At a press conference held on Tuesday, March 18, at the Ayia Napa Event Centre, the medal of the "Run For Autism Half Marathon" Charity Race, which will take place on Sunday, April 06, 2025, was presented, which was designed by students of Grade 32 of the Irene and Eleftherias Gymnasium-Lyceum of Deryneia-Sotiras.
The medal depicts pieces of buzzle which is the symbol of Autism, where on one piece is the church of Ayia Napa, the waves symbolize the starting beach of the Half Marathon, in the middle is the runner and on the right is the Ayia Napa Marina. On the top is the dove, which is the school's logo, a symbol of prosperity and equality for all people.
Louis Loizou, volunteer and coordinator of the Charity Race "Run For Autism Half Marathon", thanked the Ayia Napa Marina for its hospitality and the Ayia Napa Municipality, especially the Mayor for his timeless and valuable help. Regarding the holding of the press conference, he said that there had always been a desire to hold it. This year, after a suggestion from the Municipality and the Ayia Napa Marina, it became possible, constituting the innovation of the race.
He also referred to the history of the organization and the evolution of the Charity Race, which, as it seems, has its origins in 2019. "With the help of the Ayia Napa Marina and the Ayia Napa Municipality, we have been relieved of various procedural issues, thus having the time to deal more deeply with the purpose of the Race, freeing us from financial issues. In this context, we assigned students to design this year's medal, integrating them into the entire effort and the result thrilled us. At the same time, we were pleased with the fact that the children have understood the purpose and efforts of the Famagusta Autism Support Association."
All of this, he continued, “we saw it reflected in the medal that unites businesses, volunteerism, and the local community, and which each runner – participant – will receive.” He did not fail to congratulate the School, the students, and their parents.
He also mentioned another initiative that is also an innovation of this year's race and upgrades the entire event. This is the presence of InterNapa College, which created the Blue Sprint drink, a special mocktail dedicated to raising awareness for Autism, through the Barology program, specialized teachers and students especially for the Charity Race, which will be available for sale at the symbolic price of 2 euros, on the day of the Race and all proceeds will be donated to the Famagusta Autism Support Association.
Its name, he noted, is symbolic as “blue” refers to the color of Autism and “sprint” to the final sprint that each runner makes at the end of each personal race. At the same time, “sprint” is used allegorically referring to the everyday life of the families of a child on the autism spectrum. The purpose of the organization is both the financial and psychological support of these families as the challenges and difficulties they face are enormous.
Trish Browne, owner of the Company that is the Major Sponsor of the Run For Autism Half Marathon Charity Race and a volunteer, said that she feels very lucky to be a part of this race and never expected to have such participation and support from the people. Then, Ms. Browne, presenting the statistics, proceeded with an extensive historical review of the Race from the first year it was organized until today.
In his greeting, the Mayor of Ayia Napa, Mr. Christos Zannetou, stated that the Municipality of Ayia Napa embraced the organization of this Charity Race from the very beginning and will continue to support it.
The most important thing for us as the Municipality of Ayia Napa, he added, is that "we support these actions because humanitarian, charitable and social work must be part not only of local government but of the central government as a whole."
"It is an urgent need," he pointed out, "which is based on the basis of having better living conditions and a better future for these children, these people who have to deal with autism and not only, but also by extension everything else related to problems related to health and other social and humanitarian issues." We have the obligation, he said, "to support them because the parents and relatives of these children are anxious about what their future will be like, as well as the obligation to ensure that they have the conditions to experience better living conditions when they will have no one but their side."
"As the Municipality of Ayia Napa, we confirm our support, we will be helpers and supporters as always." He also stressed that all efforts are being made to find funding for the implementation of the Autism Center, a model Autism Center, and expressed his optimism that soon, in the coming months or next year, the Municipality will be able to announce the project so that its relevant work can begin.
He congratulated the students of grade 32, XNUMX, the teachers and the management of the Irene and Eleftherias Deryneia-Sotiras High School-Lyceum for their commendable initiative to design an exquisite and symbolic medal exclusively for the Charity Struggle.
He also thanked all those who voluntarily support the Association and this entire organization, which, as he said, is now taking on not only a European character but also beyond that, something that proves the interest of the people to stand by us here in the Famagusta district and to the individuals who have highlighted this problem of Autism nationwide and managed to raise awareness and mobilize the government and party authorities to support and try to provide solutions to this issue.
The press representative of the students of the sixth grade, 32 Andriani Giasemi, referring to how the idea of decorating the medal began, said that when the idea was proposed to the school by the organizers of the Half Marathon, our teachers suggested to us if we wanted to help as active citizens who will go out into society tomorrow, we considered it self-evident and immediately responded positively.
"After we were informed," he added, "about the details of the organization, we collaborated with all the children with enthusiasm and love to create a plan related to the Half Marathon and its purpose, which is to support children with Autism."
After the interview, attendees had the opportunity to try the Blue Sprint drink.
