Sun Kyoung and JiHwan's project will empower more people with and without intellectual disabilities to engage in Unified Sports through their 'Unified Sports Day' event.
About The Project Leaders
Sun Kyoung is a 22-year-old and is in her third year at Ewha Womans University. She recently just joined the Special Olympics movement and is excited to grow her participation over the next year. She wants to pursue a project that produces integration. She is looking forward to working alongside her partner, JiHwan to develop their project and build a more inclusive society.
JiHwan is a 24-year-old and lives in Seoul, Republic of Korea. He has been involved with Special Olympics for many years. JiHwan has been an athlete but now wants to develop his leadership skills. He wants to be a Youth Leader because he wants to participate heavily with Special Olympics in this project and beyond, and to hopefully construct a more unified society with his partner and those engaged by his project.
The Inspiration
Sun Kyoung and JiHwan feel that sports and leisure have settled into our daily lives and most able-bodied people enjoy playing sports for fun, however, it is rare to find those with disabilities playing sports for fun in their daily lives. This motivated them to make a Unified Sports club. In order to overcome the difficulties, they have had while playing Unified sports, they came across the idea of creating an event, 'Unified Sports Day', which focuses more on creating connections and friendships and less on the competitive spirit of sports. Through this Unified Sports Day, Sun Kyoung and JiHwan would like to provide an opportunity for various people in the local school and community to come together. Through this, it will be possible to visualize the coexistence of the people with and without disabilities and to spread the message of inclusion on a larger scale.
The Plan
Sun Kyoung and JiHwan plan to invite people with and without disabilities to their Unified Sports Day through social media and their school network. Their goal through the project is to build networks where all members could have a chance to interact and become friends with one another.
Project Goals
The project’s final goal is to construct a more unified society where people with and without disabilities can live together harmoniously. They also hope the Unified Sports Day empowers more young people to get involved with Special Olympics and create more Unified clubs.
