The organization was founded by a group of young Uzbek professionals in February 2018. Initially, the organization focused on working with Uzbek diaspora youth in America, and accordingly, it first registered as Uzbekistan Youth Association in America. With time, however, we understood that our events and programs were bringing different generations of American Uzbek families and people interested in Uzbekistan. Accordingly, we rebranded as American Uzbekistan Association (AUA) as of September 2019.
Over the years, AUA provided a number of programs and events focusing both on the American Uzbek diaspora and on the bilateral exchange between various institutions in the United States and Uzbekistan. Some of these programs include Qizlar Bazmi, the women’s empowerment club for the Uzbek diaspora in the greater Washington metropolitan area. We also launched the Rishta Fellowship which focuses on academic, cultural, and professional exchange between the two countries. We also helped establish professional cooperation and joint projects between public health institutions, universities, and cultural specialists from the two countries.