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Winners take their positions on the award stand. |
With the backdrop of Khmer Empire millennium-old temple ruins, Special Olympics Cambodia and UNICEF Cambodia officially launched a national partnership advocating for the rights of children with intellectual disabilities on 20 December 2007 in Siem Reap, Cambodia.
The launch was made at a Special Olympics Cambodia football (soccer) tournament, sponsored by UNICEF Cambodia, as part of the global partnership between the two organizations. Twenty-one athletes participated in the tournament, with families, friends and sponsors on hand.
The Opening Ceremony was presided over by the Vice Governor of the Siem Reap Province, Mr. Oom Sumithra. Participating athletes came from Siem Reap and Kampong Thom, the provinces where partnership activities are planned in 2008. Professor Meas Sarin, Vice President of Cambodia's National Olympic Committee, took part in awarding athlete medals and Closing Ceremony events.
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Professor Meas Sarin, Vice President General Secretary of the National Olympic Committee of Cambodia, officiated at the Closing Ceremony and prize presentation ceremony. |
The national partnership between Special Olympics Cambodia and UNICEF Cambodia pledges to advocate for increased opportunities for children with intellectual disabilities through further development of Special Olympics sub-Programs in Siem Reap, Kampong Thom and the capital province, Phnom Penh.
Additional components of the national partnership plan include a commitment to further athlete recruitment and training, increased public relations on a national level and the formation of a Family Support Network.
Special Olympics Cambodia is one of the Asia Pacific region's newest national Programs, and the national collaboration with UNICEF Cambodia has created momentum in implementing the recent UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Intellectual Disabilities and, in particular, opportunities for children with intellectual disabilities.
The global partnership between Special Olympics and UNICEF continues to work toward achieving “greater inclusion for children with disabilities, in particular intellectual disabilities, into mainstream society while providing communities worldwide with opportunities to learn and benefit from inclusion and acceptance of differences,” as stated in partnership documents.
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Provincial teams from Siem Reap and Kg. Thom take their places on the playing field. |
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