Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) - On 22 October, an award ceremony for the winners of the best videos about the presidential elections in Uzbekistan was held at the international media hall. The prize fund of the competition was over 130 million soums.

More than 100 young filmmakers, journalists, bloggers took part in the competition. 12 people became the best of the best in four nominations.

The video contest "Elections-2021" was announced by the Central Election Commission, the National Association of Electronic Media of Uzbekistan, the Press Center of the CEC, the National TV and Radio Company of Uzbekistan, the International Press Club and UzReport TV on 21 September.

“A special place in the election campaign belongs to social videos shown in the media, on television, on the Internet, and on social networks. The main goal of this competition is to acquaint voters, especially young people who are participating in elections for the first time, with the national electoral legislation, instill civic responsibility and provide an opportunity to enrich their knowledge about the electoral process in Uzbekistan,” said Zainiddin Nizamhodjaev, Chairman of the Central Election Commission of the Republic of Uzbekistan.

“This competition was aimed at young people as much as possible. It was not only attended by young filmmakers, journalists, bloggers - the very content of the competition materials is intended to raise the electoral culture of young people, urge them not to remain indifferent to the electoral process. Competitive videos are shown on television and talk about legal education and literacy. It should be added that the Agency of Cinematography has allocated a grant to young filmmakers to create videos about the elections,” said Firdavs Abdukhalikov, Chairman of the Board of NAESMI, Director General of the Agency of Cinematography of Uzbekistan.

Members of the jury, including foreign journalists and experts, also shared their opinion on the competition.

“I was very impressed that a large-scale competition was dedicated to the presidential elections in Uzbekistan in the format, so to speak, “youth for youth”, of which I was lucky enough to become a member of the jury. This is very important for young people in Uzbekistan, as it helps to form an active civic position. Both the contestants themselves and those who watch videos on TV channels, websites and other media sources have learned a lot,” commented Navbahor Imamova, a correspondent for the Voice of America TV channel.

The main feature of the competition was that the jury members voted for the participants online, and each viewer could watch in real time who each of the judges gave their vote to. This approach ensured the openness and transparency of the competition.

As a result of the competition, its winners were awarded special diplomas and cash prizes. In particular, the winners and prize-winners in each nomination were awarded the following cash prizes in each nomination:

Best Information Video:

1st place - Elyor Tulaganov

2nd place - Ilkhomjon Khaydarov

3rd place - Ziyovuddin Azizullaev

Best Staged Video:

1st place - Mahliyo Askaralieva

2nd place - Orifjon Sobirov

3rd place - Dilshod Ibragimov

Best Animated Video:

1st place - Zafarbek Eminov

2nd place - Kozim Islamov

3rd place - Nargiza Yunusova

People’s Choice Award:

1st place - Mamurjon Ergashev

2nd place - Dilshoda Shermukhammayedova

3rd place - Ravshan Nurnazarov.

The awards ceremony was attended by representatives of the Central Election Commission, the diplomatic corps, international observers, as well as foreign and local journalists and bloggers.

After the ceremony, a concert program was presented to the participants.