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Sent: June 27, 2011 17:10
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Subject: SPECIAL OLYMPICS CAN ALTER IMAGE OF PEOPLE WITH INTELLECTUAL
DISABILITIES - UN ENVOY
SPECIAL OLYMPICS CAN ALTER IMAGE OF PEOPLE WITH INTELLECTUAL DISABILITIES -
UN ENVOY
New York, Jun 27 2011 5:10PM
The United Nations Special Adviser on Sport for Development and Peace today
hailed the power of the Special Olympics to transform the public image of
persons with intellectual disabilities.
"Special Olympics transforms communities from closed to open ones, from
intolerant to accepting ones and by using sport to accomplish this, has come
to represent the good, the power and the true spirit of sport," Wilfried
Lemke added during an event held on the sidelines of the XIII Special
Olympics World Summer Games that opened yesterday in Athens, Greece.
The Games are held every two years and bring together athletes with
intellectual disabilities in what is one of the world's largest sporting
events.
Mr. Lemke has been a strong advocate for a greater use of sport and physical
activity as avenues for fostering the inclusion of persons with disabilities
in communities and societies, and for empowering them.
Yesterday he competed with Special Olympic athletes in a 1,000-metre cycling
time trial aimed at raising funds for the Special Olympics movement, which
was founded by the late Eunice Kennedy Shriver, a sister of former United
States president John F. Kennedy.
"The World Games are a powerful display of the potential of sport as a tool
for advancing social goals and deeply impacting the lives of people in a
positive way," Mr. Lemke said after the race.
"The Games offer the opportunity for the world to focus on the abilities of
the athletes as opposed to the common perception that focuses on their
disabilities."
As Special Adviser, a position he has held since 2008, Mr. Lemke is tasked
with leading and coordinating the efforts of the UN system to promote
understanding and support for sport as an instrument for development and
peace.
Also on the sidelines of the Games, Timothy Shriver, Ms. Shriver's son, and
Anthony Lake, the Executive Director of the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF),
today signed a memorandum of understanding to strengthen their joint
commitment to uphold the rights, dignity and inclusion of children with
disabilities.
"Children with disabilities have the same hopes and dreams as all children,
and the same right to make the most of their potential," said Mr. Lake. "The
denial of that right is a loss, not only for those children, but for our
societies. And it is unconscionable.
"By strengthening the partnership between Special Olympics and UNICEF, we
will help to protect this right for more children with disabilities, and in
so doing, enable them to contribute even more to their communities and
countries," he stated.
Since 2007 UNICEF and Special Olympics have worked together to raise
awareness of the abilities and rights of children with intellectual
disabilities, change perceptions and challenge negative attitudes.
In recent years, the two organizations have worked together to establish the
first family support networks for children with intellectual disabilities in
Cambodia; provide opportunities for children in Jamaica to participate in
Young Athletes programmes; and provide health screenings, counselling on
nutrition, and family health education in several locations in Kazakhstan.
Jun 27 2011 5:10PM
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