Eunice Kennedy Shriver It is Shriver’s beliefs and vision that have changed the lives of millions, brought together war-torn nations, helped to create a world of acceptance for all, and increased the understanding of the largest disability population in the world. She has done this through a vision that was born in her own backyard and the creation of Special Olympics nearly 40 years ago. Life in the Shadows According to the World Health Organization, as many as 200 million people, or 3 percent of the world’s population, are individuals with intellectual disabilities – the largest of all disability groups. The occurrence of intellectual disabilities knows no boundaries; it cuts across lines of race, ethnicity, education level, social class and economic background. Although this population exists in every community, it is nearly invisible and is considered one of the most neglected segments of society worldwide. At best, people with intellectual disabilities fall well below the social average in areas of education, health and employment and they face an uphill battle for independence and for social and occupational integration. At worst, they lead lives of rejection, abuse and exclusion. Even today, in some countries people with intellectual disabilities are warehoused in institutions where they are caged like animals, discarded by society, and forgotten by virtually everyone, living in a nightmare of physical and emotional pain.  Before 1960, many parents of people born with intellectual disabilities were told that their child would never learn and were even encouraged to send their children away to an institution where they were often mistreated, neglected and malnourished. Even today, there are still reports of horrible circumstances surrounding the care of people with intellectual disabilities in assisted living situations, but through Shriver’s tireless efforts, she continues to make changes. Into the Light It has been Shriver’s life mission to create opportunity for people with intellectual disabilities. Before 1960, there was very few such opportunities, but from her sister Rosemary Shriver learned the potential of people with intellectual disabilities. Shriver knew that people with intellectual disabilities could enjoy sports and from sports learn the fundamental building blocks and skills of life. Shortly after her brother, John F. Kennedy, was elected President of the United States, Shriver began her campaign for the rights of and respect for people with intellectual disabilities.  Her courage and determination to reveal one of the Kennedy family’s most closely guarded secrets – that Rosemary, her sister and, more significantly, the President’s sister, had an intellectual disability – proved to be her most lasting impact.  Shriver convinced her family to let her go public with the story.  In September 1962, she wrote an article about Rosemary which was published in the Saturday Evening Post.  Some call the article one of the most important contributions the Kennedys made to the nation. In 1961, Shriver helped to establish the Presidential Committee on Mental Retardation.  The following year, she developed the National Institute for Child Health and Human Development and created the Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr. Awards in Mental Retardation.  In 1962, Shriver also started Camp Shriver, a summer sports camp for people with intellectual disabilities. Set in her own backyard in Rockville, Maryland, Shriver provided opportunities for people with intellectual disabilities to test their capabilities. She was the energy behind changes in Civil Service regulations that, in 1964, allowed those with intellectual disability to be hired on the basis of ability rather than test scores.  In 1967, a network of university-affiliated facilities and intellectual disability research centers at major medical schools across the United States were established under the auspices of the Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. Foundation and her leadership.  Later, centers for the study of medical ethics were established at Harvard and Georgetown Universities. Her most celebrated accomplishment was in 1968, when she established Special Olympics as the first systematic effort to provide sports training and athletic competition for individuals with intellectual disabilities.  Today, more than 2.5 million athletes in more than 180 countries compete worldwide in 30 Olympic-type sports. Most importantly, she created a movement that has changed the lives of millions and opened doors that were once sealed shut. Special Olympics is not one country's movement. It is global! Chicago Mayor Richard Daley, who attended the First International Special Olympics Games in 1968, said it best, “You know, Eunice, the world will never be the same after this.” He was correct; the world has not been the same. Driven by the heroic determination of Eunice Kennedy Shriver, it was clear that Special Olympics had a vision that could capture the world's attention. During the early years, Special Olympics organically grew stronger and stronger in communities throughout the United States, nurtured by families and volunteers, then spread to other countries. With the assistance of Shriver’s husband Sargent Shriver, Special Olympics was introduced in places such as Russia, China and Africa, where it was embraced as a means to serve people with intellectual disabilities, but also a way bring the world together around a common cause. As Special Olympics grew around the world, World Games were established which brought thousands of athletes from more than 100 nations together in sport. The unity between countries inspired by Special Olympics transcended not just geographic borders, but political barriers as well. In 1989, warring factions in Beirut, Lebanon, voluntarily agreed to a cease-fire to allow for the first Lebanese Special Olympics Games with 250 athletes and 1,000 volunteers. At the 1993 World Winter Games, 36 black and white athletes from South Africa competed on the same team for the first time. In 1994, athletes from Jordan traveled across the river to Israel to participate in Special Olympics in that country, bringing Jews and Arabs together.  In 1995, Pope John Paul II issued the first Papal Decree in support of any sports event, Special Olympics. In 1996, in spite of long-standing political and religious differences, law enforcement officers from Ireland and Northern Ireland participated shoulder-to-shoulder in a Torch Run for Special Olympics. Special Olympics continues to reach out to areas torn by strife and conflict, helping to build bridges and be a catalyst for social change. Special Olympics is a training ground for volunteerism and, as such, has become a catalytic force for the creation of civil society, citizen engagement and community empowerment. Its impact can be seen in places such as Rwanda, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Romania, Iraq and Afghanistan. One of the movement’s proudest moments came in August 2005, when Afghanistan held its first-ever national Special Olympics Games at Kabul’s Olympic Stadium. Over 300 athletes competed, including 80 female athletes. As Special Olympics Asia Pacific Managing Director Troy Griesen said, “Life in Afghanistan can be grueling for even the heartiest souls. But if you are a person with an intellectual disability, add on another couple layers of misery: isolation and rejection. These Games — and Special Olympics in general — fill a void for people with intellectual disabilities in Afghanistan.” Today, Special Olympics is a global movement — as compelling and meaningful in every country as in any one. Special Olympics is no longer an export from one land to another, but is rather the full and rightful movement of any group of athletes, family members and volunteers who chose to bring the movement to life. With more than 180 active and growing countries, Special Olympics is a global movement united in one vision to build a world without: a world of respect without requirements, victory without conquest, pride without prejudice — a world of acceptance for all. More than Sports: From nice to important Special Olympics training and competition has always been and will continue to be an important source of health, fitness, pride and achievement for our athletes. But it is clearly important for others also. Special Olympics is a training ground for volunteerism and, as such, has become a catalytic force for the creation of civil society, citizen engagement and community empowerment. Special Olympics provides family support, enabling family members to become stronger advocates for change. Special Olympics is a training ground for the message of human dignity, bringing young people lessons and experiences reinforcing universal equality. Finally, Special Olympics is a training ground for leaders in health care, who come to our Games to share the gift of health but who leave our Games having learned the urgency of overcoming discrimination and neglect in health-care training and services. Civil society, education, family support, health care — each of these is the work of Special Olympics and, in 2006, they make the point: we are engaged in transformative work worldwide — important in every way. In addition to its traditional sports activities, Special Olympics has several innovative initiatives designed to change attitudes and improve the lives of its athletes: Special Olympics Healthy Athletes® is a program designed to help Special Olympics athletes improve their health and fitness, leading to an enhanced sports experience and improved well-being. Athletes receive health services at Special Olympics competitions, while volunteer health care professionals learn about the health needs of Special Olympics athletes, and then take their new skills and knowledge back to their community health care practices. Over 500,000 health screenings have been conducted since 1999. Healthy Athletes and its leaders have received awards and recognition from numerous organizations. Special Olympics So Get Into It® is a K-12 service-learning curriculum developed to introduce Special Olympics and explain intellectual disabilities to young people. The program encourages youth to become involved in the movement and work to dispel the myths and stereotypes that surround people with intellectual disabilities. The program has been offered in 60 countries in 14 languages. Special Olympics Athlete Leadership Programs (ALPs) offer athletes the opportunity to take active leadership roles both on and off the playing field. Athletes serve on Boards of Directors, officiate competitions, coach other athletes, act as spokespersons, and make decisions about the future of Special Olympics. Special Olympics Unified Sports® is a program that brings together individuals with and without intellectual disabilities of similar age and ability to compete as a team on an equal playing field. Young Athletes™ is a new program for children ages 2-7 who are not yet old enough to train and compete as Special Olympics athletes. The program focuses first on development of motor tracking skills and hand-eye coordination and second on adaptation of these skills to sports-type activities. Young Athletes seeks to offer families a community support network experience and to help prepare children for sports while also impacting families’ attitudes about their children’s capabilities. The Family Support Network gives families support in communities within Special Olympics by bringing together families to share ideas, issues and common interests. It also creates opportunities for family members to become advocates for the Special Olympics movement, volunteer in their loved one’s athletic training, and encourage new families who can benefit from Special Olympics to join. Media Outreach uses mainstream media to challenge attitudes of the general public toward persons with intellectual disabilities. Special Olympics continues to challenge stereotypes of people with intellectual disabilities with innovative programming such as The Loretta Claiborne Story, A Tee Time Like No Other and, most recently, the release of the Farrelly Brothers’ comedy The Ringer in theaters domestically in 2005 and internationally in 2006. The Ringer, which included many actors with intellectual disabilities plus 150 real-life Special Olympics athletes, has the potential to dispel deeply-rooted stereotypes of people with intellectual disabilities. “The more you see people with intellectual disabilities, the more accessible they become,” says Peter Farrelly. The Work Continues Even today, Shriver’s good works continue. The Camp Shriver concept was revived at her home in Potomac, Maryland and has expanded to many other communities throughout the United States. She believes that if people have a backyard or a pool, they should open them up to let people with disabilities come and learn sports and have the fun that every child deserves during summer. Shriver also continues to help build the Special Olympics program throughout the world, as well as help further the Best Buddies program (a nonprofit organization dedicated to enhancing the lives of people with intellectual disabilities by providing opportunities for one-to-one friendships and integrated employment). Recognized for Her Accomplishments As the founder of Special Olympics, Eunice Kennedy Shriver has received numerous awards and honorary degrees. Here is a sampling of these awards: Presidential Medal of Freedom, awarded by President Reagan, March 1984 The Order of the Smile bestowed by the Children of Poland, May 1989 1991 Sword of Loyola Award - Loyola University, Chicago, Illinois (Shriver’s husband, Sargent Shriver, also received a Sword of Loyala Award at the same time) Franklin D. Roosevelt Four Freedoms Award, October 1993 Inducted into National Women’s Hall of Fame, July 1998 2004 International Olympic Committee Award 2005 Points of Light “The Extra Mile” Award 2006 Simons Foundation Award 2006 New Freedom Award from U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Honorary Doctorate Degrees at Yale University, Princeton, and others