In September 2018, Zainab and Farah participated in the Special Olympics Global Youth Leadership Forum in Baku, Azerbaijan and learned how to enhance the impact of their youth leadership and establish a plan to execute their project at home in Pakistan. This project will help to recruit and develop new Special Olympics Youth Leaders who will work on planning and executing workshops and Unified Sports activities together. As part of initial recruitment, Zainab and Farah will focus the first part of their project on a social media outreach campaign focusing on the power of youth engagement.

The workshops and activities organized by the recruited youth leaders will focus on training for Unified Sports activities and individual character development. The workshops will provide participants with ‘soft skills’ needed for effective youth leadership and professional work. Zainab and Farah want to empower these new youth leaders with and without intellectual disabilities to contribute in school, the community, and the workplace.

Over the coming months, Zainab and Farah will hold a social media campaign, recruit youth leaders with and without intellectual disabilities, and host a number of workshops. With the training gained from these workshops, the youth participants will not only be prepared to host Unified Sports activities, but also apply their skills to create more inclusive communities and workplaces. By recruiting and developing youth leaders in their community, Zainab and Farah are growing the Unified Generation of Pakistan and beyond.