On December 8, 2022, in Almaty, the Public Association "Center for Sustainable Development of Oshak" together with the Consulate General of the Republic of Uzbekistan held a round table to discuss the mahalla institute in the modern world.

The need for the revival of such social communities and self-governing bodies of citizens as the mahalla[1] is felt not only in the Central Asian part of the Commonwealth of Independent States, but also in some regions of the Russian Federation, in particular in Tatarstan. In scientific and political circles, they began to talk about the need to restore this institution in Tatar villages[2].

The word mahalla or mahalla literally translates from Arabic as "adjacent camp"/"halt", or "urban camp". Mahallas as part of the city exist in almost all cities of countries with predominantly Muslim populations, but the actual name mahalla does not exist in all Muslim countries.

Residents of all countries of the Arab world call the quarters of their city mahallas (and in neighboring Tajikistan, in those areas where the majority of the population is Uzbek, they are also called mahalla, and among Tajiks, instead of the word mahalla, the name guzar is common). Many peoples living in Afghanistan (except Pashtuns and some other small nations), the majority of the inhabitants of Pakistan, Bangladesh and some states of India with a predominantly Muslim population. In Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, the word "mahalla / maalla" is more often used by Uzbeks living in these countries, and in China it is used by Uighurs and Turkic peoples of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, and the word is also found in colloquial speech among the indigenous inhabitants of Moldova.

The Mahalla, as an institution that implements local self-government in the Muslim East, has deep roots. For example, the existence of a mahalla in Cairo in the XI century is reported by the poet, writer Nasir Khosrow. In his work "Safar-nameh" ("Notes of a traveler"), which were compiled in 1043-1052 during a trip to the countries of the Middle East, he reports that "the city of Cairo consists of 10 mahallas."

Even Al Farabi (870-950), in his work "Reflections on the population of an ideal city" [3], wrote: "... every person is naturally arranged in such a way that on the way to the desire to live and improve, he needs many things, but he alone is unable to master them, in order to achieve this, there is a need in a human community, the unified joint activity of the members of this community provides them with the opportunity to achieve and master those things that they need for their life and perfection."

"In this regard, a person, first of all, gets closer to a neighbor, and also, he lives with the same neighbor on the same street, in the same mahalla, in the same city and, finally, in the same country that created this city"[4].

In this regard, we consider it necessary to consider the features of this self-government body and its potential in the modern world using the example of the Republic of Uzbekistan. Modern Uzbekistan, located in the heart of Central Asia and populated by about 30 million people, is making great efforts to pursue an independent policy. Along with the state structure of territorial division, the mahalla system has been revived in the country. Back in 1999, the Law of the Republic of Uzbekistan "On citizens' self-government bodies" was adopted, where, according to Article 7, the mahalla is defined as a local self-government body. It is planned to build a civil society through him. In general, there is a revival of the mahalla system in Uzbekistan, which is an ordinary quarterly association and it is not just an institution of civil society, but a community of people whose relationships are regulated by established norms of the hostel.

According to the results of our research, the centuries–old experience and modern trends of the mahalla of Uzbekistan are a real and invaluable experience of decentralization for Kazakhstan. Today, about 10 thousand mahallas operating in Uzbekistan successfully perform more than 30 socially and economically significant tasks previously carried out by local government authorities.

The participants of the round table comprehensively reviewed and discussed the experience of Uzbekistan in the field of local self-government. They believe that local self-government is the foundation of any state and the state and social system of the country depends on the development of local self-government.

Following the discussion, the participants of the Round Table with the aim of developing the local government system in Kazakhstan RECOMMEND:

To the Ministry of National Economy of the Republic of Kazakhstan:

- to recommend the successful experience of local self-government in Uzbekistan, since the modern experience of the mahalla is the most appropriate than the experience of self-government in Western European countries, which are indicated in the Concept[5]. For the historical and cultural interaction of the Kazakh and Uzbek peoples goes back centuries, and it is supported by a common past and a rich spiritual heritage. We are united by good neighborliness, common languages, religion, culture and traditions. It is a living thread connecting the past, present and future, a pledge of eternal friendship.

To the Ministry of Information and Public Development of the Republic of Kazakhstan

- by reorganizing the internal structure, create a Local Government Committee and its relevant territorial bodies.

- creation of broadcasts, headings and specials in television and other media. issues on the organization of local self-government in the regions of Kazakhstan, aimed at reflecting the successful experience of local self-government in Kazakhstan;

- consider holding a republican contest for the best TV show, newspaper, best magazine, best column in the media on local government issues.

Akims of the regions of the Republic of Kazakhstan

- to create a Council for the Development of Local Self-government under the Akim of the region with the participation of local governments, the local community and the media, as a body guaranteeing compliance with principles and ideas for the further development of the local government system in the regions.

Academy of Public Administration under the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan

- to develop a training program for the training of local government managers;

- organize training courses for local government managers not only from among civil servants, but also from among representatives of local governments and the local community.

To support the proposal of the NGO "Ochaq Center for Sustainable Development" to create an Association for the Development of local Self-government in Kazakhstan.

As a new form of relationship between the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan and local self-government bodies of Kazakhstan, to establish a mandatory annual report of the Association for the Development of Local Self-Government of Kazakhstan "On the state of local communities of the Republic of Kazakhstan and the ability of local self-government bodies to resolve issues in the interests of the local population."