IRELAND IS a model to the rest of Europe as a country that has been changed by the Special Olympics, Timothy Shriver, chairman and CEO of Special Olympics International, has said.
Mr Shriver was speaking in Dublin yesterday where he attended the opening of the new headquarters of Special Olympics Europe/Eurasia (SOEE), along with managing director of SOEE Mary Davis.
“We have a model in Ireland of a Special Olympics movement . . . this is a country that has been changed by the Special Olympics,” Mr Shriver said.
The SOEE region incorporates 58 countries in Europe and Central Asia, with half a million athletes. Mr Shriver hopes this number will double in five years. According to 2008 figures, there are three million Special Olympics athletes worldwide.
“All of Europe is a history lesson on what happens when you don’t have tolerance. The athletes are a lesson of how to overcome these difficulties,” he added.
About 26.5 million people in the Europe/Eurasia region have an intellectual disability.
Part of Ms Davis’s new role is to increase awareness of the Special Olympics in these countries as well as encourage fundraising for the events and games.
“Fundraising is challenging in this environment, but people are generous. I think we just have to be more creative,” she said.
The headquarters are in Morrison Chambers.
Mr Shriver was greeted yesterday by a strong contingent from the Irish Special Olympics team, as well as the CEO of Special Olympics Ireland, Matt English, who presented the American with a black polo shirt.
The next major event in the Special Olympics calendar is the European Games, to be held in Warsaw, Poland, next year.
The SOEE is seeking €15 million from the European Commission to help fund the games and the development of the Special Olympics among the 27 member states.