tamerlane is buried beneath the azure dome of the Gur Amir mausoleum made a suitable setting for UNESCO’s training for 22 tourist guides from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan in November 2021.
The training was the final phase of the ‘WFTGA Hands on Tourist Guiding (HOT) Training for the Silk Roads Heritage Guides’, launched online in 2020 with the (WFTGA).
Uzbekistan also possesses a wealth of intangible cultural heritage, including traditional craftsmanship. Many of these practices are in need of safeguarding in order to ensure the transmission of these heritage skills to the next generation. In October 2021, , Fergana Valley, for more than 60 participants from across Uzbekistan.
The capacity-building activities had two goals. One, promoting community-based safeguarding of intangible cultural heritage, especially related to craftsmanship. And two, improving the economic and social well-being of local communities, notably women and youth, by providing them with sustainable income-generating opportunities. The training was conducted by nationally renowned masters in traditional craftsmanship – embroidery, carpet-weaving, dyeing, ethno-design and block printing – and craft entrepreneurship experts.
Both these courses were part of the UNESCO and European Union partnership project ‘’. The project’s goal is to strengthen capacities for safeguarding tangible and intangible cultural heritage, promote the common heritage on the Silk Roads, and use it as a foundation for sustainable development, including through the development of tourism for the Silk Roads Heritage Corridors.
