As it is well known, today in our country great attention is given to the development of the unbiased donor movement, attracting the general public to donate free of charge and providing patients with safe blood components. In this regard, on May 4, 2023, for the students of “Silk Road” International University of Tourism and Cultural Heritage “Goodness Will Return” or be an impartial donor! - was held under this slogan to promote the selfless blood donation movement among young people in our country. During the event Jabborova Aziza Mansurovna, Head of Samarkand Blood Donor Center, Kasimova Zarina Sobirovna, Head of Biological Control Department provided information on why it is necessary for our youth to donate blood, the process of blood donation, blood donation procedures and impartial donors.

“Silk Road” International University of Tourism and Cultural Heritage encourages all faculty, staff and students to actively participate in charity events such as “Charity”, which is held to promote the donor movement and become an impartial donor and support patients in need.

Since ancient times, people have used words and speech. As society evolved, so did speech, culture and oratory. Today, as our nation, especially the outlook of our youth, changes, the role of oratory becomes very significant in preventing corruption crimes, in correcting those who fall into criminal groups. The art of public speaking is extremely relevant for all representatives of the system working directly with the people, as well as for tourism workers and students.

A lot of positive work has been done by the Youth and Neighbourhood Work and Activities department. In particular, the strongest among the students studying at the university were sorted out and a “Content stage” group was formed. A public speaking competition was held among the students in this group on 4 May, the day before.

The aim of organising such competitions is to develop a culture of communication and address among university students, encourage book reading, book lovers, expand the ranks of active students, improve the speech skills and public speaking skills of each student, provide civility in dealing with citizens, tourists, make logical observations and form a new way of thinking.

During the organised event, the students' skills were tested by an experienced speaker-teacher, the staff, giving the necessary insight and guidance on the matter. competitive competitions such as these will undoubtedly be a special approach to shaping a new image of students.

All in all, news, ideas and opinions about tourism and education abound among university students. Everyone is willing to work day and night to bring these ideas to life and development.

The winning students were awarded Barno Bobomurodova 1st place I Watch 8 Ultra Max, Nodirbek Rizakulov 2nd place wireless headphones Pods Pro White Bluetooth, Shamsiev Saidakbar 3rd place external battery Power Bank XO PB301 10000 mA souvenirs.

Rahmat Gobel, Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives of the Parliament of the Republic of Indonesia, visited “Silk Road” International University of Tourism and Cultural Heritage. Together with Rahmat Gobel, 25 representatives of tourism business and the tourism ambassador of Uzbekistan to Indonesia also came to our country. The purpose of the visitors’ visit was to get to know the university and establish friendly cooperation.

It should be noted that the university campus warmly welcomed the guests and insisted that they visit our university in future to organize cultural exchange program for Indonesian students.

The Gastronomic Tourism Congress for People and Planet: Innovation, Empowerment and Conservation, held on 1-3 May at “Silk Road” International University of Tourism and Cultural Heritage in Samarkand, was significant in that it was very productively organised.

The international congress was organised in cooperation with Pamukkala University in the Republic of Turkey. It included professors, scientists from countries such as Turkey, Indonesia, Belarus, Azerbaijan and Tajikistan, who are developing gastronomic tourism and obtaining practical results in this direction, visited and considered the theories to be implemented in this field.

The high-level conference was hosted by J.Eltazarov, First Vice-Rector of “Silk Road” International University of Tourism and Cultural Heritage, who opened the conference with his opening speech and wished the international congress good luck.

Last year, we signed an agreement with “Silk Road” International University of Tourism and Cultural Heritage on cooperation in the field of gastronomic tourism. On the basis of this agreement, we organised this conference. Indeed, the national cuisine, gastronomic culture plays a huge role in tourism development in attracting tourists to the country. The native Uzbekistan is known for its cuisine, its bakery. It is very important for tourism to present this wonderful cultural wealth to tourists in a very beautiful way. This conference is noteworthy because it discusses various issues of gastronomic tourism, said Professor Ahmet Kutluhan, rector of Pamukkala University in the Republic of Turkey.

The first day of the international congress took place in an atmosphere of general working spirit, with speeches in the field of gastronomic tourism given by scientists, which aroused the interest of all participants.

On 2 May, the participants of the international congress were the first to visit Amir Temur’s mausoleum and to bless our great ancestor. Then they visited Registan square, the heart of the city of Samarkand, where they got intimately acquainted with unique facets of construction and architecture created by our ancestors. The guests also toured the Bibihonim and Shahi Zinda mosque complexes, Ulugbek Observatory and Khoja Daniel Mausoleum.

On 3 May, a combination of theory and practice, that is, a meeting, a dialogue between scholars and entrepreneurs working in the field of gastronomic tourism, was topical in the programme of the international congress. At the event, scientists and entrepreneurs talked about the tasks that need to be solved today in the field of gastronomic tourism and answered the questions of university students.

Overall, the international congress, which was held for the first time in Samarkand on the initiative of “Silk Road” International University of Tourism and Cultural Heritage, will be used in scientific and practical process as a recommendation on topical issues raised in the sphere of gastronomic tourism.

During the 2022-2023 academic year, professors and teachers working at the "Silk Road" International University of Tourism and Cultural Heritage achieved several achievements during their scientific activities. Ian Patterson, professor of the "Tourism Management" department of the university, has published his articles in high-ranking international journals indexed in the Scopus database. Professor Ian Patterson's article "Tourism towards healthy lives and well-being for older adults and senior citizens: Tourism agenda 2030" in "Tourism Review" and "Volunteer tourism: The future of baby boomer tourists" in "Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management" in a post pandemic world" articles were published. You can get acquainted with these articles through the following links.

1.  Tourism towards healthy lives and well-being for older adults and senior citizens: Tourism agenda 2030  undefined https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/TR-06-2022-0269/full/html

2.  Volunteer tourism: The future of baby boomer tourists in a post pandemic world

(https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1447677023000414)