President of Uzbekistan congratulates workers of print and mass media

Dear friends!

It gives me a great pleasure to sincerely, from my heart to congratulate you, dear journalists, employees of TV and radio, publishing houses and printing enterprises of our country, with 27 June – Day of workers of print and mass media and to convey to you my deep respect and best wishes.

The holding of your professional holiday on the eve of the great historical date – the 25th anniversary of the state independence of the Republic of Uzbekistan has a great symbolic value. Independence marked the beginning of a new era in the long history of our country, opened to us the path of building a legal democratic state, free civil society.

Speaking of it, it is necessary to mention that we all know and appreciate the worthwhile contribution of the country's media in the awareness of our compatriots of how the fateful event, the independence is, how truly a priceless blessing it is, which fundamentally changed our lives, opened endless possibilities for the revival of our spiritual values, the sacred religion of honor and dignity, the growth of national consciousness, building a prosperous life and prosperous future.

From this point of view, it becomes even more evident what a deep meaning inherent in the words “My Life, my destiny - my own, unique Uzbekistan!”, which became the main idea of the celebration of independence this year.

Today, celebrating the Day of workers of print and mass media, we consider it our duty to pay tribute to our ancestors, the enlighteners –jadids, to remember the names of veterans of the sphere with respect and reverence. They did not spare themselves for the sake of the homeland, despite the harassment and persecution of a totalitarian system, they laid the foundation for the development of our national press, devoted their lives to the service of the interests of the people.

From the first days of independence, our country has been carrying out a consistent policy aimed at constant improvement of the role of the media in society and the effectiveness of their activities, the strengthening of the legal, material-technical base of media organizations, increasing the social status and prestige of the profession of journalist, all-round stimulation of labor workers.

Particular attention is paid to the creation of equal conditions for the development of state and non-state media in the information space of the country. About 14 billion soums in the form of loans, social orders and state grants were allocated at the expense of the state budget in recent years to support electronic and print media. Many other examples can be brought as a confirmation of the above facts.

Dear friends!

Not a secret for anybody that in today's rapidly changing, difficult time, which brings us face to face with more pressing and important issues in an increasingly global arena of fierce competition, struggles and conflicts, information security threats are increasing as never before. The role and responsibility of the domestic media in education, first of all, of the youth as independently minded individuals, able to distinguish good from evil, truth from falsehood, to be constantly alert and vigilant, to live with a sense of belonging to what is happening around us is huge.

With this in mind, in the course of our today's meetings, we, of course, critically evaluating the results of activities of mass media of Uzbekistan, exchange views on new plans and the challenges they face.

The training of highly qualified journalists, analysts and commentators, in other words, the real masters of their craft, all these issues are still relevant for us.

Such criteria and principles, as the ability of a journalist to penetrate deeply into the essence of events and phenomena, to reveal the meaning and significance of what is happening in our society, social and political processes, to raise acute problems that hinder our development, comprehensively and objectively approach illuminated issues, these are what should be in the focus of our media.

To ensure that these criteria are firmly established in practice, we need to encourage our ongoing work on the preparation of journalistic personnel, strengthening the material-technical base of higher educational institutions, improvement of educational standards and curricula, professional development and training of teachers, introduction of the most advanced pedagogical and innovation technologies in educational process.

Along with this, the integration of the domestic media in the international information space, the establishment of fruitful relations with the world-renowned and respected publications and media companies, deep mastering of information and communication technologies and foreign languages are of particular importance. When it comes to this, we view positively the fact that in recent years, about 700 members of the sector have improved their skills abroad, and, of course, we are well aware of the need for consistent continuation of this work is of great importance.

I think there is no need to explain to anyone that in the current era of globalization, in the age of Internet, there are no barriers for information, it is impossible to create any “iron curtain”.

However, recognizing that such unprecedented integration processes in the global information space offer tremendous possibilities for today's high development, one cannot deny the fact that with information flows into our lives, unfortunately, we are having various destructive ideas, negative manifestations of “mass culture” penetrating. All of us are concerned that they have a detrimental impact on the consciousness and outlook of our younger generation, the attitude towards spiritual values and traditions of our people.

In this regard, I would like to reiterate one point: the preservation of spirituality is maintaining the humanity of a person itself, especially the younger generation, our future. That is why today, the life itself requires from all of us, especially from you, dear workers of mass media to counter such hidden threats the bright ideas and thought permeated deep truth of life and humanity.

Dear friends!

Today, assessing the results of our great creative work over the 25 years of independent development, we cannot help wondering: “Who were we yesterday and who are today, what new milestones we need to achieve tomorrow?” I think this question is relevant to you, dear representatives of the media, who always seek to be in the center of events.

We all remember the extremely complicated and dangerous situation on the eve of the first independence and in the first years of the Republic when a small spark was enough to broke the whole of the country.

We must never forget all the difficulties in our way, that at that time in the country with over 20 million population remained, there were only 22 thousand tons of flour reserved, there had been a deep crisis in the economy. There were also subversive actions, to draw us into various conflicts, commit terrorist acts, pursuing the most insidious purpose, in short, attempts to turn us from our chosen path. Only through the courage and strength of will, patience and selfless work of our people, we were able to overcome all these hardships.

I think that sacred duty for each one of us is even deeper to reveal our public, especially young people, the true nature and value of such complex lessons of the new history of Uzbekistan.

Without a doubt, the traversed difficult and yet glorious path, successes and goals, receiving recognition by the world community, should be clearly imprinted in the annals of our history in the minds of the people, become the vital force of the national idea. 

When we talk about the future prospects of the development of the country, we are aware that life never stands still, confronts us with new problems and challenges.

In this sense, in implementation of programmes planned by us by 2030, aimed at achieving the priority objectives, including, providing the population of the country even more prosperous and successful life, to enter the ranks of developed democratic states of the world, to increase the prestige of Uzbekistan at international arena, our nation relies on you, your talent and skill.

Dear friends!

As a man with a deep understanding of how difficult and responsible is the work of a journalist, I want to assure you that I am always ready to fully support your noble aspirations and initiatives.

Once again, let me to heartily congratulate you on your professional holiday, I wish you all health, happiness, luck and new creative successes.

Source: Jahonnews.uz