Awards for best media to foster human rights in Usbekistan

Incentives to study human rights and raise awareness within the general public about protecting these rights are an important means to promote social inclusion.

Online marathons began to be held by the DVV International Uzbekistan office during the pandemic as an alternative activity. They have become very popular and are now held annually on various topics as part of ongoing projects.

A competitive online marathon for citizens of Uzbekistan on “Interaction between state bodies and civil society in the socialization of vulnerable groups”, organized by the DVV International Uzbekistan office, took place in three stages. The purpose of the marathon was to highlight the issues of enforcement of social, economic and cultural rights in practice and raise awareness.

The first stage of the marathon – for journalists and bloggers – aimed at improving the quality of media materials to support vulnerable groups in the population, drawing public attention to the topic of human rights. Reports in the press encouraged participation in the contest. To select the winners, a panel of judges was formed from the representatives of the International Centre for the Retraining of Journalists.

Among the two dozen submitted works, the three best ones were chosen and the authors were awarded valuable prizes (laptop, smartphone, portable hard drive).

Everyone willing to participate was able to take part in the second stage of the marathon. Videos devoted to human rights issues were accepted for consideration by the jury. Producing an issue-related video proved to be a challenging task for the contestants, so there were only two winners. They came first and second, receiving a TV and a smartphone respectively.

Support from writers' association

The third stage of the contest was addressed to creative people: writers and poets. More than 30 works by different authors entered the competition. To ensure objective assessment of the submitted material and the formation of a competent jury, the DVV branch in Uzbekistan turned to the Union of Writers of Uzbekistan for assistance.

The two best works scored the same number of points, so the organizers decided that first place would be shared between the two participants. Holders of award-winning places received valuable gifts (laptops, TV, smartphone). In addition, several runners-up were acknowledged with incentive prizes (portable hard drives) and certificates with their distinct classifications.

The festive awards ceremony for prizes and certificates took place at the Union of Writers of Uzbekistan featuring well-known national writers.

The success of the organized marathon and careful selection of thematic stages were evidenced by active participation of the contestants. Works in Uzbek, Karakalpak, and Russian were submitted from different regions of the country, and women (67% of the total number of participants) showed a keen interest in all three stages.

The project “Re-entry pathway into society for (ex-) prisoners” is funded by the European Union and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). It has been implemented in Uzbekistan since March 2021.

Artyom Gorohov