A groundbreaking new initiative has launched within the Particular Olympics MENA (Center East and North Africa) area: the Unified Champion Colleges (UCS) Ambassadors program. This primary-of-its-kind challenge brings the voices of youth to the forefront, providing them a platform to guide, encourage, and create extra inclusive communities via the transformative energy of sports activities. As ambassadors, chosen youth leaders from throughout the area will work collaboratively to foster respect and unity, driving ahead the mission of Particular Olympics Unified Champion Colleges.
What’s the UCS Ambassadors Initiative?
The UCS Ambassadors initiative is designed to empower younger leaders throughout the MENA area, spotlighting their efforts to advertise inclusion and respect via sports activities. Every ambassador will characterize the values of UCS by serving on a committee of like-minded friends, engaged on actions that emphasize unity, teamwork, and the facility of various views. By each digital and in-person actions, ambassadors will join with youth leaders from different packages within the area, strengthening bonds between different youth engaged in UCS whereas making certain that the impression of our UCS work is highlighted and resonates with current and new stakeholders inside and outdoors of Particular Olympics MENA.
Why This Initiative Issues
This initiative is greater than only a management alternative; it is a platform for private {and professional} development, a community for youth devoted to social change, and a strategy to elevate the visibility of inclusive communities. UCS Ambassadors won’t solely develop abilities but additionally acquire distinctive entry to Particular Olympics packages at native, regional, and world ranges. By partaking with youth from completely different backgrounds, they’ll construct relationships and domesticate mutual understanding—important elements for creating inclusive communities.
The UCS Ambassadors will serve a two-year time period, from September 2024 via August 2026. Over this era, ambassadors will actively contribute to regional Unified Champion Colleges occasions, assist form the path of UCS initiatives, and provide steady suggestions to Particular Olympics MENA, making certain that youth voices are central to this system’s evolution.
Get to Know Our Particular Olympics Egypt UCS Ambassadors: Yasmine and Farah, Champions of Inclusion
Meet two of our inspiring UCS Ambassadors: Yasmine Hassan and Farah Wael, passionate advocates for inclusive areas. Their journeys are a testomony to the facility of sports activities, dedication, and a shared imaginative and prescient of making inclusive communities for all. Let’s dive into their tales and uncover how they’re making an impression!
Yasmine Hassan: Swimming Champion and Sturdy Well being Advocate
Yasmine Hassan, a 20-year-old pupil in her second yr on the Faculty of Languages and World Research on the Arab College for Science and Expertise in Cairo, has been competing in Particular Olympics Egypt swimming championships since she was simply ten years outdated. Her dedication and expertise have earned her over 80 medals, together with three golds on the 2018 Particular Olympics Regional Video games in Abu Dhabi.
Past her athletic achievements, Yasmine has additionally taken on management roles inside Particular Olympics. In 2021 – 2022, she served as a member of the Athletes’ Enter Council and attended each the primary and second Nationwide Management Youth Summits, in addition to the 2024 World Digital Youth & Educator Summit. As a Well being Messenger, Yasmine’s dedication goes past sports activities; she’s concerned in varied well being and know-how coaching packages that empower her to be an advocate for well being and wellness inside her neighborhood.
Farah Wael: A Devoted Advocate for Inclusion
Since becoming a member of Particular Olympics Egypt in January 2020, Farah, a 25-year-old Youth chief, has immersed herself in actions that promote inclusion and encourage youth to dream large. Her experiences at occasions just like the 2020 Pan African Olympic Video games and the 2023 World Youth Management Summit in Berlin have solidified her ardour for constructing inclusive areas. Rising up in a unified college, Farah witnessed the transformative energy of inclusion firsthand, the place people with completely different talents have been seen, valued, and celebrated.
By her advocacy, Farah has labored on impactful initiatives just like the Scale Venture with Yasmine, elevating consciousness about unified sports activities in colleges. Her journey has even taken her to tv, the place she collaborated with Lujain to encourage youth to embrace inclusivity and chase their goals. These experiences have impressed Farah to proceed her advocacy, working tirelessly to make sure everybody, no matter means, feels included.
Each Yasmine and Farah exemplify the mission of UCS by actively selling unity, respect, and inclusion of their communities. Their collaborative initiatives, just like the Scale Venture, function highly effective platforms to unfold consciousness concerning the significance of inclusive sports activities and the way they’ll deliver folks collectively. As UCS Ambassadors, they’re main by instance, exhibiting the world the constructive change that inclusive communities can create.
Keep tuned as we proceed to observe Yasmine and Farah on their journey as UCS Ambassadors, championing inclusivity in sports activities and past!
Meet Malak and Douae: UCS Ambassadors Main the Approach By Inclusion and Empowerment
At this time, we’re thrilled to introduce two exceptional younger leaders from Morocco, Malak Tilaoui and Douae Bendouya. As new Unified Champion Colleges Ambassadors, Malak and Douae deliver distinctive experiences, abilities, and enthusiasm to the mission of making inclusive, supportive communities. Their dedication to UCS values and keenness for empowering others set them aside as inspiring function fashions, and their journeys are certain to encourage others to affix the UCS motion.
Malak Tilaoui: A Passionate Youth Chief from Marrakech
At simply 13, quickly turning 14, Malak Tilaoui is already making an impression in her neighborhood of Marrakech, Morocco. A pupil at Elaraki Worldwide College, Malak has been an lively participant in UCS occasions over the previous yr. Her involvement goes past mere participation; she has taken on the duty of organizing sports activities actions for kids at UCS, bringing pleasure and pleasure to the youthful contributors.
One among Malak’s favourite experiences was organizing soccer video games at her college’s campus, Elaraki Izdihar, and exploring inventive arts like hand-painting, the place youngsters joyfully painted bushes, homes, and skies. Watching the kids’s delight as they engaged in these actions was a spotlight for her and bolstered her appreciation for the modern concepts UCS brings to life. As a UCS Ambassador, Malak is raring to extend native involvement by connecting with colleges and households, exhibiting them the constructive impression UCS actions have on constructing inclusive communities. Her ardour and hands-on expertise make her an ideal advocate for inclusion, and she or he hopes to encourage much more youth to affix the motion.
Douae Bendouya: A Gifted Sports activities Fanatic and Advocate from Rabat
Hailing from Morocco’s capital metropolis, Rabat, 17-year-old Douae Bendouya is a devoted advocate for inclusion and an lively member of the AMSAT Affiliation, supporting these with Down syndrome. Douae’s pursuits are as assorted as they’re inspiring—she’s enthusiastic about sports activities, likes to prepare dinner, and is a gifted theatre actress. Along with her abilities in public talking and her expertise in managing a sports activities crew, Douae brings helpful management qualities to her function as a UCS Ambassador.
Douae’s background in theater has gifted her with the arrogance to talk to giant audiences, and her enthusiasm for UCS comes from her perception that everybody, no matter their talents, deserves to be included in sports activities and neighborhood actions. As an envoy, she’s prepared to make use of her abilities to encourage younger folks in her neighborhood to have interaction in inclusive actions and to show the worth of teamwork, respect, and unity. Douae sees her function as a chance to create constructive change, motivating others to affix the UCS journey.
As UCS Ambassadors, Malak and Douae are dedicated to fostering inclusive areas the place all youth really feel valued and empowered. Collectively, they intention to attach with others of their communities, advocating for extra participation in UCS actions, particularly for younger folks with completely different talents. Their mixed efforts are set to create stronger, extra unified communities, reflecting the true spirit of UCS.
Meet Almezin Mohamed and Aisha Al Shehhi: UCS Ambassadors for Inclusion and Change:
Introducing two inspiring youth leaders from the United Arab Emirates, Almezin Mohamed and Aisha Al Shehhi, who’re making waves of their communities as Unified Champion Colleges Ambassadors. With a shared dedication to inclusivity and empowerment, Almezin and Aisha deliver distinctive experiences and a deep ardour for advocating for people with mental disabilities. Their journeys with UCS haven’t solely impacted their lives however have additionally geared up them to guide others towards a extra inclusive future.
Almezin Mohamed: From Introvert to Advocate:Seventeen-year-old Almezin Mohamed’s journey with the Unified Champion Colleges Program started in ninth grade through the planning of the “Integration Pageant—Unfold the Phrase of Integration” and the “We Are All Aisha’s Coronary heart Pageant” in 2021. This expertise sparked Almezin’s involvement, main her to affix the Unified Robotics and Badminton groups. By UCS, Almezin discovered herself reworked from a shy, introverted particular person right into a social, assured chief. Her newfound friendships and actions in school have strengthened not solely her connections with friends but additionally her relationship with household.
As a UCS Ambassador, Almezin is enthusiastic about elevating consciousness of the challenges confronted by folks with mental disabilities and selling a extra inclusive society. Her advocacy efforts give attention to:
- Elevated Consciousness: Almezin goals to coach the general public and stakeholders concerning the significance of inclusivity, shedding gentle on the precious contributions of individuals with mental disabilities.
- Advocacy for Change: She actively helps insurance policies and practices that enhance accessibility and inclusivity, pushing for native packages to undertake extra supportive measures.
- Management and Mentorship: Almezin hopes to mentor college students and workers inside UCS, inspiring deeper engagement in fostering a tradition of inclusion and respect.
Aisha Al Shehhi: Advocating for Unity and Consciousness
Fifteen-year-old Aisha Al Shehhi, an eleventh-grade pupil at Aisha Bint Abi Bakr College in Abu Dhabi, first skilled the magic of Particular Olympics in ninth grade. Throughout a faculty Union Day occasion, Aisha joined Almezin for a morning radio presentation, which included reciting a poem for the UCS crew. This second, together with the robust sense of unity amongst her friends, deepened her ardour for UCS. Supported by her trainer, Aisha was quickly nominated as a Unified accomplice alongside Almezin. Collectively, they deliberate groups, organized month-to-month conferences, and led occasions like Nationwide Day, Flag Day, and varied college actions. In addition they spearheaded the formation of unified sports activities groups, together with soccer, badminton, and robotics, selling an inclusive spirit in school.
As a UCS Ambassador, Aisha envisions a world the place everyone seems to be welcomed and celebrated. Aisha’s function as a UCS Ambassador facilities round constructing a stronger, extra inclusive neighborhood and galvanizing constructive change all through the area.
Collectively, Almezin and Aisha exemplify the values of UCS, utilizing their experiences and voices to advocate for inclusive environments and constructive change. By awareness-building, coverage advocacy, and neighborhood engagement, they’re devoted to making a world the place everybody, no matter means, is revered and celebrated.
