120 youth leaders with and without intellectual disabilities from 45 countries will gather in Baku, Azerbaijan. The Forum, which is one of the flagship events to mark the 50th Anniversary of Special Olympics, will see these young leaders and an additional 100 adult leaders from around the world develop group projects to create more inclusive communities in their home countries.
Empowering participants to drive social inclusion
At the Forum, which is run in partnership with Ministry of Youth and Sport of the Republic of Azerbaijan among others, youth leaders will have opportunities to develop and expand their understanding of how they can drive social inclusion in their country. They will explore new strategies and actions from globally recognized experts in leadership to help advance a more inclusive world using the Special Olympics Unified Sports platform—where participants train and compete together.
Representatives from the worlds of sport, business, government, service organisations and international development such as Special Olympics Global Ambassador Vanja Grbic and Special Olympics International Board member Natalia Vodianova will also play a crucial part at the Forum and work to inspire the youth leaders.
Group projects
The youth leaders will develop projects in Baku to be implemented in their home countries in the months after the Forum. These projects, which will be supported through grants from Special Olympics International, are expected to result in 8,500 young people being newly engaged in inclusive sports and leadership activities in 250 new Unified Schools and sports clubs worldwide.
Story map
Access the 'Story Map' providing youth delegations profiles.
Partners
The five-day Forum is being supported by the Ministry of Youth and Sport of the Republic of Azerbaijan as well as Lions Clubs International, the Stavros Niarchos Foundation, the DC Lion’s Heart Foundation, Qarabağ FK, UNFPA, Azerbaijan Volleyball Federation, Azerbaijan Gymnastics Federation, The Coca-Cola Company and INSEAD.