Global Leadership Team

Dear Kid Rock,

[Abu Dhabi, UAE – September 25, 2025] The Mohamed bin Zayed Foundation for Humanity has announced an US$11 million grant to the Abu Dhabi-based Special Olympics Global Center for Inclusion in Education to significantly expand its Unified Champion Schools (UCS) initiative, a transformative program that advances social inclusion for youth with and without intellectual disabilities.

The President of the European Fair Play Movement and the Italian National Fair Play Committee and Panathlon Wallonie-Bruxelles awarded Special Olympics the Fair Play Award for Peace 2025.

For the first time ever, Special Olympics athletes are featured on a Formula 1 racecar, part of the Visibility Drives Change initiative powered by TeamViewer, an official partner of Formula 1.

[Washington, D.C. – 14 July 2025] The international Board of Directors of Special Olympics is pleased to announce the appointment of David Evangelista as the global movement’s new Chief Executive Officer, effective1 January 1 2026.

The following is an excerpt from The Washington Post article, “This house started the Special Olympics. It’s finally being recognized”, that explores the legacy of Timberlawn, the Maryland home where Eunice Kennedy Shriver launched Camp Shriver in 1962—planting the seeds for what would become Special Olympics.

An excerpt from the NBC News article detailing a recent return of the R-word in the language lexicon.

Special Olympics Chairman Tim Shriver was interviewed LIVE by MSNBC host José Díaz-Balart on Wednesday, 23 April following the Pontiff’s passing on Easter Monday.

Tim Shriver, Chairman of the Special Olympics, talks about his meeting with Pope Francis.(2017) with EWTN

Special Olympics is paying tribute to the legacy of Pope Francis.