The following is an excerpt from the article “Special Olympics and Refugees: Bridging Communities Through Sports”, which can be found on Sport and Dev, one of Europe’s most well-recognized platforms for development through sport stakeholders. The article details Special Olympics groundbreaking work in fostering connections with refugee communities.
Since its inception in 2016, the "Unified with Refugees" programme has engaged 13,018 participants, including 1,675 Special Olympics athletes and 10,613 people affected by displacement…
Reflecting on the programme's growth, Eleni Rossides, National Director of Special Olympics Cyprus, noted, “Looking back at our beginnings in Larnarca, in 2016 with the Unified refugee program, the recent unified football event demonstrated how far we've come in promoting inclusion across Europe, Asia and Africa. The friendship between Special Olympics athletes and refugee youth was truly powerful and motivates our movement to continue to create community connections through inclusive sports for all. The love and unity behind the simple practice of play is wonderful- and important.”
