Samarkand journalist: “Why I don’t trust UNESCO.”

From October 30 to November 13, the ancient city of Samarkand in Uzbekistan will host the 43rd session of the UNESCO General Conference, the first in history to be held outside the headquarters in Paris. These events will bring together representatives of UNESCO member states to discuss strategic directions in the fields of education, science, and culture.

I don’t trust UNESCO. Today, on the eve of an event of global significance, which our authorities are preparing for day and night, this is a seditious statement. A seditious phrase from the mouth of a person who is, to some extent, dependent on this authority, working in a state-owned print publication, when digitization is everywhere and paper media is being eliminated. But I believe I must say what I am about to say.

I do not believe in UNESCO. Not because I do not understand the significance of this organization — on the contrary. I understand very well the great idea once voiced by Nicholas Roerich — his symbolic portrait by Asliddin Isaev has been in my office for ten years. Roerich, an artist and thinker, proposed the Pact for the Protection of Cultural Values — the Roerich Pact — to humanity in 1935. His Banner of Peace,