Youth life in Uzbekistan today

INTRODUCTION

        The end of the 20th – the beginning of the 21stcentury marked the deepening of globalization, the growing interconnectedness of the countries in the political, economic, social, and cultural fields. Youth is one of the most important priorities of the socio-economic policy in every country of the world.Youth policy considers the interests of young citizens in the social structure of society. Youth policy aims to disclose the skills of the young generation in the interests of the whole society. It is necessary to support youth movements, associations, initiatives. Uzbekistan is on an important demographic frontier. Currently, more than 60 percent of the population of the country is young. Uzbekistan is home to a whole generation of people who have not reached 30 years of age. Current children and young people will become the largest force of Uzbekistan in the coming decades. Youth can bring Uzbekistan to a new level of development with the right investment in them. Young people have always been an active part of society. Care for them in Uzbekistan has always been the priority of state policy. In the first years of independence, the country gave this issue the highest priority despite many social and economic problems. The Law on the Foundations of state youth policy of November 20, 1991, was the first legal document in Uzbekistan. The law raised the issue of the younger generation in the country at the level of state policy. For a long time, this law has been a legal basis for the upbringing of a healthy, harmoniously developed generation in Uzbekistan. Uzbekistan has been implemented special state programs that proclaimed the social orientation of the years. In particular, 2008 was the Year of Youth, 2010 – The Year of Harmoniously Developed Generation, 2014 – The Year of a Healthy Child, and 2016 – The Year of a Healthy Mother and Child. This fact testifies to the special attention in the country to creating appropriate conditions for the younger generation. It is highly symbolic that the first legislative act Shavkat Mirziyoyev signed as President of the Republic of Uzbekistan was the Law on State Youth Policy of September 14, 2016. This suggests that the country is consistently implementing the state youth policy. Very important for Uzbekistan to bring up young people patriotic and dedicated, with a strong life stance. Because youth is the creators of the future of the country. In this meaning, the youth can help Uzbekistan take a decent place in the world. It is worth mentioning that the Strategy of Action on Five Priority Development Areas of Uzbekistan in 2017-2021 reflects this objective. (strategy.uz, 2019) follows: a departure from paternalism; the attitude of the state towards youth as a partner of social processes; implementation of the principle of subsidiarity, etc.
 
      RESULTS

      International organizations have formed a general approach to the implementation of youth policy at the global level. This approach aimed at actively socializing and uniting youth efforts from different countries and regions in solving global problems of the time. Thus, developed countries recognize youth as an independent resource. Youth policy has become a separate direction of state activity. Countries are aware of the role of the youth factor in solving socioeconomic and political problems. For example, global challenges - population aging, demographic problems, migration, preservation of cultural identity, terrorism, environmental safety, energy security, etc. (rgub.ru, 2018) 

DISCUSSION

Youth is the special socio-demographic group of the population. Young people allocate based on a combination of age characteristics, social status, and socio-psychological properties. These factors determine the social system, culture, and socialization of young people. At present, there are no exact age limits for the youth category. In different countries, not only age limits are important but a set of individual or group characteristics. According to the UN, youth are people aged 10-24. (un.org, 2019) Many countries do not allocate youth to a separate group but unite them with people from 0 to 25 years (UK, Netherlands). Youth (or young citizens) in Uzbekistan are people between the ages of 14 to 30 years. In general, modern age boundaries of the concept of youth in most European countries, the USA and Japan, determines in the range from 13-14 (the age at which physical maturity sets in) to 29-30 (the age of economically independent life). Although the upper limit sometimes may push back (for example, for young scientists in Uzbekistan and some European countries – to 33-35 years old, or young farmers in Spain – up to 39-40 years old). (rgub.ru, 2018)

 
International approach for youth issue

Today it is impossible to solve modern challenges and threats without the active participation of the younger generation. They need to have modern skills, get encouragement for their initiatives from society. This issue has always been one of the UN priorities. The UN has adopted several conceptual and normative documents on the youth issue in different years. They are as follows:– Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948); – Declaration on the Promotion among Youth of the Ideals of Peace, Mutual Respect and Understanding between Peoples(Proclaimed by the General Assembly, resolution 2037 (XX), A/RES/20/2037, 7 December 1965) – Channels of communication between the United Nations and youth and youth organizations (General Assembly Resolution 36/17, A/RES/36/17, 13 Nov. 1981); – UN Guidelines for the Prevention of Juvenile Delinquency (The Riyadh Guidelines, 1990); – UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Administration of Juvenile Justice (The Beijing Rules, 1985); – The Braga Youth Action Plan (1999). (Tarsan, 2010: 325-326) In 1999, in its resolution 54/120, the General Assembly endorsed the recommendation of the World Conference of Ministers Responsible for Youth. 12 August be declared International Youth Day. Since 2004 the UN Secretary-General annually has been addressing the youth of the world on August 12. In particular, the Address of 2018 devotes itself to the UN Youth 2030 Strategy (Secretary-General, 2018). In 2019, the UN Secretary-General raised questions about the education system to increase its inclusiveness, accessibility, and relevance in modern conditions. (Secretary-General, 2019) In the context of dynamic economic growth and the development of information technology, in 2018, the UN launched a new Youth 2030 Strategy entitled Working with and for young people. The Strategy aims to facilitate increased impact and expanded global, regional, and country-level action to address the needs, build the agency and advance the rights of young people in all their diversity around the world, and to ensure their engagement and participation in the implementation review and follow-up of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development as well as other relevant global agendas and frameworks. (UN Strategy, 2018) Due to its global position, the United Nations is a platform for discussing and solving pressing problems of youth and strengthening its potential for the benefit of the whole world. As the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres noted: Ensuring peace, active economic growth, social justice, tolerance – all this and much more depends on the use of opportunities of youth. (unicef.org, 2018) The world today is home to an unprecedented number of young people (1.8 billion). They are still facing many obstacles. About 90 percent of them live in developing countries. More than 70 million of them are unemployed. Unemployment and the difficult life in many countries have led to the rise of violent extremism and radicalism among the younger generation. Moreover, this phenomenon requires joint efforts of the international community. As President Sh. Mirziyoyev noted in his speech at the 72nd session of the UN General Assembly in September 2017, ensuring conditions for the youth self-realization will create a barrier to the spread of the virus of the ideology of violence. The Uzbek leader put forward the initiative on the adoption of the Convention on the Rights of Youth, which aimed to develop multilateral cooperation for social support of the younger generation, protection of their rights and interests. (Mirziyoyev, 2017) This initiative aims at forming bases for the effective implementation of a large-scale international mechanism to combat the propaganda of terrorism in the context of globalization. International organizations have formed a general approach to the implementation of youth policy at the global level. This approach aimed at actively socializing and uniting youth efforts from different countries and regions in solving global problems of the time. (Saydaliyeva, Nazirov, 2020: 104-105) Many developed countries from the late 50s – early 60s of the last centuries began to pursue a consistent and focused policy on youth. Now youth policy is one of the objective rules of world development. It associates with the constant strengthening of the youth factor in socio-economic and political processes. More than 130 countries have adopted special legislative acts on the development and social protection of young people. About 90 of them have top-level state structures for youth affairs that directly develop and coordinate youth policies. Speaking about youth policy in developed countries, there are different approaches to its development and implementation. Some countries limit the state control in youth socialization and delegate these functions to the non-state and commercial sectors. Other countries strictly regulate the state responsibility for youth, integration into the socio-political and economic life of society. (Tarsan, 2010: 325-326) In the way the state organizes youth policy, two models stand out – the European and Anglo-Saxon. The European model implies the leading role of the state in the field of youth policy. This model clearly defines priorities, goals, objectives, and expected results. The Anglo-Saxon model characterizes an approach to exclusive support volunteer activities and youth organizations. But government agencies have not to take systematic participation in the implementation of youth policy. (Saydaliyeva, Nazirov, 2019: 136-137) In this regard, the development experience of Asian countries on youth policy is also of particular interest.