Mahalla: Cultural Centre of Uzbekistan & Friends

Makhbuba Ergasheva

Makhbuba is well known to the Uzbek community around Metro Vancouver. She is the Uzbek to English translator, immigration expert, and a Mahalla Board member.

Ella Tumakova

Ella is a businesswoman with over three decades of experience. She is also well known realtor in Metro Vancouver and is a Mahalla Board member.

Nodirkhon Akilkhanov

Nodirkhon is an Uzbek entrepreneur. He is a co-founder and manager at Tashkent Restaurant, and is a Mahalla Board Member.

Aziz Pulatov

Aziz is a veteran software engineer and manager. He is a bridge between several Uzbek communities in Metro Vancouver, and is a Mahalla Board member.

Nodir Kodirov

Nodir is a computer scientist. He likes building communities and got more active in Uzbek community in Vancouver after graduating his PhD at UBC. He is a Mahalla Board member.

Mashhur Sattorov

Mashhur is an accomplished software engineer, with experience spanning multiple companies in multiple countries. He is also a Mahalla Board member.

Our leadership is active outside Mahalla too, publishing materials in popular media in Uzbekistan. Take a read, you will get to better know our leadership.

Makhbuba Ergasheva at kun.uz
“Исмларимиз рус тилига мослаштирилгани бизни ноқулай аҳволга солади” – Канададаги ўзбек
Nodir Kodirov at xabar.uz
Бухородан Ванкувергача: ТАТУ собиқ талабаси, Канададаги Huawei ходими билан суҳбат

We list the most notable event, which is an incomplete one. Check out our Telegram channel for more complete list.

September 2024: We Have a Logo, Finally
We are immensely grateful to Maftuna Khonkeldieva for elegant design, selfless service, and heartfelt dedication.
August 2024: Added Discussion Group to our Telegram Channel
Now members can express themselves, broadly.
July 2024: Rebranded as Mahalla
Moved to mahalla.ca, adopted new motto: Together We Strong.
June 2024: First Grant
We got awarded $500 from Vancouver Foundation and New West Family Place for building welcoming communities.
July 2023: Launched Business Directory
We started with three businesses and grew to six, as of September 2024.
May 2023: New Home
We migrated the old website to the new one at uzbekculturalcentre.ca.
January 2023: Launched Telegram Channel
It has grown to 128 members, as of September 2024.
December 2022: First Potluck
Check out our gallery for photos.
October 2022: First Virtual Office Hours
We started with Academic Office Hours and then added several others, including Immigration and Real Estate Office Hours.
September 2022: Hello World!
Cultural Centre of Uzbekistan and Friends was incorporated in BC, Canada

We worked with Maftuna Khonkeldieva design our logo. We are immensely grateful to Maftuna for elegant design, selfless service, and heartfelt dedication. Here is the beautiful logo, with elements explained.

- Name: Mahalla means a close-knit community in Uzbek language. People in Mahalla care about each other, which is our aspiration too.
- Maple Leaf: is the symbol of Canada.
- People: of diverse colours represent diverse people in Mahalla. Green, blue, and gold colours are from BC's Provincial Tartan.
- Rocky Mountains: of Canada, famous in BC and around the world.
- Cotton Flower: is near and dear to Uzbekistan, goes far in history and significance for people of that region.
- Sun: is the beloved Sun, significant for people of Uzbekistan as well as BC.
- Pacific Dogwood: is the floral emblem of BC. And is a beautiful flower.
- Motto: Together We Strong was voted to be the most representative of Mahalla, by Mahalla.

Leadership