2009 Programs And Events
Muskie Alumna Wins Journalism Award (05/21/2009)
An alumna of the U.S. Embassy-sponsored Edmund Muskie Graduate Fellowship program has won an award for outstanding journalistic work as a broadcaster, covering issues that affect America and Uzbekistan.
Navbahor Imamova received the Outstanding Young Alum Award from the journalism department of Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana.
Imamova received her Master’s Degree from the university in 2003 after two years of studies on the Muskie program.
While studying at Ball State, Imamova began filing stories for Voice of America (VOA) and later began working for the VOA Uzbek Service full-time. She helped launch VOA Uzbek Service's first television program, a weekly half-hour show called “Exploring America.” She anchors news programs both on TV and radio, and reports extensively on Central Asia.
VOA Uzbek programs are available on satellite television, through short-wave radio in Uzbekistan and, in some regions, on television broadcasts from neighboring countries.
“Uzbek-speaking people throughout the region … send us very positive feedback saying they enjoy our programs,” Imamova said.
Imamova hopes to return to Uzbekistan one day and report from home. “But for now I’ll continue serving as a bridge between America and Uzbek-speaking audiences at home and across the globe,” she said.
Imamova studied at the Khalkabad Boarding School for Gifted Students in Yangiyul and later at the State University of World Languages in Tashkent. She earned her Bachelor’s Degree in journalism and mass communication at the University of Mysore in India, where she had gone on a scholarship. Imamova started her broadcasting career at the Uzbek National TV & Radio Company.
The Muskie Program is designed for graduate students to study in areas such as law, economics, public administration, journalism and public policy. The program is meant to support democracy and strengthen market economies in 12 countries in the Eurasia region.