Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) – Samarkand Half Marathon is an annual charity run organized by the Culture and Arts Development Foundation under the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Uzbekistan together with the Ministry of Culture and the State Committee for Tourism Development of the Republic of Uzbekistan, as well as the khokimiyat of Samarkand region. The charitable race helps to solve the problem of attracting public attention to the problem of inclusiveness at cultural and artistic sites, promoting a healthy lifestyle and developing sports tourism in our country.

Today at www.samarkamdhalfmarathon.uz, the foundation is opening the registration of participants of the Samarkand Half Marathon. This year, the organizers are focusing on the possibilities of people with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and the problem of access of people with disabilities to cultural and art objects. The event will address issues of creating an inclusive environment for people with autism and the possibility of their integration into the social, cultural and public life of our country. The funds raised from the Samarkand Half Marathon will be used to create a children’s art studio in one of the boarding schools in Uzbekistan for children with autism.

Due to the difficult epidemiological situation in the world, the Samarkand Half Marathon program in 2020 implies holding the sports part of the event in two formats - a classic race in Samarkand and a virtual race for those who cannot come to Uzbekistan and take part in the offline race. The virtual race format will give Half Marathon participants the freedom to choose the location and distance, and the results will be accepted according to the data recorded in the Strava app. The charity run will start on November 1st. Scandinavian walking competitions have been added to the Half Marathon program, and children under 12 years old will run in the standings of a separate Children’s Race.

Educational and cultural programs within the Samarkand Half Marathon will be held in a digital format. Representatives of the National Autistic Society (UK) will conduct online lectures for parents of children with autism, and experts from the British Museum will detail their Early Morning Explorers initiative. With the support of the "Friendly Environment" project (Russia), a series of online discussions, webinars and master classes will be organized. A film program developed in collaboration with The Beat Film Festival will be presented on our website.

AZIZ ABDUKHAKIMOV

Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Uzbekistan, Chairman of the organizing committee of Samarkand Half Marathon:

“As I already noted, it is important to make the Samarkand Half Marathon an annual event. And now, a year later, we are starting to work again on a project that helps solve important problems on the way to creating an accessible and inclusive environment. I am sure that starting with cultural institutions, this movement will gradually cover all aspects of the social life of our country. And although this year, for obvious reasons, many participants will not be able to physically visit Samarkand, it is important that people in different parts of the world will be able to join our charity run. "

SAIDA MIRZIYOYEVA

Deputy Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Public Fund for Support and Development of National Mass Media:

The Samarkand Half Marathon is one of the largest charitable projects, which not only encourages us to lead an active lifestyle, but also draws public attention to such an urgent problem as the development of inclusiveness. Organizing projects to create an inclusive environment is an important task. We all have one goal - to ensure full social integration and create equal conditions for every resident and guest of our country. For this, we must actively support such initiatives and make every effort to ensure that there are as many such events in Uzbekistan as possible. "

GAYANE UMEROVA

Executive Director of the Foundation for the Development of Culture and Arts:

“Samarkand Half Marathon is a vivid example of how joint efforts can solve any problem, even such a large-scale one as inclusion in cultural and art objects. Our government is taking unprecedented steps to create an accessible environment. And we are pleased to see that the society supports these initiatives with great enthusiasm. This is evidenced by the number of people involved who took part in the first Samarkand half marathon.

MIRKHAN SAGITOV

Curator Samarkand Half Marathon, Head of Special Projects Department of the Foundation for the Development of Culture and Arts:

“This year we have prepared a lot for you. New formats of participation, new solutions, new battles. For the first time in our country, an official Nordic walking competition will be held, and the results of young runners will be taken into account in a separate race category for children. Of course, unique medals and many interesting innovations await you, for example, competitions between running clubs and the "Battle of the Cities". By giving the participants the freedom to choose the time, place and distance, we will try to break records in the number of runners, expand the geography of the participating countries and convey the atmosphere of a big running holiday. There are more and more people who love running thanks to the Half Marathon, and this motivates us to look for new formats for running races and organize events at the highest level. "

MADINA BADALOVA

Curator of educational and inclusive programs Samarkand Half Marathon, head of the education and inclusion department of the Foundation for the Development of Culture and Arts:

“With the help of Samarkand Half Marathon, we want to draw attention to the problems of people with autism, and most importantly, to offer solutions. We need to teach society to adapt and understand how to interact with each other. Our project is a good opportunity to get together and exchange experiences with foreign communities and specialists. With support from the National Autism Society, the British Museum and the Friendly Environment Project, we will host a range of online educational events, and The Beat Film Festival has already begun work on a film program that they will present at Samarkand Half Marathon this year."