The Managing Director of Al-Furqan Islamic Heritage Foundation, Mr Sali Shahsivari, participated in a high-level international conference held at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris on 7 October 2026, under the title “Islamic Civilization: The Great Spiritual and Scientific Heritage of Transoxiana and the Horizons of Enlightenment.”
The event, organised by the Center for Islamic Civilization in Uzbekistan, in cooperation with several national and international institutions, brought together more than 300 participants, including prominent scholars, diplomats, representatives of international organisations, and experts in cultural heritage and Islamic civilisation. Al-Furqan Islamic Heritage Foundation was among the numerous international partners supporting this important initiative.
During the conference, Mr Shahsivari delivered a presentation entitled “Uzbekistan's Civilisational Heritage and Its Invaluable Contribution to World Civilisation”. His presentation highlighted Uzbekistan's remarkable intellectual, scientific and cultural legacy, emphasising the invaluable contributions of its great scholars and polymaths to the advancement of human knowledge and world civilisation.
Mr Shahsivari also underscored the importance of moving beyond conventional intercultural and interreligious dialogue towards a broader concept of “Civilisational Partnership”, founded on the recognition of humanity's shared intellectual heritage, mutual understanding, cooperation and the exchange of knowledge across cultures and civilisations.
The conference featured distinguished international figures, alongside representatives of UNESCO-related institutions and other international academic and cultural organisations.
The discussions focused on the preservation, study and promotion of Central Asia's rich scientific and spiritual heritage.
The event also highlighted the recently inaugurated Center for Islamic Civilization in Tashkent, which represents a major initiative to document and promote Uzbekistan's outstanding contributions to Islamic and world civilisation.
Al-Furqan's participation as an international partner in this prestigious event reaffirmed its longstanding commitment to preserving and promoting Islamic written heritage, strengthening international scholarly cooperation, and fostering civilisational dialogue and partnership. It also provided an important opportunity to reinforce the Foundation's international presence and explore potential avenues for future collaboration with leading academic and cultural institutions.
