ABU DHABI: Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Minister of Tolerance and Coexistence, visited the Unified Schools UAE Games, and saw the participation of 400 students from various unified schools across the UAE.
During the event, students of determination and their unified partners, across various age groups, competed in two sports, football and badminton. Separate competitions for boys and girls were held at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Center (ADNEC).
The Unified Schools UAE Games aims to achieve inclusion in education and to enhance the participation of people of determination and their peers in schools, fostering a profound societal change that starts in schools but goes beyond classrooms.
Sheikh Nahyan praised the organisation of the games and emphasised the efforts of Special Olympics UAE to integrate people of determination and provide equal and inclusive sports opportunities that strengthen the UAE’s position as a global leader in tolerance and coexistence.
Several entities are involved in t
he staging of the Unified Schools UAE Games at ADNEC, including volunteers from the Emirati Marshals Program, who are assisting in the activities, and the Emirates Schools Establishment.
The UAE Games for People of Determination’s clubs and centres, which will be held from 7th to 10th June, will include competitions in six sports: badminton, basketball, bowling, football, e-sports, and powerlifting. This event will witness the participation of more than 600 athletes with intellectual and developmental disabilities from across the UAE, along with their coaches and other technical and supervisory teams.
Source: Emirates News Agency