Little more brief
About Us.
Special Olympics is a global sports movement of people creating a new world of inclusion and community, where every single person is accepted and welcomed, regardless of ability or disability. We are helping to make the world a better, healthier and more joyful place—one athlete, one volunteer, one family member at a time.
From a backyard summer camp to a global
sports movement!
In June 1962, Eunice Kennedy Shriver opens a summer camp for young people with intellectual disabilities at her home in suburban Washington, D.C. What was then known as “Shriver Camp” welcomes dozens of young people from local institutions and agencies; campers range in age from about six to 16.
In the next years, a number of research on intellectual disability is carried out and different interventions are introduced while the Kennedy camp is growing. 20 July 1968 the first International Special Olympics Summer Games are held at Soldier Field in Chicago, United States of America, which consequently led to the official incorporation of Special Olympics on 2 August 1968
Special Olympics Malawi
Affiliated to the Malawi National Council of Sports, Special Olympics Malawi was founded in 1998 and it gained the Special Olympics accreditation in 1999. The program started off with only 30 athletes from a small location in Blantyre District in Southern Malawi but to date SO Malawi has about 30,000 athletes and partners from all the 34 Educational Districts. Special Olympics Malawi is privileged with the support from the Ministry of Education to operate in schools where the drive to promote inclusive education in schools is excelling, this is where the majority of our athletes are included both in the classroom and the playing field. The community is gradually accepting and appreciating social inclusion through Community Clubs and family interventions. The program started participating in Special Olympics international events in 2003 where the country participated at the03 Special Olympics World Summer Games were held in Dublin, Ireland. The delegation came back with 9 medals and all the international games have been a success story since then.
Our Mission
The mission of Special Olympics is to provide year-round sports training and athletic competition in a variety of Olympic-type sports for children and adults with intellectual disabilities, giving them continuing opportunities to develop physical fitness, demonstrate courage, experience joy and participate in a sharing of gifts, skills and friendship with their families, other Special Olympics athletes and the community.
The Team
Special Olympics' volunteer Board of Directors determines international policies. The board is composed of business and sport leaders, professional athletes, educators and experts in intellectual disabilities from around the world.
