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Dear Friends,
Leadership is the theme of this issue and it couldn’t be more timely.
Next week we would have been sitting down with all of the leaders from across 35 of our Programs at our Annual Regional Leadership Conference. This event has been a staple part of our calendar for many years. It is the one point in the year where we give athletes, young people, volunteers and staff from across our region the opportunity to learn from each other, develop new skills and discuss how we can collectively improve the lives of people with intellectual disabilities wherever we are.
Every year I am encouraged and inspired by our leaders; their focus and determination as well their knowledge and insight. Their input to this event serves to propel our region forward and it is through their leadership that each year I leave the event energized and confident that we can achieve our goals.
Unfortunately due to the outbreak of the coronavirus (Covid-19) in early February we have been forced to postpone this essential event. Following our announcement, I was contacted by many leaders from across the region. What was interesting and heartening about the responses I received, was the fortitude and level-headedness with which these leaders approached this setback, with many providing suggestions on ways we could move forward.
It is this strength of character and purpose across the leadership in our region that fills me with such confidence, that despite the adversity that our region continuously faces — from natural disasters through to conflict; from poverty through to disease; we can, and surely will, succeed.
Acting upon the advice of our leaders, our team is working to ensure that our momentum as a region continues unabated. We are planning virtual meetings, webinars and teleconferences with all of our country Programs across all of the various different projects and activities that need to take place. I am confident that whilst our Conference may not now take place until much later this year, the disruption that it could cause will be minimised by the dedication and flexibility that our leadership continues to demonstrate.
Our CEO, Mary Davis recently reminded us, “We are an organisation that faces adversity every day and have proven we can rise above even the toughest of challenges.” We will continue to stay vigilant and strong as a region to ensure the safety of our athletes, staff and volunteers.
In my view, the situation we currently face serves as a reminder that sometimes to lead change, we need to slow down to speed up. The halting of activities, training and meet-ups across the region doesn’t mean that our work stops. We will use this time to give more attention to areas that may have been neglected in the past. To have deeper dialogues and learn, to diagnose and reflect, and to collectively set the direction of the future of the movement in Asia Pacific — bringing out the best in our athletes and for our athletes.
Thanks, as always for your support.
May we continue to change the game, and I hope you enjoy the read.
Yours Sincerely,
Dipak Natali
President & Managing Director
Special Olympics Asia Pacific
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NEVER TOO OLD FOR INCLUSIVE MINDSETS |
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Marlon Tindoc, Special Olympics Philippines athlete has been part of the Special Olympics for over 26 years. From athletics, bocce, bowling, basketball, table-tennis, football and now powerlifting he has done it all. But apart from his accolades in sports, he has been an inspiration and a leader to other athletes in times of crisis. |
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COURAGE TO DO THE RIGHT THING
Life’s defining moments are laid out by the things you choose to do, especially when you choose not to do anything. Find out what was that moment that changed the trajectory of Dipak Natali’s life, President and MD, Special Olympics Asia Pacific, and the heroes he has met in this movement.
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SHE WORE HER SCARS LIKE A CROWN |
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Bullying can often leave children scarred for life. Children with intellectual disability often report rates of victimization. Athlete leader, Florence Hui is a queen who wore these scars like a crown and let nothing come in between her and her dreams. |
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FROM PARTICIPANT TO LEADER |
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Dina Fuji Utami, youth leader from SO Indonesia organised
Unity in Diversity: Together as One – a Unified Camp Party for youth with and without intellectual disabilities in December 2019.
To ready herself for the challenge, Dina and her fellow youth leaders attended Special Olympics Asia Pacific’s Camp Confidante 2019 as facilitators to learn from an established model in Singapore that has been run by youth volunteers since 2016.
Together as a unified pair with her partner, Septiya Sri Rahayu, Dina also attended the Global Youth Leadership Summit 2019 in Abu Dhabi where she took the opportunity to engage and exchange ideas with youth leaders from across the world.
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SO BHARAT ATHLETES WIN AT
SO SWEDEN INVITATIONAL GAMES
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Two athletes from Haryana, Rachna and Tanshu, both 15, clinched 2 gold and 2 silvers in short track speed skating at the SO Sweden Invitational Games. Rachna's father Kuldip Singh, said: "Children like my daughter Rachna have abilities and they deserve to be part of the mainstream society. People have to and they must break stereotypes, and expand their perception to recognise and accept something that they aren't . My daughter is God's gift to me".
This was a trip of many 'firsts' for both teenagers - first time being away from their parents, first time stepping on a plane, and first time representing their country on the international stage.
The skaters were among over 450 athletes from 19 countries at the Games.
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SO NZ SIGNS NEW POWERLIFTING MOU
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Special Olympics New Zealand and the New Zealand Powerlifting Federation have just signed a new Memorandum of Understanding. The agreement will help give powerlifting communities across New Zealand a boost, Gary Peacham, Sports Director, SONZ added,” The agreement will play a pivotal part in SONZ running high quality sports programmes for Tamariki (5 to 11 years of age), Rangatahi (12 to 18 years of age) and adults with intellectual disabilities to enrich their lives and break down barriers." |
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YOUTH ACTIVATED IN MISSION INCLUSION
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Special Olympics Bharat ran a two-day Youth Activation Workshop to celebrate the success of the Mission Inclusion program, supported by Lions Clubs International through the Aruna Abhey Oswal Trust, which launched two years ago. The workshop brought together 87 Youth leaders with and without Intellectual disabilities from 16 States including LEOs from 9 districts of India and was supported by 77 volunteers, mentors and family members. To date, the Mission Inclusion Project has reached out to over 80-thousand athletes, partners, families, youths and health practitioners.
Youths were urged to be the catalysts for inclusion with many sharing their experiences on and reinforced with panel discussions around creating inclusive communities in India and the world.
Dipak Natali, President & Managing Director, Special Olympics Asia Pacific shared in a panel discussion his vision for the movement, and his hopes to seek a deeper understanding from the public, families, and the media - that the nature of Special Olympics and the value that it brings should not be entrenched in the number of medals that an athlete has won, but their strength and determination in the face of adversity. Their victory is a testament to their courage and the numerous battles they have fought to get to where they are today.
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UNIQLO EMPOWERS ATHLETES
AS THEY SHOP & LEARN
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Special Olympics Indonesia held a Uniqlo Shopping Experience at Uniqlo Grand Galaxy Park to empower athletes to be more independent. This experience helped them learn and understand daily activities while shopping like choosing and buying clothes. |
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NEW HEALTH AMBASSADORS
FOR PAPUA NEW GUINEA
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Through a series of theory and practical sessions, Special Olympics Clinical Director Dr Andrew Ame and his team has trained eight new athlete leaders to take on Health Ambassadors roles for the Healthy Community Program. They are scheduled to visit selected villages in Central Province and settlements on the outskirts of Port Moresby through this year. |
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Special Olympics Pakistan held the Lakson Investments 5th SOP Unified Marathon at Moin Khan Academy on 5th February which coincided with Kashmir Solidarity Day. In its bid to promote inclusion and raise awareness of the movement, the race was opened to the public with options for the participants to take part in the 21km half marathon, the 5k and 10k run as well as the 1km Unified Walk.
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SO PHILIPPINES PARTNERS DECATHLON
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Athletes of all ages will now have the opportunity to receive quality sports and fitness training with Decathlon Philippines coaches at their stores across the country. The partnership was celebrated recently with a unified dance session led by Special Olympics athletes Carl Garcia and Kamille Tingzon.
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Special Olympics Thailand has released a song Spotlight written and composed by Benjamin Jung Tuffnel and performed by youth ambassador Ada Chunhavajira. The song captures the hard work strength, tenacity of all the athletes in the movement as they take their turns to shine on the playing field amidst the obstacles as they face day-to-day.
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QUARTER 1
International Male Unified Cricket Tournament, India
Train the Trainer - Level 3 Cricket, India |
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MADE POSSIBLE BY OUR PARTNERS
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