Athletes lead the way as the voices of the Special Olympics movement, educating the world about the potential of people with intellectual disabilities through their insights and contributions.
Microsoft has empowered athletes as Special Olympics’ Official Technology Partner since 2014, with both financial and in-kind support. Microsoft has been integral in supporting the back end management of Special Olympics World Games in 2015 and 2017. In 2015, Microsoft provided over 2,000 hardware devices, software licenses, and financial support to the Special Olympics 2015 World Games.
In 2017, Microsoft also provided over 600 phones and 400 tablets and computers for all staff and volunteers at Games. Additionally, in both 2015 and 2017 Special Olympics utilized the modernized cloud-based Games Management System (GMS) Microsoft collaborated on, which enabled real time results reporting and updates.
Phones used in the 2015 Games have been put to new use in Africa, as a way for athlete leaders and chairpersons of Program Athlete Input Councils to communicate, collaborate and push the message of social inclusion on digital platforms. Africa’s athlete leaders were presented these phones at their Athlete Congress, made possible by Bank of America, which ran alongside the 2017 African Leadership Conference.
Read more about Special Olympics global partnership with Microsoft