DIGITAL LIBRARY
AN EVALUATION OF SPECIAL OLYMPICS PROJECT "UNIFY" IN FOUR EUROPEAN COUNTRIES
1 Queen's University Belfast (UNITED KINGDOM)
2 University of Ulster (UNITED KINGDOM)
About this paper:
Appears in: ICERI2013 Proceedings
Publication year: 2013
Page: 5833 (abstract only)
ISBN: 978-84-616-3847-5
ISSN: 2340-1095
Conference name: 6th International Conference of Education, Research and Innovation
Dates: 18-20 November, 2013
Location: Seville, Spain
Abstract:
Special Olympics is the largest global provider of sports activities to people with intellectual disabilities, working in over 170 countries with almost 4 million athletes. Special Olympics Project Unify® is an education-based project that uses sports and education programmes with the aim of activating young people to develop school communities where all youth are agents of change – which foster respect, dignity and advocacy for people with intellectual disabilities. The programme establishes partnerships between schools and Special Olympics clubs and works with teachers to deliver a range of activities to young people with and without intellectual disabilities.

Originally implemented in the USA over the past five years, Project Unify has recently been piloted, over an 18-month period, in four European countries, namely, Austria, Italy, Serbia and Romania. An evaluation of the pilot implementation was recently completed by a team from the Regional Research Collaborating Centre for Special Olympics Europe Eurasia based at the University of Ulster in Northern Ireland.
The aim of the evaluation was to assess the impact of Special Olympics’ Project Unify in promoting positive attitudes towards people with intellectual disabilities, encouraging leadership skills amongst participants as well as promoting social inclusion and developing opportunities for advocacy amongst people with intellectual disabilities.

This presentation will describe the method of the evaluation and will report on findings, which were drawn from data gathered from young people with and without intellectual disabilities as well as from leaders and teachers who delivered the programme. Findings will highlight the differences between the young people’s experiences, inter-country differences as well as the perspectives of leaders and teachers. It will highlight the value of partnership between Special Olympics and the school community and will discuss the strengths of this education programme as a vehicle for social change.