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The 2005 Special Olympics Global Athlete Congress will be held in Panama City at the City of Knowledge from 6 June through 8 June, uniting 78 Special Olympics athletes from more than 35 countries who speak 11 different languages. Their mission is to discuss issues from competition management to athletes serving a more prominent leadership role in government relations and fundraising.
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Vivian Fernández de Torrijos, First Lady of Panama (pictured above, left), visited Special Olympics headquarters in Washington, D.C., on 28 April 2005. Torrijos, who will open the 2005 Special Olympics Global Athlete Congress with her husband, Panamanian President Martin Torrijos Espino, met with Special Olympics Founder Eunice Kennedy Shriver and Special Olympics Latin America Managing Director Dennis Bruggeman. |
The athletes, ranging in age from 16 to 50, represent all seven of the Special Olympics regions and will serve on the second Global Congress in Special Olympics history, creating a stronger voice for people with intellectual disabilities off the playing field and in a governmental setting. The Congress will be opened by President of Panama Martin Torrijos Espino and First Lady of Panama Vivian Fernández de Torrijos. Special Olympics founder Eunice Kennedy Shriver will also attend.
“The Congress is an opportunity for Special Olympics athletes to show the world our abilities while serving as leaders of a movement we are committed to strengthening,” Special Olympics athlete and Congress Chair Loretta Claiborne said. “With more than 170 million people in the world with intellectual disabilities, it is critical that those of us who have a voice influence future opportunities.”
At the inaugural Congress in 2000 in the Netherlands, 67 athlete leaders took steps toward creating new terminology and the first global codes of conduct for athletes and coaches. The Global Athlete Congress is an extension of Athlete Leadership Programs (ALPs), which provide athletes opportunities for leadership in the areas of governance, public speaking and coaching. As a part of ALPs, past and present International Global Messengers will attend the Congress as part of their ongoing roles as spokespersons, spreading the movement’s message throughout their communities and the world.
Following the Congress, a delegate and one staff person from each Special Olympics region will stay for a two-day ALPs Task Force Meeting. They will decide how each region will support the recommendations made by the Congress. In November 2005, the new Congress Chair will present the proposals to the Special Olympics Board of Directors.
For more information on specific aspects of the Global Athlete Congress, please visit the links below:
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