INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR CENTRAL ASIAN STUDIES (IICAS) BY THE UNESCO SILK ROAD PROGRAMME
ISBN: 0;
Era: INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR CENTRAL ASIAN STUDIES (IICAS) BY THE UNESCO SILK ROAD PROGRAMME;
Country: Uzbekistan;
Era: INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR CENTRAL ASIAN STUDIES (IICAS) BY THE UNESCO SILK ROAD PROGRAMME;
Country: Uzbekistan;
BACKGROUND
Established in 1995 at the initiative of UNESCO and
the Government of Uzbekistan, the International
Institute for Central Asian Studies (IICAS) has a
core of 10 countries: Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan,
China, Korea, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkey and Uzbekistan, and headquarters located in
Samarkand (Uzbekistan).
The Institute functions outside politics and follows
a course of its own.
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MISSION
IICAS’s mission is bringing scientific and cultural
problems of Central Asia to a wider audience’s attention, as well as improving cooperation among
local scientists and their foreign colleagues as part
of a multidisciplinary study of the region, which includes tangible and intangible cultural heritage, environment, archeology, history, art history, history
of religions, history of sciences, ethnography, historical geography, written and spoken literature,
social sciences and others. The mission and functions of IICAS are clearly reflected in and promoted
through the research and applied projects implemented by the Institute. IICAS AT A GLANCE
The Institute has the opportunity not only to act as an intermediary among scientists
from around the world but also to coordinate projects in a mode facilitated for all parties. IICAS is the only scientific organization of its kind in Central Asia; therefore, the Republic of Uzbekistan granted the Institute with a wide range of privileges, including:
Tax exemption;
Customs duties exemption;
Diplomatic immunity.
IICAS fosters cooperation not only with Member States. The Institute has a wide network of Associate Members, including major universities, organizations and research
centers with focus on cultural heritage.
Leading researchers and experts from France, Netherlands and the UK take part in the
activities of IICAS as Corresponding Members.
As a partner and co-organizer, the Institute conducts research projects fully and comprehensively. Striving to sustain unique research projects, IICAS actively facilitates the
search for funding opportunities. Thanks to its wide network of partners and status,
IICAS can make contacts not only with individual scientists and research institutions
but also with national governments of other countries. With reference to the Institute’s
mission, values and goals, this makes IICAS a hub for implementing projects of various
scales. Importantly, IICAS enjoys continuous support from UNESCO. OPERATING PRINCIPLES
IICAS supports continuous research in the field of
science and culture by selecting scientific projects
on a competitive basis and awarding biannual research grants. Being open to grant applications
from all over the world, IICAS sustains the diversity
and innovative character of research. This constitutes the fundament of the Institute’s operations. PROJECTS OF IICAS
Since 2010 IICAS has successfully implemented a
number of research and applied science projects.
The focus of projects ranged from documenting archaeological sites, developing free access to historic manuscripts, supporting inventory of artwork
and studying intangible cultural heritage of Central
Asia to performing Heritage Impact (HIA) and Condition Assessments and supporting international
cultural initiatives. Geographically, the projects embraced not only Central Asia, but also Iran, Azerbaijan and a number of other states.
PROJECTS OF IICAS
IICAS actively continues to expand its network of
partners and explores a number of new strategic
research areas. In particular, the Institute in cooperation with the University College London, UK and
with financial support from the Arcadia Fund is
creating a comprehensive geo-referenced database
of heritage sites. Heritage Impact Assessments of a
number of World Heritage properties and preparation of a dossier to nominate a number of cultural
heritage properties to the World Heritage List are
among other activities carried out by IICAS.
The projects have become IICAS’s success stories
largely due to the professionalism of experts, incredibly well coordinated teamwork and the pursuit of excellence. PUBLICATIONS
Over the 23 years of its existence,
the Institute has issued more
than 60 scientific publications
that have become the result of
the scientific and research activities of the Institute.
In addition, IICAS has been publishing the journal IICAS for more
than 10 years. The journal is published twice a year in Russian and
English, and is on the list of the
Higher Attestation Commission
of Uzbekistan.
All publications of the Institute are distributed free of charge and are available to everyone. IICAS, independently or in cooperation with UNESCO, organizes international scientific conferences in which dozens of leading scientists from Central Asia and the
world have already taken part.
Many of the IICAS publications are bilingual and are prepared in English and Russian.
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