Special Olympics France Stand Stronger Together During Pandemic

The intense lockdown of spring and early summer saw programmes across Europe Eurasia—and indeed the world—develop innovative ways of connecting with athletes from afar. The aim was to encourage, engage and energise our community through this challenging time. Just one of these many powerful campaigns was #PlusFortsEnsemble or #StrongerTogether by Special Olympics France—a powerful call-to-action that encouraged athletes to keep active during the lockdown. The campaign aimed at demonstrating that physical distancing didn’t necessarily mean social distancing, they wanted to prove how the movement could be “stronger together” even in isolation.

Special Olympics France Ambassador and Olympic swimmer, Alain Bernard kicked-off the campaign by posting a video message on social media. He invited every Special Olympics athlete to participate in his digital work-out sessions and asked them to share videos of their own, to inspire the community with their strength and dedication. “We will try to stay motivated and in good shape, and most importantly, we'll show that we are stronger together!” enthused the Olympic champion in the video.

There was a hugely enthusiastic response to the campaign. Many athletes shared videos of their work-outs at home and they were widely promoted by supporters across social media. The partners and allies of Special Olympics France were also keen to participate. With the staff of LEO Pharma France, for example posting a videos of their staff energetically cheering and applauding the athletes!

Even Special Olympics CEO, Mary Davis, joined in their activities by demonstrating some exercises, much to the joy of the Special Olympics France family. The #PlusFortsEnsemble campaign did a tremendous job at providing our athletes with uplifting content and training sessions—we can’t wait to see what comes next!