Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- Deputy Prime Minister, Chairman of the State Committee for Tourism Development of the Republic of Uzbekistan, Chairman of the organizing committee of the charity half marathon Aziz Abdukhakimov held an online meeting on organizational issues of the Samarkand half marathon.

The meeting was attended by deputy khokims of the regions and deputy ministers of finance, foreign and internal affairs, emergency situations, transport and the National Guard.

Aziz Abdukhakimov noted that this year the half marathon will be held in a virtual format, while only professional athletes from different countries will gather in Samarkand to fight for the championship.

The marathon will be broadcast live. The competition will also take place between regions, residents will have to run the longest distance in order for their region to win first place. For the first time, two additional formats of participation will be presented to the participants of the half marathon: Children's race and Nordic walking.

This year, Deputy Prime Minister Aziz Abdukhakimov, Khokim of Samarkand Region Erkinjon Turdimov, Minister of Culture Ozodbek Nazarbekov, Honored Artist of the Republic of Uzbekistan Sevara Nazarkhan, gymnast, multiple world champion, Olympic medalist Oksana Chusovitina, boxer, Olympic silver medalist 2016, Shahram Giyasov, football player, captain of the Uzbek national team Odil Akhmedov, weightlifter, champion of Asia and the world, champion of the 2016 Olympic Games Ruslan Nuriddinov and many other stars of show business and sports will take part in the half marathon.

All 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, and educational lectures and seminars are planned for everyone. They will help people understand how diverse the world of people with autism is, it is only important to show participation.

As part of the meeting, coverage of inclusion issues in all educational institutions of the country became a separate item for consideration. It was noted that the educational system should adapt the format of conversations with students in order to convey the ideas of inclusiveness in the most accessible and interactive form.

Samarkand Half Marathon is an annual charitable race organized by the Foundation for the Development of Culture and Arts in cooperation with the Ministry of Culture, the State Committee for Tourism Development and the khokimiyat of the Samarkand region.

The charity run will start on 1 November. A citizen of any country in the world can take part in the race.