Rayan is a 21 year-old business student from Cyprus. He has been involved with Special Olympics for 8 years as an athlete, and most recently participated in the Youth Leadership Summit in Berlin. He is a member of the Youth Council and through this role, Rayan has been involved in many projects related to educating youth, which he has a passion for. Rayan believes in the importance of inclusion and feels that everyone must be considered an equal in society.

Mila is from Cyprus and has been a member of the Youth Committee with Special Olympics for 3 years. Over the years she has participated in various projects, some of which took place in her high school. She has also found her work with Special Olympics to be beneficial for her social life. She has made many friends through her leadership roles and participation with Unified Sports . Mila is a part of the Unified Generation because she wants other athletes to get involved in Unified Sports!
Rayan and Mila were inspired to take on this project because of an apparent lack of awareness surrounding the effect that isolation has had on youth with intellectual disabilities as well as Special Olympics athletes in their community. They decided that a survey would be the best way to measure the pandemic’s effects and to best gauge how athletes can overcome any negative impacts they experience.
Rayan and Mila’s aim is to prepare a survey and collect data on how the pandemic has affected athletes lives in Cyprus. Specifically, the questionnaire will deal with various aspects that concern athletes such as their mental state, the social effects of the pandemic, the lack of sports activities, and their views on how they experienced the pandemic. After receiving and reviewing the data collected in the survey, they will work to find solutions to overcome negative impacts. The survey results will be published so it can be reviewed by competent bodies of government and stakeholders can implement policies or programs to remedy the negatives.
Rayan and Mila aim to help the athletes in their community to overcome any lasting negative impacts they may face from the Covid-19 pandemic, and to provide more Unified Sports opportunities as well any other supports to their athletes.