Athletes Unite
Alternating between summer and winter, the Special Olympics World Games are one of the world’s largest sporting events, drawing as many if not more athletes than the Olympics. Every two years since 1968, athletes from more than 100 nations have gathered to celebrate sport and showcase the abilities of people with intellectual disabilities. This prominent world stage brings attention to the Special Olympics movement and helps create positive, sometimes life-saving policy change for people with intellectual disabilities in countries around the world.

One Athlete's Journey
Alcino Pereira from East Timor is an example of how one athlete’s journey to the World Games can open doors for others, even in a place of conflict. East Timor is a war-torn nation that has been struggling for more than 30 years to gain independence from Indonesia. In all this devastation, people with intellectual disabilities are often abandoned and forgotten. Pereira, 38, an orphan whose father was killed in an uprising, has never had access to health care, and he is unable to speak. He walks with a limp and has limited motion in one arm – but he loves to run. Every day he runs across his home town of Dili in worn-out sneakers, earning him the nickname, “the running man.”

"The Running Man"
In 2007, “the running man” was East Timor’s first Special Olympics athlete to compete at the World Games – making him famous in his home country. The people of East Timor, including the prime minister and the bishop, rallied in support of his trip to Shanghai, China, site of the Games. Though Pereira did not win his race, he brought spectators to their feet. When he returned to East Timor, he became the face of a public awareness campaign aimed at helping more citizens with intellectual disabilities in his country.

Inspiring Nations
The bravery of athletes competing at World Games inspires participating nations and brings much-needed attention to the conditions of people with intellectual disabilities within their borders. At the same time, the World Games provide opportunity for cross-cultural conversations about how to foster inclusion of people with intellectual disabilities. Athletes, families, volunteers, world leaders and Special Olympics celebrity ambassadors convene at the Games to attend policy summits, exchange ideas and talk to the public about the life-changing transformations Special Olympics brings about in participants and communities.

The World Games are also catalysts for change within the countries that host them. World Games stimulate local economies and create momentum for citizen engagement by promoting grass-roots volunteerism – as seen in Ireland during the 2003 World Games, when 30,000 people from across the nation volunteered to work at Games in Dublin.

This catalyzing effect extends beyond communities to include governments as well. Ireland passed a new disability act after it hosted the 2003 World Games. And leading up to the 2007 World Summer Games in Shanghai, China unveiled an unprecedented five-year government growth plan that included new educational, job and health care opportunities for individuals with intellectual disabilities across the nation.

Special Olympics Founder Eunice Kennedy Shriver does the best job of summing up the power of the World Games: "Special Olympics is one 'issue' any local or national government can and will support once they have the unique experience of hosting a World Games and learning more about these athletes. I say this emphatically because it has happened after every World Games in our history. It always happens."