The International Special Olympics family mark the Abu Dhabi 2019 World Games
Timothy Shriver, chairman of Special International Olympics, and Ayman Abdel-Wahab, regional president and managing director of the Special Olympics Middle East and North Africa region (MENA), visited the United Arab Emirates to mark three years since the Special Olympics World Games in Abu Dhabi were held in 2019.
Special Olympics is the world’s largest sports organisation for children and adults with intellectual and physical disabilities, providing year-round training and activities to five million participants and Unified Sports partners in 172 countries.
Shriver and Abdel-Wahab visited the UAE Special Olympics programme and were briefed on a number of initiatives for the inclusion of people with intellectual disabilities. They also saw first-hand the progress being made in raising the awareness of the public, especially after the World Summer Games in Abu Dhabi united people of all abilities and broke down misconceptions about those with physical and intellectual disabilities. The tournament sowed the seeds of a more inclusive UAE and spread a message of hope throughout the region.
Shriver and Abdel-Wahab praised the government’s efforts to give people with intellectual disabilities the determination and all opportunities to demonstrate their talents, achieve their ambitions and effectively integrate them into UAE society in a way that best reflects the legacy of the World Games.
“We were pleased to receive Dr Timothy Shriver and Engineer Ayman Abdel-Wahab, and to inform them about the legacy of the World Games and the achievements of the Emirati Special Olympics programmes,” said Minister of State for Youth Affairs and chair of the board of trustees of the UAE Special Olympics Foundation Shamma bint Suhail Al-Mazrouei. “And we stress the importance of our work with our partners in the Emirati community to achieve the goals of the comprehensive societal integration of people with mental challenges and different abilities, and we are proud of what we have achieved during such a short period.
“In the UAE Special Olympics, we are keen to give our players various opportunities to participate in local and international sports competitions and forums, in addition to spreading the culture of inclusion among youth and young people in particular, through the Unified Champions Schools Programme, and several community programmes and initiatives. The International and Regional Special Olympics offers many opportunities and programmes for our players in the UAE, and from here we extend our thanks and gratitude to every institution, school, club, family, coach and individual who supports this category, and we consider them all the basis of this success,” Al-Mazrouei said.
Shriver pointed out that the UAE, after its success in holding the World Games of the Special Olympics Abu Dhabi 2019, was able to build on the legacy it produced. “After the 2019 Games, the UAE launched new horizons in empowering people of determination by supporting sports. Unified, diversifying its local, regional and international initiatives, and caring for the artistic and cultural participation of people of determination.”
Shriver added that he was pleased with the work done during the Covid-19 pandemic and that the events that were taking place on social media and zoom “were a great helping hand” to all athletes and their families in the various lockdown periods. He also announced considering online work as part of the Special Olympics progress plan.
Abdel-Wahab said he was proud of what was achieved since the Games of 2019 and asked the region’s other programmes to take the UAE as a model to follow. “Officials and all people working with us in the UAE are exerting their utmost efforts to attract as many athletes and their families as much as they can in diversified ways through innovative programmes and initiatives.” He thanked those behind the efforts made by the various programmes of the region during the Covid-19 pandemic, saying 135 initiatives took place “which were very beneficial to the athletes and their families in addition to the movement in general”.
Shriver and Abdel-Wahab, accompanied by Special Olympics UAE National Director Talal Al-Hashemi, enjoyed a full-day tour of Hamdan Bin Zayed School in Abu Dhabi, participating in the “Unified Champions Schools” programme launched by the Special Olympics UAE in 2019.
During the visit, they met students participating in the Unified Robotics and Unified Sports Programme and Competition, including jiu-jitsu, and attended musical and cultural performances that included students of varying abilities.
*A version of this article appears in print in the 21 April, 2022 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly.
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