Mara is a 20-year-old from Arad, Romania. Mara just graduated high school and she loves dancing, swimming and making new friends. She has been involved with Special Olympics for 11 years as an athlete and has competed in swimming in many regional, national and international Special Olympics games. In the last 2 years, she became a member of a Youth Leadership Unified Team and since January 2021, along with her sister, she joined the Special Olympics Europe Eurasia Youth Leadership Council. Through her work with Special Olympics, Mara implemented a project in her community and got the opportunity to attend Special Olympics Europe Eurasia Youth Leadership events. Most recently, Mara was elected to serve as a co-chair of the Special Olympics Global Youth Leadership Council. She believes inclusion is extremely important and it should be part of everybody’s life. Mara is a leader of the Unified Generation because she believes diversity is part of all of our lives and we should all embrace it.

Anca is a 23-year-old support teacher in a school in Arad, Romania. She has been involved with Special Olympics for 9 years as a volunteer and for 2 years as a member of a Youth Leadership Unified Team. Since January 2021, Anca and her sister Mara have been a part of the Special Olympics Europe Eurasia Youth Leadership Council. Anca is honored to serve as a co-chair of Global Youth Leadership Council along with her sister, Mara. She is thrilled to have the opportunity to develop educational programs for Youth Leaders around the world, an important goal for her. Anca is a leader of the Unified Generation because she believes that with the proper help and by working together, everyone can reach their full potential.
Mara and Anca observed in their community that the pandemic limited their access to sports and other enriching activities, as well as contributed to poor eating habits. They aim to provide athletes in their community with the opportunity to practice Unified Sports, as well as disseminate practical information on healthy eating habits to their athletes in order to promote their athletes’ overall health and wellness. They hope their athletes will be back in great strength again soon and ready to compete!
Over the course of their project, Mara and Anca will increase inclusion among youth with and without intellectual disabilities in Arad (West city in Romania). They will do this by organizing 3 Health & Unified Sports workshops with special and mainstream schools where they will share healthy nutrition information and empower athletes and leaders to conduct small sports sessions and practical healthy habits workshops.
Their project aims to increase inclusion within a community of 30 Special Olympics athletes and young people without ID in Arad that will learn from each other on healthy habits and practice Unified Sports. They seek to empower 3 new Youth Leaders to conduct small activities such as healthy eating workshops/Unified Sports events, and raise awareness on the potential and gifts of Athletes and youth with intellectual disabilities in their community.