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A spectacular Opening Ceremonies kicks off the Games Photos courtesy of Special Olympics Uzbekistan |
Three hundred and twenty Special Olympics athletes from all over Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Poland, Azerbaijan, Turkey and Afghanistan participated in the second Special Olympics Uzbekistan National Games from 11-18 May in Bukhara, located 500 km southwest of Tashkent. Athletes competed in athletics, basketball, football (soccer), badminton and gymnastics.
More than 90 professional coaches and about 800 volunteers were involved in organizing the Games. Twenty-five volunteers were students from the International School of Tashkent. All sports events were held at the central stadium or at a nearby sports complex.
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Mrs. Svetlana Inamova, Deputy Prime Minister, Chair of the Women's Committee of Uzbekistan and Honorary President of Special Olympics Uzbekistan, opens the family seminar. |
Before the Games, a family seminar was organized in the capital, Tashkent, with participants coming mainly from Central Asia. Thirty-two Family Support Network leaders talked about their experiences in caring for their children with intellectual disabilities and discussed ways to garner support from government agencies. The discussion revealed that in Uzbekistan there are more than 1,000 family members involved in Special Olympics and there is a need to further disseminate information about the benefits of Special Olympics into regions. Seminar speakers included: Svetlana Inamova, Deputy Prime Minister, Chair of the Women's Committee of Uzbekistan and Honorary President of Special Olympics Uzbekistan; A. Kamilov, Deputy Minister of Health; Mussaev Usmanalli, Deputy Minister of Education; Umarhanov Bakhodir, Chairman of the Board of Social Initiatives Support Fund; Special Olympics athletes Ksenia Nurligoyanova, Ruslan Melodiev and Rita Alimbekova; Special Olympics Europe/Eurasia staff Marian Murphy and Krzysztof Krukowski, Directors of Organizational Development; and Olga Bahareva, Coordinator, Special Olympics Central Asia.
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Awards ceremony. |
In Bukhara, a spectacular Opening Ceremonies was watched by more than 20,000 university students in the central stadium. Speeches were given by Inamova, Samoitdin Huseynov, head of the Bukhara Region; and Marc Feltgen, International Advisory Committee member, Special Olympics, Inc. The Opening Ceremonies were televised live on national television and covered on at least seven other channels.
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A proud grandfather and his grandson. |
During the Games, an Inclusive Education Forum was organized with 50 senior educational and employment authorities among the participants. The aim of the forum was to increase awareness among policy makers about inclusive education, which was introduced in Uzbekistan last year and is being implemented in a few pilot schools. One of the most important elements of the forum was the open discussion on benefits and challenges of integrating children into mainstream schools. Most agreed that a great deal more attention and information about inclusive education needs to be made available to educational authorities, schools, teachers, parents and students.
Special Olympics Special Smiles® dental screenings (a Healthy Athletes® initiative) were held during the Games and 300 athletes were screened. Fifteen volunteers from the Bukhara Medical Institute and two doctors from the local polyclinic ran the screenings.
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(l-r) Denise Roza, director of the Russian-based NGO PERSPEKTIVA; Ms. Marian Murphy, Special Olympics Europe/Eurasia; Mr. Turobjon Djuraev, Minister of Education; Mrs. Inamova; Mr. Michel Deurnick, EU Development Advisor, Special Olympics Europe/Eurasia; Mr. Bahodir Umarhanov, Head, Board of Support Social Initiatives Foundation; Ms. Meliya Asanova, Director, Haet Foundation; and Mr. Mussaev Usmanall; Deputy Minister of Education (with microphone) |
When the athletes were not competing, they enjoyed two days of entertainment and cultural activities, giving them a taste of Uzbek tradition and hospitality.
The Games were organized by Special Olympics Uzbekistan; the Women's Committee of Uzbekistan; the Ministries Affairs of Culture and Sports; National Education, Work and Social Protection Agency; the UNDP; general sponsor Karavan Holding; and the region of Hokimiat. The Games were supported by the Soglom avlod uchun Foundation, the Mehrjon Sport Foundation, UNICEF, UNESCO, the Republican Public Funds Forum and Mehr and others.
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