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The first plenary session of the international media forum “Islamic Civilization: New Perspective — New Discoveries” is being held on August 25 under the theme “The Islamic Civilization Center in Uzbekistan — a new pillar of a great heritage.” The program features presentations by representatives of CNN, BBC Studios, the international 1001 Inventions initiative, and Uzbekistan’s government and media institutions, as well as an open international discussion.

The session opened with a special presentation by Firdavs Abdukhalikov, Director of the Islamic Civilization Center in Uzbekistan, titled “The Islamic Civilization Center — a new type of cultural and educational media platform.” Participants were also shown a presentation video about the Center.

One of the session moderators was CNN representative Paula Hancocks. The session featured a special video message from Phil Nelson, Executive Vice President of CNN International Commercial. Imran Ahmad, the company’s regional representative, delivered a presentation titled “CNN discovers Uzbekistan: when the heritage of Islamic civilization takes center stage.”

Jahongir Abdurakhmonov, Deputy Director of the Center for Media Content Production under the Administration of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan, delivered a presentation titled “A new language for cultural heritage: multimedia formats for history, science and tourism.”

Ahmed Salim, founder of the 1001 Inventions initiative, and director Shohruh Rasulov presented the project “Those who changed the world: great figures of Islamic civilization on the big screen.” As part of the same segment, the “Whispers of wisdom” project was also presented, featuring a special excerpt from a film starring Academy Award winner Ben Kingsley.

Sergey Stanovkin, Head of Commercial Representation for BBC Studios in Eurasia, delivered a presentation titled “Beyond the boundaries of heritage: positioning Islamic civilization in the global media landscape.” This was followed by an open international discussion titled “Echoes of heritage: how is Islamic civilization resonating across the global media landscape?”

The discussion brought together representatives of media outlets and professional associations from Mali, Azerbaijan, Egypt, Niger, Türkiye, Yemen, Tunisia, and Uzbekistan. They included executives and representatives of the AMAP, Saba, and TAP news agencies, Anadolu Ajansı, the Yeni Müsavat / Musavat Media Group, and the Afro-Asian Media Union.

The Islamic Civilization Center in Uzbekistan serves as the main venue of the forum, which brings together around 300 representatives of the media and expert community from nearly 50 countries, including executives of media companies, news agencies, and television channels, as well as journalists, producers, scholars, and creative industry professionals.