The marathon consisted of several stages for the following components: poster contest, slogan contest, search for best short video, and fair of project proposals. The poster which was chosen as the winner (its author is Ismail Umarov, a Tashkent-based student) depicts the planet with the DVV International logo on it and is surrounded by a computer network symbolising distance learning, adult education and communication, as well as the opportunity and necessity to support each other and to maintain social connections in difficult times. This poster became a symbol of the marathon during the other stages of the contest.
The slogan contest developed in an interesting way, with participants being very active and sending in their slogans in several languages (Uzbek, Russian, English and German). Many of the slogans reflected not only the fight against coronavirus, but also the desire for victory over it. The contest was won by Sardor Gaziyev, a coach on educational programmes, who submitted the slogan “Adult Education - a chance for a second breath”. Several slogans competed with the winner, for instance: “Put a mask on your face, but keep your mind open”, “A lesson a day keeps the virus away” (Irina Kononova), “Erfolg hat drei Buchstaben: TUN” (Jakhongir Eshnazarov). The best posters and slogans will become the basis for desktop calendars containing quotes on adult education which will be published by DVV International Uzbekistan at the end of the year.
Video contest on adult education in the new environment
The “marathon run” culminated in the video reel contest. For one whole month, the video clips submitted by the contest participants were published on DVV International Uzbekistan’s Facebook page. They reflected different aspects of adult education during the pandemic: improving functional literacy among the elderly population, non-formal education in environmental awareness, the usage of hotlines for psychological support of the population, as well as a number of video stories relating to distance learning courses that were delivered during the quarantine period by the partner Cultural Centres in Namangan, Qarshi and Quvasay. A total of eleven video reels were submitted. The authors were organisations, initiative groups and individuals.
The jury faced a rather difficult task when it came to choosing a winner. Every product that was submitted was interesting, and reflected experiences of the usefulness and “survival” of adult education in the new environment. The members of the jury evaluated the video reels based on criteria developed in advance – “reflection of the contest theme”, “operator’s work”, “quality of editing” and “storyline”. The following videos were chosen as winners: The Initiative Group ILIM’s video “It’s never too late to learn!”; the Federation of Extreme and Mountain Tourism of Uzbekistan’s educational film on ecotourism “Want to hike!”; Guzal Karimkulova, instructor of hairdressing and make-up courses at the Cultural Centre of Quvasay, with her video “Secrets of Beauty”. The winners’ videos were translated into English after the contest.