Advocacy/Community Engagement
Valarie is a Special Olympics Youth Leader from Zimbabwe with plans to lead a project aimed to build confidence and leadership skills amongst young people with and without intellectual disabilities in Zimbabwe.
In September 2018, Valarie participated in the Special Olympics Global Youth Leadership Forum in Baku, Azerbaijan and learned how to enhance the impact of her youth leadership and establish a plan to execute her project back home in Zimbabwe.
At the Forum, Valarie developed and refined plans to address an issue important to her: empowering other young people with and without intellectual disabilities with the confidence and skills for employability with the ultimate goal of creating more inclusive workplaces in Zimbabwe. To Valarie, inclusive workplaces are important to creating lifetimes of inclusion – and developing skills in teamwork and leadership is a critical step towards that goal. To do this, Valarie plans to host a seminar focused on skill building in teamwork and leadership for youth with and without intellectual disabilities in her community. Valarie will also reach out to business owners and entrepreneurs in the community to join the seminar to support the training exercises, share more about local work environments, and learn about the skills developed through Special Olympics leadership training.
Through this seminar, Valarie will help participants develop valuable skills, increase their self-esteem, and engage with the community. The seminar will also bring more members of her community together to learn more about promoting social inclusion in all environments, including the workplace. With the support of Special Olympics Zimbabwe and other youth leaders, Valarie’s leadership will grow the Unified Generation in Zimbabwe and beyond.
At the Forum, Valarie developed and refined plans to address an issue important to her: empowering other young people with and without intellectual disabilities with the confidence and skills for employability with the ultimate goal of creating more inclusive workplaces in Zimbabwe. To Valarie, inclusive workplaces are important to creating lifetimes of inclusion – and developing skills in teamwork and leadership is a critical step towards that goal. To do this, Valarie plans to host a seminar focused on skill building in teamwork and leadership for youth with and without intellectual disabilities in her community. Valarie will also reach out to business owners and entrepreneurs in the community to join the seminar to support the training exercises, share more about local work environments, and learn about the skills developed through Special Olympics leadership training.
Through this seminar, Valarie will help participants develop valuable skills, increase their self-esteem, and engage with the community. The seminar will also bring more members of her community together to learn more about promoting social inclusion in all environments, including the workplace. With the support of Special Olympics Zimbabwe and other youth leaders, Valarie’s leadership will grow the Unified Generation in Zimbabwe and beyond.