Europe/Eurasia

The Special Olympics Europe Eurasia Regional Leadership Conference, hosted by Special Olympics Germany and supported by the German Ministry for the Interior and Community, Sports Metropolis Berlin, Toyota Motor Europe and Lions Clubs International Foundation, took place in Berlin on 15 and 16 October. It gathered 200 Special Olympics athletes, Athlete Leaders, National Programme Directors, Sports Advisors and more from 44 countries across the region to the German capital. The varied agenda was devised to ensure an athlete-led approach and maximum engagement with a focus on using facilitated roundtable discussions to interrogate the challenges that our National Programmes and region face. Topics included: athlete, coach and volunteer retention and recruitment, partner engagement, engaging media. A highlight session was an athlete-led panel discussion, emceed by Ian Harper of Special Olympics Great Britain, in which five Athlete Leaders laid out their vision for the future of the movement in our region and fielded questions from the conference participants. Feedback on the format and approach from Special Olympics Programmes was immensely positive. For example, Special Olympics Gibraltar commented, "Definitely a very powerful Leadership Conference—great speakers, interactive, and a wonderful cross section of Athlete Leaders including Athlete Council Chairperson, whose voices have so much power."

The Excellence in Action: Expanding Unified Champion Schools Across Europe Eurasia event brought together leaders, mentors, educators, and youth with and without intellectual disabilities from across Europe and Eurasia.

SOEE announced the election of eight new members to its Europe Eurasia Leadership Council (EELC) for the 2024-2026 term during the Regional Leadership Conference in Berlin on 16 October.

Experts interested in inclusive education from 23 countries across Europe and the United States will attend

The award was presented to David Evangelista, President of Special Olympics Europe Eurasia, and Valentina García Lluch, Special Olympics Spain athlete, by Her Majesty Queen Sofía.

Special Olympics and the OneSight EssilorLuxottica Foundation have announced the extension of their impactful partnership for an additional three years between 2024 and 2026 at a ceremony in New York in September 2024.

On 1 September 2024, Special Olympics Netherlands athlete EsmeeAnne de Meulmeester ran, swam and cycled her heart out to complete a half IRONMAN in Duisburg, Germany.

Elisa Parutto made one dream come true when she walked the red carpet at the Venice International Film Festival last week with fellow athlete and accomplished actor Gabriele Di Bello. Now, she looks forward to bringing another dream to life when she competes in DanceSport at the Special Olympics World Winter Games Turin 2025!

Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF) Program Officer Panos Vazaios reflects on the power of Special Olympics’ approach and the partnership between Special Olympics and SNF, including the Play Unified: Learn Unified initiative and the Global Coalition for Inclusion.

National Government of Malta Joins Global Coalition for Inclusion with major commitment to Special Olympics programming