Inclusion

More than 200 delegates from 12 countries took part in the inaugural Special Olympics International Football Championship held in Chennai, from 3 August to 6 August 2019.

Warren High School was honored as an ESPN Top 5 Unified Champion School in February of 2019. A Special Olympics Unified Champion School receiving national banner recognition has met the 10 standards of excellence in the areas of Special Olympics Unified Sports®, Inclusive Youth Leadership, Whole School Engagement, and Program Sustainability. Recently, Warren students Iantha Khan and Diego Salazar hosted actor Max Carver at Warren and explained what going to a Unified Champion School in the US is all about.

Around the world, Youth Leaders with and without intellectual disabilities are leading community-based projects for inclusion. Paola and Maria, two Special Olympics youth leaders from El Salvador, share their experiences working together to create change.

Rowan University was recognized as a top-five Special Olympics Unified Champion Schools®. Rowan was the first in New Jersey and one of the original collegiate programs in the country to embrace togetherness in sports and education.

During the week of July 15–20 as our Special Olympics movement celebrates a Global Week of Inclusion, I would like to share with you how I will be showcasing inclusion and “celebrate togetherness.”

As the Global Week of Inclusion began I thought, "what does inclusion really mean, what does it really look like?"

To celebrate inclusion in my life, I was able to take part in some really fun events during the Global Week of Inclusion!

Kenmore Middle School was recognized on April 12th, as a top-five Special Olympics Unified Champion School, becoming the first middle school to receive the honor for embracing togetherness.