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Popular Polish actor Piotr Adamczyk and Special Olympics athlete Ela Dzierzbicka are ambassadors for the Special Olympics European Games. All of the ambassadors, comprised of celebrities and athletes, appeared in a promotional calendar for the Games. Photo courtesy of Special Olympics Poland
The annual observance of the International Day of Persons with Disabilities on 3 December aims to promote an understanding of disability issues, the rights of persons with disabilities and gains to be derived from the integration of persons with disabilities in every aspect of the political, social, economic and cultural life of their communities. The Day was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 1982. Below are several examples of how Special Olympics National Programs acknowledged the Day in Europe/Eurasia.
POLAND
On 3 December, popular Polish film and theatre actor Piotr Adamczyk presented results of social research on attitude toward intellectual disability among Polish society. The presentation was held at a press conference organized by the Special Olympics European Summer Games Foundation and the United Nations Warsaw Information Centre. Five Special Olympics athletes and Beijing’s Olympic Silver medalist in mountain biking Maja Wloszczowska also attended the press conference. They are all ambassadors of the Special Olympics European Games 2010 that will be held in Warsaw.
“These results show that most of us do not want to help or look after people with an intellectual disability. We would rather put this responsibility on the shoulders of their families or social care,” said Adamczyk. “Some of us believe that intellectual disability is a disease and over 65 per cent of respondents think that persons with intellectual disability should not have full civil rights, such as the right to vote or the right to have children. Our common task is to change this attitude,” he said.
“The Special Olympics European Summer Games have tremendous meaning for social education in this part of the world,” said Karina Bednarska, representative of United Nation Information Centre. “Especially young people must realize that persons with an intellectual disability have the same rights to be happy and to be respected as those who do not have any disabilities. According to the UN, there are about 650 millions of people with various disabilities. Women with disabilities living in developing countries face an especially difficult situation. They often become victims of domestic violence,” Bednarska said.
The Special Olympics European Summer Games will be held from 18-24 September, 2010 and will attract 1600 athletes from 58 countries. Special Olympics Poland will celebrate its 25th anniversary next year as well.
BULGARIA
Special Olympics Bulgaria organized a press conference to honor those individuals and organizations that had made a significant contribution to the social mission of Bulgarian sport in 2009. Those receiving awards included the Bulgarian Basketball Federation and the American College of Sofia which involved 100 of its students as volunteers for Special Olympics. Special Olympics Bulgaria also launched its Basketball Week activities that involved 215 athletes with intellectual disabilities and 55 of their peers without disabilities who participated in nine local basketball competitions, all with the support of the Bulgarian Basketball Federation.
ROMANIA
Special Olympics Romania organized a regional tournament in artistic gymnastics on 3 December in Bucharest. Fifty one Special Olympics athletes, aged 12-21, competed. Events included floor exercise (male/female), vaulting (male/female), balance beam (female) and pommel horse (male). The tournament was held at the National Academy for Sport and Physical Education. Partners of this initiative include the National Academy for Sport and Physical Education, the Education Department of Bucharest, Bucharest Department of Schools and the County Direction for Sports Bucharest. One of the guests at the tournament was well-known Olympic and World champion gymnast Andreea Raducan, who is currently a sports announcer. Two employees from Omnitoys, the exclusive distributor of Mattel in Romania, volunteered for the tournament as part of the Team Mattel initiative.
AZERBAIJAN
Special Olympics Azerbaijan acknowledged the International Day of People with Disabilities a month early when a football tournament was organized together with FK Garabagh. Two male and female teams between the ages of 12 and 14 from the regions of Baku-Absheron and Sumgait participated.