On 6 May Tashkent hosted the Europe Day Festival as a part of Europe Day events organized by the Delegation of the European Union to Uzbekistan. The event saw the participation of more than 40 projects funded by the European Union and Team Europe working in Uzbekistan. More than 5 000 people visited the Festival, making it the biggest public event of recent years popularizing the support of the European Union to Uzbekistan.   

More than 40 projects were presented at the festival working at such important EU – Uzbekistan cooperation as climate change and resilience in Central Asia including the Aral Sea region, strengthening the civil society, communities and authorities to advance gender equality and women’s rights in Uzbekistan, improvement of the solid waste management system, Erasmus+ educational programmes, horticulture development activities, public service delivery and many more. 

“As 2023 is marked as the European Year of Skills, I am very happy to see people showing interest in our projects today. Among the programmes funded by the European Union in Uzbekistan are those ensuring that women, youth and the rural population have access to education. These projects provide the population of Uzbekistan with more opportunities to acquire new skills that will contribute to their further development,” points out Charlotte Adriaen, the Ambassador of the European Union to Uzbekistan.

The Festival that took place at Tashkent Botanical garden also contained of an entertainment part for the general public, which included performances by Uzbek pop stars, themed flash mobs, master classes, creative and sport activations as well as edutainment corners and dance zones for visitors.

Background information

About Europe Day

Europe Day is an annual commemoration of the Shuman Declaration – a founding speech, presented by French foreign minister Robert Schuman. Robert Schuman delivered this historic speech on 9 May 1950 which led to the creation of the European Union. It is celebrated every year because it is about peace and unity in diversity in Europe. Today, Europe Day has grown into a symbolic annual celebration throughout Europe, as well as in its partner countries including Uzbekistan.