ABU DHABI, 19th January, 2022 (WAM) — Over 400 public and private schools across the United Arab Emirates have pledged to make their school communities more inclusive this year by enrolling in Unified Champion Schools, the flagship program of Special Olympics UAE which was relaunched at the start of the 2021-2022 academic year.
Unified Champion Schools launches its second quarter calendar with programming targeted to both students and teachers and designed to promote social inclusion in three key areas: Unified Sports, Inclusive Youth Leadership and Community Engagement. ‘school. The 2022 Unified Robotics season, the region’s largest robotics competition for neurodiverse students, opened for registration in January. Other unified sports programs rolled out in schools include unified football and unified badminton.
The Unified Champion Schools program offers a flexible hybrid model of virtual and in-person events, resources, and activities suitable for all types of student learning and skill development. The program also provides teachers with extensive training and development resources to enable them to carry out unified sports activities in their schools, with the goal of becoming more inclusive and bringing positive change to school communities.
The 2022 Unified Robotics season kicks off on February 6 with each school entering a unified team, either in the primary and secondary age group. The competition season offers various tools and experiences such as coding robot simulations and complete challenges on a dedicated competition platform. Half of the members of the Unified School Team are neurodiverse students, who compete alongside their Unified Partners (students without intellectual and developmental disabilities) and work together to learn the basics of coding. The 2022 Unified Robotics National Finals will take place in May 2022. Schools can register here until January 22.
This school term, Unified Champion Schools is also launching the Spread the Word: Inclusion campaign, encouraging schools to join this global inclusion movement and engage the whole school community through various activities. The campaign, which is celebrated by a global network of schools and Special Olympics organizations around the world, empowers student leaders to become champions of change to foster social inclusion in their classrooms and communities.
This month will also see the launch of Unified Football and Unified Badminton, which offers resources and free teacher training for public and private schools nationwide on how to run Unified Sports sessions. Unified Sports provides a way to break down barriers and promote inclusion and meaningful engagement among students of diverse abilities through physical activity.
Inclusive youth leadership is one of the three main components of the Unified Champion Schools program. Students are trained to seize leadership opportunities to become changemakers and leaders in their communities. Inclusive leadership training will be delivered in February for teachers and educators to learn how to create inclusive and unified environments in their schools and to empower students of all abilities to become leaders. Registration is open here.
Talal Al Hashemi, National Director of Special Olympics UAE, said, “We are thrilled to see the hundreds of schools across the country embracing and embracing the values of Unified Champion Schools to achieve inclusion in school communities. Whether in person or virtually, Unified Champion Schools provides resources and tools to help students and teachers create their own inclusive school community.
The widespread acceptance of the program by schools reflects the commitment of the leaders of the United Arab Emirates to improving the lives of determined people. We thank all schools and education groups, from management to teachers and support staff, for joining us in this commitment to making schools inclusive for students of all abilities.”
Samia Zaigham, Head of Design Technology at Al Yasat School, recipient of the Unified Robotics Innovate for Inclusion award, said, “We are thrilled to begin our journey as a Unified Champion School. We are proud of our unified sports and have established a Robotics Club. We are passionate about seeing how we can strengthen the leadership of our students with the support of this program and with the vision of Special Olympics. »
Hannah Dean, Early Childhood and Elementary Physical Education teacher at the Sheikh Zayed Private Academy for Boys, said: “The biggest impact we’ve seen from Unified Champion Schools and Unified Events has been a take awareness of unified activities and how to adapt and modify activities so that everyone can be included.”
Schools are encouraged to register with Unified Champion Schools at any time of the year to access the wide range of resources and inclusive programs offered by Special Olympics UAE.
