As part of his program to support young families, the president also outlined a number of additional initiatives aimed at youth development. Plans include the expansion of the inclusive camp "Voice Up" to conduct similar events in all regions of the country. Additionally, as part of the "Upshift" project, competitions in media, design, crafts, and innovative technologies are planned, with 2 billion sums ($163,400) allocated to support the 40 best startups.
Technical schools, alongside universities, will have the opportunity to create subsidiaries for the commercialization of scientific developments, with up to 1 billion sums ($81,700) allocated for promising projects. Also, this year, technical school students will be able to participate in the Work and Travel program, receiving loans from the government to cover travel expenses for work abroad. Support for youth with foreign language certificates will continue.
The president announced the creation of an Association of Private Educational Centers. Entrepreneurs providing rental spaces for members of this association will be exempt from paying income tax on rental income and profit tax. Teachers at such centers will have the opportunity to undergo internships at foreign educational institutions.
Educational institutions teaching foreign languages in remote and hard-to-reach areas will be able to receive interest-free loans of up to 300 million sums ($24,500). Additionally, these centers will be able to pay a social tax of 1%, and the income tax for their teachers will be 7.5% instead of 12%.
Tax benefits are also provided for educational institutions offering free education to youth from disadvantaged families, with the possibility of receiving a portion of previously paid taxes back as cashback.
To promote volunteering, a Board of Trustees will be established, and a fund to support volunteering will be created under the Agency for Youth Affairs, which will receive 20 billion sums ($1.6 million) annually from the republican budget and 3 billion sums ($245,000) from local budgets to finance grants for volunteer projects.
Additionally, Uzbekistan will launch the "Second Chance" program aimed at helping young people returning from places of detention. Intensive courses in programming, web design, computer engineering, and foreign language studies are planned for them.
Mirziyoyev emphasized that in recent years, Uzbeks have won 66 gold, 147 silver, and 221 bronze medals at international scientific Olympiads. More than 500 students from Uzbekistan study at prestigious foreign universities, and 63 compatriot startups have entered international markets.
Uzbekistan is recognized as one of the most dynamically developing countries in the Global Youth Development Index. The opening of the headquarters of the World Youth Movement for Peace in Tashkent, as well as the Global Conference of the Youth Parliament in Samarkand, the international startup summit Take Off, and the 46th World Chess Olympiad will further strengthen this status, noted the president.
