The Center for Advancing Community Strengths and Social Wellbeing Will Improve Human Dignity

On September 3, 2024, in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, the Center for Advancing Community Strengths and Social Wellbeing was launched by the National Agency for Social Protection of Uzbekistan, the Social Intervention Group and Columbia University School of Social Work, and UNICEF. 

The Center will improve the social welfare system in Uzbekistan through program development, meaningful research, professional development, and international cooperation. By building collaboration between partner organizations and strengthening international connections, the Center will facilitate the exchange of knowledge and best practices both within Uzbekistan and globally. Through this work, the Center aims to improve human dignity across Uzbekistan.

Remarks at the opening ceremony were made by Ms. Shakhnoza Mirziyoyeva, First Deputy Director of the National Agency for Social Protection of Uzbekistan; Dr. Melissa Begg, Dean of Columbia School of Social Work; His Excellency Mr. Jonathan Henick, U.S. Ambassador to Uzbekistan; and Ms. Regina Castillo, head of the UNICEF office in Uzbekistan. In addition, it was attended by Mansurbek Olloyorov, Director of the National Social Protection Agency and adviser to the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan on social protection issues; Kongratbay Sharipov, Minister of Higher Education, Science, and Innovation; Dr. Nabila El-Bassel, Director of the Social Intervention Group and University Professor at Columbia School of Social Work; and many other representatives of the partner organizations and dignitaries.

“Leveraging Uzbekistan's societal structure of mahallas, the Uzbekistan-Columbia Center aims to pioneer community-led interventions with the potential for impactful and sustainable social work practices,” said Dr. El-Bassel. “This approach not only complements but also extends Columbia University's commitment to global social welfare by engaging with local community systems to foster region-specific solutions.”

Following the opening of the center, the regional forum “Building sustainable communities in Central Asia - promoting the well-being of children, youth, women and families through social work and social services” was held. The forum, which lasted three days, included experts and practitioners from the United States, Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Italy, Moldova, Tajikistan, and Turkey who joined both in person and online.