Special Olympics

I’m still in awe of what happened last week! It was an incredible honor to lead the U.S. Delegation for the first-ever #G7 Ministerial on Inclusion & Disability in Italy! A sincere thank you to Minister Alessandra Locatelli & her team. Including an entire ministerial level political track on Inclusion & Disability set the tone for what's possible in multilateral fora.   We had an incredible delegation for this ministerial: Asst. Secretary Taryn Williams, Department of Labor, Mary Davis, CEO, Special Olympics, Dr. Michael Stein from Harvard Law, & Virginia Atkinson, Senior Global Advisor, IFES.   I was thrilled to have bilat meetings with our G7 partners & outreach countries to discuss ways we could move this work beyond the ministerial. We discussed disability, peace, & security, bridging between domestic and international work on disability, future global foras, & more. As I said in my remarks, we cannot achieve a secure, prosperous & peaceful future until we include the disability community.   After the G7 Ministerial meeting, Minister Locatelli arranged a private meeting with the Pope, where we had the rare opportunity to hear directly about the Vatican’s position on persons with disabilities.   Here's our homework: 1. Ensure there's a standalone disability ministerial in both G7 and G20, and that disability and accessibility are integrated holistically into all work streams. 2. Elevate the voice of disability so society can the value that persons with disabilities have and the cost on society that is incurred when we're excluded. 3. Ensure that people who don't work on disability rights be included in these sessions so they can see how they play a part in advancing this work. It’s not just on the disability community to raise the importance of advancing disability inclusion. It’s on all of us. #G7Italy #NothingWithoutUs   Photo credits to Vatican Media, the Government of Italy, and Meaghan Clohessy.   1: Taking a short moment with Pope Francis along with my dear friend & partner-in-crime Hanah Nasri. 2: The amazing people who were part of the U.S. delegation to the G7 Ministerial outside the Solfagnano Castle. 3: My amazing team in between G7 bilats. 4: Standing next to my good friend & G7 partner Alessandra Locatelli, Minister of Disabilities for the Gvt. of Italy. Her hard work and dedication made the G7 Ministerial possible. 5: The heads of delegation gather for the first panel, where experts from each of the G7 partners discussed including persons with disabilities across political, civic, & economic life.  6: The heads of delegation from the G7 countries & outreach countries gather for the conclusion of the Welcome Ceremony, gearing up for three days of productive conversations & journey mapping.

"𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑬𝒎𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒐𝒑𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒐 𝑷𝒓𝒊𝒛𝒆 𝒊𝒔 𝒘𝒂𝒚 𝒂𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒅 𝒐𝒇 𝒊𝒕𝒔 𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒛𝒆𝒔. 𝑰𝒕 𝒂𝒔𝒌𝒔 𝒉𝒐𝒘 𝒅𝒐 𝒘𝒆 𝒃𝒓𝒊𝒅𝒈𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒗𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒔? 𝑯𝒐𝒘 𝒅𝒐 𝒘𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒅𝒖𝒄𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒎𝒑𝒕?" Our chairman Timothy Shriver summarized the spirit of last week's activities in Greece as #SpecialOlympics accepted the Theophano Foundation's prestigious award, recognizing our movement's work in overcoming adversity and promoting inclusion through sport. A heartfelt thank you to everyone who contributed to a memorable few days in Greece. Read more here ▶️ https://brnw.ch/21wOccN #EmpressTheophanoPrize #ChooseToInclude

"𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑬𝒎𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒐𝒑𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒐 𝑷𝒓𝒊𝒛𝒆 𝒊𝒔 𝒘𝒂𝒚 𝒂𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒅 𝒐𝒇 𝒊𝒕𝒔 𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒛𝒆𝒔. 𝑰𝒕 𝒂𝒔𝒌𝒔 𝒉𝒐𝒘 𝒅𝒐 𝒘𝒆 𝒃𝒓𝒊𝒅𝒈𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒗𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒔? 𝑯𝒐𝒘 𝒅𝒐 𝒘𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒅𝒖𝒄𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒎𝒑𝒕?" Our chairman Timothy Shriver summarized the spirit of last week's activities in Greece as #SpecialOlympics accepted the Theophano Foundation's prestigious award, recognizing our movement's work in overcoming adversity and promoting inclusion through sport. A heartfelt thank you to everyone who contributed to a memorable few days in Greece. Read more here ▶️ https://brnw.ch/21wOccN #EmpressTheophanoPrize #ChooseToInclude

Today, we welcomed guests from 23 countries in Bucharest for the launch of the "Excellence in Action: Unified Champion School" conference. National Directors, program directors, education and sports specialists, Unified Partners and Special Olympics athletes from all over Europe and Eurasia gathered for 2 days of valuable discussions and knowledge transfer on inclusion in schools and international collaboration in education. Huge thanks to the fantastic team at Special Olympics Romania for the warm welcome and incredible setup! 📸 : Special Olympics Romania and Special Olympics Europe Eurasia #ChooseToInclude #SpecialOlympics #UnifiedChampionSchools #UnifiedGeneration

“My leadership skills show other athletes to follow their dreams.” United Airlines SOSA (Special Olympics Service Ambassador) Z Ross offers her perspective on how her work as a United Airlines employee can inspire other Special Olympics athletes. Thank you to United Airlines for 5 years of supporting opportunities for Special Olympics athletes to lead on the field and in the workforce. #NDEAM #ChoosetoInclude

Special Olympics is proud to equip future healthcare workers with the tools needed to address the unique health needs of individuals with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities. In partnership with universities across the United States, Special Olympics is training Health Messengers, who are hired by these universities to serve as standardized patients for clinical simulations and interprofessional education events. Learn more about this impactful program in action at one of our partner universities-University of Maryland School of Nursing! Turn to page 3 of UMSON’s recent ‘Nursing Forum’ for a profile on a simulation held in April 2024. https://brnw.ch/21wO79R #InclusiveHealth #SpecialOlympics

"This understanding of bridging differences teaches us that we are far better when we use those differences to unite us, than it is to separate us." Yesterday, Jacqueline Jodl, Chief of Global Youth & Education at Special Olympics International, joined the Theophano Foundation Round Table alongside Timothy Shriver to dive into the urgency of inclusion. Jackie spoke about how Special Olympics’ work brings together those with and without intellectual disabilities and extends to uniting us across all divides. Watch the full discussion here: https://brnw.ch/21wO75G

This November, 20 dedicated coaches will arrive in Dublin, Ireland for the IM Champion Coach Training, proudly hosted by the Michael Phelps Foundation and Special Olympics Ireland! At this training, coaches will dive deep into the art of mastering various swimming strokes and gain advanced insights on delivering Level 2 IM Coach training to coaches in their regions. 🌊💪 Stay tuned for updates on how these coaches make a splash. Special Olympics Europe Eurasia #ChooseToInclude #SpecialOlympics

Special Olympics athletes inspiring their fellow United Airlines employees! “Our Special Olympics Service Ambassadors engage customers and proactively solve problems,” said United Airlines VP Omar Idris. “It inspires a brand-new employee in a way that no other training course could.” Thank you to United Airlines for 5 years of supporting opportunities for Special Olympics athletes to lead on the field and in the workforce. #NDEAM #ChoosetoInclude

Loretta Claiborne says that Special Olympics gave her a new sense of herself, like she put her old identity down and picked up a new one. In my podcast “Need A Lift?”, she compared it to pants shopping– trying on pair after pair, none of them fitting. “And then all of a sudden, you see another pair in the pile, and you get up and say, ‘Oh, this is me.’” Listen to more of my conversation with Loretta on, “Need A Lift?” wherever you listen to podcasts. https://brnw.ch/21wO6mw #FrontRowToHope