The School Enrichment Program of the Special Olympics World Summer Games ATHENS 2011 is implemented in cooperation with the Hellenic Ministry of Education and Special Olympics International. The School Enrichment Program aims to promote the Special Olympics movement in Greece, the Special Olympics World Summer Games Athens 2011, and more importantly, to contribute to the legacy of the Games.
With its characteristic title «So Get Into It», the School Enrichment Program is targeted primarily at pupils and the school community and through these to the larger community aiming to contribute to the development of a positive attitude towards people with intellectual disabilities.
The objectives of the School Enrichment Program can be summed up as follows:
 Information and awareness through which understanding and acceptance of the individual differences of people with intellectual disability can be achieved.
Development of a positive attitude towards people with intellectual disabilities by students and teachers, after understanding the uniqueness of the capabilities that each person with intellectual disabilities has.
Conveyance of the message of acceptance and integration, in order to overcome barriers that people with intellectual disability face, isolated from everyday activities of our society.
Making students and teachers aware about the connection between sport and education, so that values can be transmitted to the younger generations.
Teaching the fundamental rights and the respect we owe to the people with intellectual disabilities and learning difficulties.
Implementation of the School Enrichment Program began in September 2009 as a pilot program in Primary and Secondary schools of the Attica Region in Greece. In January 2010, the Program will be implemented throughout the country, in all of the schools, which number 5.400.
Activities:
The activities for the implementation of the School Enrichment Program include, so far:
Official Presentation of the Program by the President of Athens 2011 and the Minister for Education to all the Directors of Education of all Regions of Greece in August 2009.
Organizing information sessions in six capital cities in Greece, in addition to Athens, including Tripolis, Thessaloniki, Ioannina, Alexandroupolis, and Herakleion-Crete, to increase publicity and inform parents and educators about the program.
Institute a Special Olympics Day in all the Greek schools, in the Primary and Secondary Education, for the school years 2009/10, and 2010/11.
Design and activation of a website dedicated to the School Enrichment Program, hosted in the Hellenic Education Department’s portal, with links to the Athens 2011 website, where all information and reference materials can be accessed.
Collection and selection of reference material and resources accessible to students and teachers through the dedicated websites, to facilitate classroom activities.
Designing a poster announcing the School Enrichment Program to be posted in all the schools in Greece.
Through the School Enrichment Program, principles and values are being reinforced, so individual as well as collective commitment towards integration of people with intellectual disabilities in the everyday activities of our society can be achieved.
For more information and resources:
http://www.e-yliko.gr/htmls/special_olympics/special_olympics.aspx
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