Reflecting on the Special Olympics World Games Berlin 2023, this week’s episode of Inclusion Revolution Radio celebrates the one-year anniversary of the Global Leadership Coalition for Inclusion. Podcast host, Novie Craven, spoke with Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF) Program Officer, Panos Vazaios, and Special Olympics Chief Global Government Relations Officer, Shawn Ferguson.
Special Olympics and SNF first partnered in 2018 to expand inclusive sports in schools and communities around the world. The Play Unified: Learn Unified project extended the reach and impact of Special Olympics Unified Schools and Unified Sports to 21 nations and jurisdictions around the world, engaging 400,000 youth with and without intellectual disabilities in over 1,500 schools.
In 2021, Special Olympics and SNF elevated their global partnership by launching the Global Campaign for Inclusion. Driven by the inherent right of persons with intellectual disabilities to experience self-worth and be accorded the dignity which everyone is entitled, the Global Campaign for Inclusion is an ambitious vision of acceptance, empowerment and inclusion.
Funded by SNF, the Global Leadership Coalition for Inclusion launched at the Special Olympics World Games in Berlin. The Coalition, aimed at strengthening education and social welfare systems, will improve information sharing and exchanges of best practices among countries deepening their commitment to inclusion.
Through this partnership, supported by Panos and Shawn, Special Olympics is helping countries fulfill their commitments to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) as well as achieve Sustainable Development Goals for providing quality education and reducing inequalities. Special Olympics and its partners will provide national governments with data and technical assistance to help them better serve learners with intellectual disabilities and design public-private partnerships to scale initiatives that support inclusive classrooms, schools and communities.
Tune into this week’s episode of Inclusion Revolution Radio for more on the worldwide impact of the Coalition.
