SOAP ANNUAL REPORT NOW AVAILABLE

In 2019, Special Olympics Asia Pacific touched the lives of more than 2.1 million athletes with intellectual disabilities across the region, conducted close to 16,000 health screenings and empowered more than 12,000 athletes with leadership skills. Find out all these and more in our latest annual report.

BRINA MAXINO BRINGS SMILES WITH COLGATE PHILIPPINES

Colgate Philippines launches its #SmileStrong campaign highlighting “The Filipino Resilience” championed by three muses - one of which is  Sargent Shriver International Global Messenger (SSIGM) Brina Maxino - who smile through uphill battles, challenge the status quo with a positive outlook, and shape the future with their confidence.

 

Brina was chosen to be a muse for the campaign for defying expectations in school and in life.

“While a lot of Filipinos may just smile their troubles away, there are those who silently do what they can, with the circumstances they are dealt with, to make their lives, and lives of other people better. And they do all of these with a smile!” says Ari Mandelbaum, Marketing Director of Colgate- Palmolive Philippines. ”[The muses] live the spirit of Optimism in Action every day, each with their own unique stories and struggles, but manage to rise above their challenges to serve as an inspiration to society in their own ways.”

HASEEB ABBASI, SSIGM, TEDX SPEAKER, YOUTH LEADER, NOW ENTREPRENEUR

Despite the odds, Athlete Leader and Sargent Shriver International Global Messenger (SSIGM) Haseeb Abbasi has started a juice bar business in early October in the midst of the pandemic.

He will be working with professionals to provide training at the Squeezy the juice bar and has plans to employ two other people with ID providing them employment, skills and a livelihood.

“My hope is to be able to work independently. My vision is that people with ID will all be given employment opportunities, and be empowered with skills to run their own businesses. I want to see the juice bar expand across Pakistan and around the world. The love I've been blessed with from friends, family, and the Special Olympics community has enabled me to fulfill my dream. I now want to do the same for others," shared Haseeb.

Since its opening, he has been receiving queries from public seeking to work with them.

A WORLD UNITED THROUGH SPORT

The 2020 United Through Sport (UTS) Virtual Youth Festival is first of its kind virtual celebration of inclusion. Special Olympics, alongside the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the International Paralympic Committee (IPC), and 60 other sport organizations and NGOs, have come together to keep youth engaged and active during the global pandemic. This is the first time Special Olympics, the IOC, and the IPC have partnered in the same event. Special Olympics will host two events for athletes with and without intellectual disabilities: a seven-week fitness challenge and a talent festival.

 

Special Olympics CEO Mary Davis will speak at the Opening Ceremony, and the Special Olympics International Board of Directors will be represented by athlete leader Ben Haack from Special Olympics Australia who will be a panelist - discussing inclusion, equality, and non-discrimination in sport.

Mary Davis, CEO of Special Olympics said, “On behalf of our over six million Special Olympics athletes, we are delighted to grant patronage and applaud the effort of UTS to demonstrate the power of inclusive sport for all. Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, Special Olympics halted all training and competitions for 2020, however are excited and we fully support the United Through Sports Virtual Youth Festival 2020 as being especially important for our athletes, to remain active, connected and certainly included. May this Festival be the first of many more inclusive events to come.”

LIONS CLUB & SO MALAYSIA

STRENGTHEN TIES

Special Olympics Malaysia has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Lions Club International District 308 B1 Malaysia to improve the lives of people with intellectual disabilities.

Through "Mission Inclusion", athletes of Special Olympics Malaysia will get access to quality optical care via the Opening Eyes vision care program, and youth leaders will have the opportunity to take part in unified sports, fostering greater understanding between people with and without intellectual disabilities.

DEVELOPMENTAL SPORTS GETS A BOOST FROM HERBALIFE NUTRITION

Herbalife Nutrition has extended $150,000 to Special Olympics Bharat in support of its Developmental Sports programme for Young Athletes.

 

“Sports is a great equalizer and this organisation has been at the forefront of inspiring not only the sporting talent but also enabling attitudinal change in the communities we live in. The children are blessed with phenomenal determination, and we are happy to be able to give them a platform to shine while sending a very powerful message to the world. That resilience helps overcome all odds. Our relationship with Special Olympics Bharat exemplifies our commitment to Build Better and we look forward to continuing this deeply meaningful relationship,” says Ajay Khanna, Vice President/Country Head, Herbalife International India.

The programme equips children with and without intellectual disabilities with fundamental gross motor skills that will help them become more successful in sport later in life. Sport participation helps children develop physically, mentally, and socially and contributes to the development of long-term healthy lifestyles.

GFA DONATES SPORTS EQUIPMENT

TO SO GUAM

Special Olympics Guam got a recent boost to their softball program with a donation from Guam Football Association that will allow athletes access to quality equipment.

The equipment was collected through a community donation drive held earlier this year, which saw many donating hundreds of softball equipment – bats, helmets, balls, gloves, and cleats, among other equipment – to Special Olympics Guam for its softball program.

 

Also check out SO Guam’s feature on The Guam Daily Post

ENGAGING CHILDREN MEANINGFULLY

IN TOUGH TIMES

The Indian Council for Human Relations (ICHR) organized a Webinar on ‘Children in Power’ (CIP) focusing on the impact of the ‘New Normal’ on the psyche of the children.

 

Mukta Narain Thind , National Director , SO Bharat was invited to speak and she threw light on the positive as well as negative impact of the pandemic on Persons with Intellectual Disabilities.  While a shift of activities from outdoor to indoor has increased restlessness amongst the athletes, it has also created an opportunity for them to engage meaningfully with their families.

With Special Olympics coming up with a multitude of digital resources encouraging the Athletes to maintain Physical fitness and Mental Health, family members have also assumed the role of Mentoring while involving themselves proactively.

 

The event was presided by Aruna Abhey Oswal, and invited diverse experts from academics, life coach, psychologists to key opinion leaders from the Development sector.

INSIGHTS ON THE NEW NORMAL

SOAP President and managing director Dipak Natali shares his insights on how charities have been adjusting to the new normal, and the importance of adapting fundraising practices to the present environment.

REVAMPED

ATHLETE LEADERSHIP RESOURCES 

Featuring the new identity, the Athlete Leadership curriculum has been revamped to highlight leadership development and includes:

• 2 core modules: Introduction to Athlete Leadership and Understanding Leadership
• 5 advanced leadership courses: Understanding Emotions, Engaging with Others, Managing Time, Leading Discussions and Unified Leadership

New independent activities are also available for athlete leaders on the Leadership & Skills Training page.

SOAP has run a pilot program of the revised curriculum for our region and resources adapted for the region will be shared with you in the coming weeks.

SO CONNECT: REGISTRATION ENHANCEMENTS UPDATE

Throughout the last two months, the SO Connect team has been focusing on building out and enhancing current SO Connect registration features to support major games and future Program use. New capabilities will allow Programs to build custom forms and create custom registrations that can be added to an individual’s profile. SO Connect registration features include the ability to add custom fields, bulk import via Excel, and the ability to save drafts. The SO Connect team is continuing to enhance competition management functionality and will continue to update on progress relating to this aspect of SO Programming in the coming months.

For more information on SO Connect, visit the Technology and Digital Resources Page.