Youth Activation
Together with Special Olympics, young people must be empowered to lead a dignity revolution to change social norms and create a lifetime of acceptance, appreciation, and inclusion for people with differences. To be successful, Special Olympics needs to engage young people in their formative years and beyond to connect them to the movement. This means activating and training Programs on the benefits and opportunities around youth activation. By drawing young peoples’ attention to the gifts of people with ID, misperceptions are broken down, negative attitudes are tackled and their tremendous potential is highlighted.
The Youth are educated to use sports and educational programmes to foster respect for people with intellectual disabilities in schools and Colleges. The programme activates young people to develop school communities which can act as agents of change, fostering respect, dignity and advocacy for people with intellectual disabilities
YOUTH ENGAGEMENT AND UNIFIED SCHOOLS
Inclusive Youth Initiatives
National Youth Leadership Summit
Since 2019, SO Bharat has been organising Annual Youth leadership Summits holding the fourth edition in 2022. Youth with and without Intellectual Disabilities along with Officials, families and volunteers from an average of 15 States of India participate. The Summit is organised to emphasize the importance of engaging the youth strategically in the program while empowering them to become change agents of inclusion in communities around the world.
January 2020 | Mission Inclusion : Bharat Youth Activation 2020
Special Olympics Bharat hosted a Youth Activation event on 24 and 25 January 2020 celebrating the successes of Mission Inclusion: Bharat since its launch in 2017, while also inviting the LEOs from all over India to join the Special Olympics Youth leaders with and without Intellectual Disabilities in their endeavors of promoting Inclusion.
The two day event held a Youth Activation Workshop led by the proactive Special Olympics Youth leaders, and introducing the LEOs to the movement while engaging them in group activities and interactive sessions. The next day witnessed a Unified Basketball engagement, joined by the leaders of SOI and various Colleges & Universities and organizations. EVENT REPORT
July 2019- PRATISHTHA 3.0
The third edition of Pratishtha came with its own character. Some known faces along with many more that added on, could be seen. The event was organized on 28 July 2019 by the Youth Activation Committee – NCR , this year headed by the Youth leaders Param Ahuja and Siddhant Nath and supported by 60 Volunteers from Tagore International School Vasant Vihar& East of Kailash , Apeejay Pitampura , Amity University UP (NOIDA) and other colleges Full Report
Pratishtha, a Community Outreach initiative, was conceptualized in July 2017 by the Special Olympics Youth leaders with the objective to go beyond the boundaries of schools and colleges to spread awareness about Special Olympics & the message of Inclusion. The event, a brainchild of Tanmay Agarwal, successfully completes three years of celebration. The baton of conducting the event passes from one Youth leader to the other, each year.
May 2019- NATIONAL YOUTH SUMMIT 2019
In partnership with ESPN, global partner in the Special Olympics movement, a 3-day National Youth Summit was held from 28-30 May at the Amity University Uttar Pradesh (Noida). Over 180 Youth leaders with and without Intellectual Disabilities from 22 States of India participated in the event.
The event aimed to catalyze inclusive youth leadership around the country by drawing attention of the front- runners in sport, education, sponsors and media while also connecting them with the Youth. Youth leaders from the states were those who had initiated their participation in the movement following the NLC2018 (August 2018) along with the youth new to Special Olympics. The program was largely led by Unified Youth pairs who were supported by a team comprising of representatives from the Special Olympics International, Special Olympics Asia Pacific, Amity University and Special Olympics Bharat.The Summit encouraged the Youth to work in Unified groups to prepare plans to be executed in their respective states.
The event concluded with a Banner presentation ceremony that witnessed felicitation of sixteen Unified Champion Schools with Distinction for their successful endeavors of expanding the ‘Inclusion Revolution’. The event also saw announcement of the first ever SO Bharat National Youth Council. Complete Report
Become a Special Olympics athelete.
