Country Talk on Central Asia and a Vernissage at the OeAD

The Director General of the OeAD, Stefan Zotti, opened the evening by expressing his support for continued cooperation with Central Asian countries and universities. The Ambassador of the Republic of Uzbekistan, His Excellency Sherzod Asadov, highlighted the diversity and multiculturality of Uzbek society and pleasantly mentioned the growing numbers of Austrian tourists to the Central Asian region.

Khabibullo Pirmatov, a CEEPUS Scholarship holder, introduced the ancient cities of Uzbekistan, before the “cultural ambassadors” Daniela Lieberwirth (Kulteurasia) and Peter Felch (Veni) talked about their rich activities which build cultural bridges between Central Asia and Austria. Svetlana Kim from OeAD then spoke about the history of Koryo-saram and the idea behind the photo exhibition.

H.E. Sherzod Asadov, Embassy counsellor Valeriy Sitenko from Kazakhstan, the photographer Dina Lee, and the Director General of OeAD Stefan Zotti then officially opened the exhibition by cutting the ribbon. The cultural part of the evening programme was accompanied by a musician from Kyrgyzstan, Ms. Umut Muratbekova, who played the traditional instrument Komyz. Central Asian specialties like samsa and plov were served to culinarily complete the event.

The photo-exhibition can be visited at the OeAD House (basement hall). The works of Viktor An and Dina Lee address the historical path of the Koryo-saram (Russianized ethnic Koreans in Central Asia and Russia) after the fall of the Soviet Union.