Ministry of Physical Culture and Sports and UNODC Launch Second Phase of COVID-19 Sports Challenge in Uzbekistan

The Ministry of Physical Culture and Sports of the Republic of Uzbekistan and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime Regional Office for Central Asia (UNODC ROCA) have announced Phase II of a campaign to promote sports as a tool to build life skills, instill positive values, and build resilience to difficult situations, including anxiety as a result of confinement during the current COVID-19 crisis.

As part of the campaign, UNODC and the Ministry of Physical Culture and Sports invite young and old to submit videos to show how sports help them deal with the COVID-19 crisis.

The Sports Challenge #LINEUPLIVEUP #STAYHOME, which was first announced on 6 April, has so far been an overwhelming success with over 8,000 entries. Wonderfully creative and inspiring videos have come in from every corner of Uzbekistan - from Fergana Valley to the Aral Sea. In their submissions, children as young as 7 up to the oldest participant at age 87 explain the importance of sports as a tool to foster teamwork, tolerance and respect and to stay focused, positive and united as we face the COVID-19 pandemic together.   

Phase II of the Sports Challenge will run from April 28 to May 10, 2020. During this period, the winners of the competition will be determined and awarded every week.

How to enter:

  1. Shoot a video and let us know how sport helps you deal with difficult situations in your life (including the COVID-19 crisis) and what skills it helps you strengthen. Remember: stay safe and stay at home in quarantine where you can still engage in physical education and sports, alone or with members of your family.
  2. Tell your friends – and the world – how you’re taking part in the Sport Challenge by sharing the video on your Facebook and Instagram accounts.
  3. Be sure to tag the Ministry of Physical Culture and Sports (facebook.com/sport.uz, instagram.com/minsportuz) and use the official hashtag #LINEUPLIVEUP #STAYHOME so we’re able to watch your piece. The best ones will also be reposted!

How your video will be evaluated:

  • Video entries will be evaluated against their quality and length: no video should exceed 3 minutes.
  • We will be looking at how well your video explains the importance of sport to you in positively changing your life, specifically assisting you with life skills (such as communication, and coping with anger and anxiety, as well as values, for instance teamwork, tolerance and respect).
  • Your entry will also need to highlight how you (with or without your family) are able to do sports at home during COVID-19, including providing a clear description of how sport helps you overcome challenging during COVID-19 quarantine; and
  • Finally, we’re interested in your inventiveness and how creative you can be in your home-based sports activity and the description of the value of sports to build resilience.

Good luck and stay safe!

To find out more about the Line Up Live Up initiative, please visit:

https://www.unodc.org/dohadeclaration/en/topics/crime-prevention-through-sports.html