Taiyuan, Shanxi, March 31 – Special Olympics China held a Family Support Network (FSN) Seminar in Taiyuan, Shanxi Province during March 28-31, 2005. 19 parents from 11 districts around Shanxi Province took part in the seminar, which was led by Ms Anna Chan, the Director of Organizational Development at Special Olympics East Asia.

The main purposes of the seminar was to introduce parents to Special Olympics so that they have a better understanding of the organization and its goals, and to train the parents to become leaders and spokespeople for Special Olympics activities in their local areas. The parents that took part in the seminar engaged in lively discussion and made plans on how they should continue their efforts with Special Olympics after the conclusion of the seminar. These plans included encouraging other families to take part in Special Olympics, provide better training opportunities to the athletes and utilize the media to stir up more attention for Special Olympics and its activities.

The FSN connects Special Olympics families with new families of an individual with intellectual disabilities and provides supportive links and information. The network is based on the premise that the family members of present and future Special Olympics athletes are valuable and have an important role to play in Special Olympics outreach. The FSN creates opportunities for family members to become advocates for the Special Olympics movement; match families to share ideas, issues and common interests; volunteer in their loved one’s athletic training; and encourage new families who can benefit from Special Olympics to join.