Ufa heritage gains international recognition

Source: Foreign Economic Relations Department

On October 27-29, 2011 Istanbul hosted the V International Conference of Eurasia World Heritage Cities dedicated to future generations heritage. The conference participants discussed such issues as reconstruction of historical centres and their popularization, reconstruction and preservation of historical environment, establishment of creative clusters, branding of cities and their cultural and historical heritage, the role of Internet sources in creating city image. The conference gathered city mayors and vice-mayors, experts in heritage preservation and city branding fr om Turkey, Russian Federation, Austria, India, Malaysia, France, Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan, Lithuania, Ukraine and other countries.

On October 27 a heritage exhibition was opened wh the delegation of Ufa City Municipal District Administration of Bashkortostan Republic headed by Mr. Syntimir Bayazitov, Deputy Head of Administration, presented a colourful stand with photographs displaying Ufa’s cultural and historical heritage, its architectural and sculptural monuments. The exhibits also included folk art works bearing Ufa symbols, the national musical instrument kurai, Bashkir honey. During the exhibition a video film about Ufa was on constant replay. The conference participants had an opportunity to enjoy the sounds of kurai and Bashkir national songs watching the performance of Ilshat Sultangareev and Venera Yulgildina, artists of the Miras folk ensemble.

On October 28 the conference opening ceremony took place. After that Mr. Aleksei Yerkhov, Russian Federation Consul General in Istanbul, Mr. Kadir Topbaş, Mayor of Istanbul, and Mr. Ilsur Metshin, Mayor of Kazan, visited the city heritage exhibition. Mr. Kadir Topbaş made a particular note of the beauty of the Bashkortostan Republic capital, the level of its development and the richness of its historical and cultural heritage. Of great interest to the Mayor of Istanbul was the performance of Bashkir artists and kurai music.

Within the framework of the conference three consecutive sessions were held. During the second session Mr. Syntimir Bayazitov, head of the Ufa delegation, delivered a report dedicated to the role of Ufa cultural and historical heritage in increasing the recognizability of the Bashkortostan Republic capital.

On October 29 a United Cities and Local Governments Eurasia meeting chaired by Ilsur Metshin, UCLG Eurasia President, took place. The meeting was dedicated to summarizing the results of the conference. The participants passed the decision to recognize the 2010-2011 UCLG Eurasia activities as satisfactory.

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