On February 20, 2019, a briefing was held in Tashkent for media representatives as part of the preparation and implementation of the social project Hashar Week, which will be held from March 11 to March 17, 2019 in Tashkent.

For reference: The author of this project is Suna Park, international political consultant, managing director of The K’orôbe London, and a lecturer at the Singapore Management Development Institute in Tashkent.

The main organizers of the project are the State Committee of the Republic of Uzbekistan on Ecology and Environmental Protection, the Tashkent City Khokimiyat, Makhsustrans, the United Nations Development Program, PepsiCo and other international organizations and business structures.

Recently, many vivid and significant events have been held in Tashkent, affecting many areas of urban life. From March 11 to March 17, the first large-scale project “Hashar Week” will take place, aimed at attracting the attention of the general public to the issues of pollution, ecology and waste management culture, in general.

The goal of the project is to take the first step in raising the awareness of the population and emphasize the importance of individual responsibility for household waste and the effectiveness of their disposal. The project also aims to promote positive interpretation and practice of the hashar tradition.

For reference: Hashar (Persian.  In Arab. - “joint work, charity”) is an ancient tradition of mutual assistance and voluntary participation in the improvement.

The main objectives of the project are:

- to unite the efforts of the authorities, business structures, public organizations, the media and residents of the country to minimize the formation of household and other waste, as well as create an effective basis for the development of the waste recycling industry;

- raising awareness of citizens on environmental issues and environmental protection, including the treatment of solid waste;

- the development and dissemination of the culture of separate waste collection, as well as the improvement of mechanisms for the delivery and collection of sorted recycled materials and others.

It was noted that today in Uzbekistan, special attention is paid to the introduction of integrated waste management, the main priority areas of which are prevention and all-round reduction of production and consumption waste, organization of separate waste collection and transportation, maximum use of secondary resources. In this context, it is very important to create a culture and practice of separate collection of waste among the population, as well as improving the mechanisms for the delivery and collection of sorted garbage.

During the week, events will be held in 4 areas: Action, Enlightenment, Art, Business.

Action #HasharWeekGo:

- Sort the waste into plastic, paper, glass and plastic bags;

- Download the mobile application “Hashar Week” and register in it to participate in the action;

- Hand over the sorted garbage to reception points (21 points in 11 districts of Tashkent) and get valuable prizes.

Enlightenment #HasharWeekTalk:

- Interactive eco-lessons in 22 schools in Tashkent;

- 4 public lectures;

Art #HasharWeekArt:

- Art exhibition in the House of Photography with the participation of Tatiana Fadeeva, Sharifa Sharifhodzhaeva, Sanzhar Dzhabborov, Nuriddin Rasulov, Dier Razikov, Oksana Danilevskaya.

Business #HasharWeekBusiness:

- Conference “Green Economy in Uzbekistan: Illusion or Reality?”;

- Presentations of green start-up projects;

- Panel discussion: “The potential of eco-tourism in Uzbekistan.”