Letter from the President of Uzbek American Association of Chicago

From the President of Uzbek-American Association of Chicago

Dear Friends,

2018 is slowly making way for the New Year. In this letter, I would like to update you on the summary of events organized by the Uzbek-American Association of Chicago (UAAC) during 2018. In 2018 alone, we managed to organize over twenty events. You can read some of the highlights below.

We organized two picnics to celebrate two different happy occasions: Eid Al-Fitr and Independence Day. In both picnics combined, over 800 people – comprising mostly Uzbeks and friends from other ethnic groups – attended. Both picnics were great success.

We also participated in the two-day Skokie Festival of Cultures in order to introduce Uzbeks and Uzbekistan to fellow Americans. We set up an Uzbek booth that included artifacts to demonstrate Uzbek culture, art and history. It was a tremendous pleasure to see the Uzbek booth and the national flag of Uzbekistan fluttering up in the air – among other flags representing 40 different nations – in the festival attended by over 30,000 people.

It has also been a fruitful year to consolidate a relationship with the republic of Uzbekistan. A group of journalists from the popular media outlet (e.g., kun.uz; daryo.uz) and several scholars paid a visit to the Uzbek Center. We also ran an Uzbek essay contest among the youth in Uzbekistan and received over 90 essays. The winners of the essay contest were identified and subsequently awarded. In addition, we started cooperating with the Committee on Interethnic Relations and Friendship Cooperation with Foreign Countries under the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Uzbekistan.

We also managed to organize several successful workshops and educational seminars in the areas of homeschooling, cyber security and networking opportunities for IT specialists. In addition to workshops, we have continued running the Uzbek weekend school. This obviously makes the parents very happy. As of 2018 academic year, the children at the Uzbek weekend school started taking Quran and Coding courses, in addition to courses such as Uzbeki (language) and Demeanor. It is our priority to raise well-rounded children who speak their parent’s languages and be proud of their parental heritage.

We would not have been able to achieve these aspirations without your continuous and generous support. With your continued support, we hope in the coming year to reach new heights that will make our future generations proud. I would like to remind you all that the Uzbek-American Association of Chicago is OUR organization. I would encourage you all to get together around the Uzbek Center in order to preserve our traditions as well as sacred religious practices, raise well-rounded children and adjust successfully to the lifestyle in the USA.

Respectfully Yours,
Olim Sharipov
The President of Uzbek-American Association of Chicago