Over 100 international federations and organisations have
come together united to showcase and promote inclusion, equality,
non-discrimination and peace. Together they support the United Through Sports
(UTS) World Virtual Youth Festival 2020 which is organised by United Through
Sports.
Amongst the organisations are the International
Paralympic Committee (IPC), International Olympic Committee (IOC) and Special
Olympics International (SOI) who have all granted patronage to the event that
will have its Opening Ceremony on 20 November.
The UTS World Virtual Youth Festival 2020 is a
celebration for and with the youth of the world. There will be five festival
competitions: Max Fit, Aero Fit, Talent, IPC Inclusive Sports Challenge and
Special Olympics.
Hundreds of applications from across all regions
in the world were received for the IPC ‘Inclusive Sports’ Challenge in both the
under-12 and under-18 categories during the two-week long application period.
Youngsters were asked to film themselves performing an exercise routine of
their choice for 60 seconds maximum. Then they needed to spend 45 seconds
speaking to the camera explaining their motivation to participate in the challenge,
and what world leaders should do to create a more accessible and inclusive
future for all people.
A video of the finalists can be watched
here: https://youtu.be/bR2_FpdPsjk
A panel of seven judges made up of Para
athletes, Paralympic leaders and disability advocates reviewed all entries and
voted on the winners, who will be announced during the Festival on 22 November.
The IPC will also be live streaming selected
segments of the Festival on its YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/paralympics ,
website Paralympic.org and Facebook page @Paralympics.
IPC President Andrew Parsons said: “These
challenging times have shown us the unifying power of sport. It is what
connected the IPC, IOC, Special Olympics and so many other international
federations for a historic first time, to all use our unique platforms to
engage with youngsters of all abilities across the globe.
“The IPC is honoured to have been involved in
the UTS World Virtual Youth Festival, and have leaders such as IOC President
Thomas Bach and Special Olympics CEO Mary Davis invest in our future generation
of leaders.”
IOC President, Thomas Bach said in a video
message: "The IOC is excited that the UTS World Virtual Festival is
inviting youth of all abilities and backgrounds from the international sports
community and organisations using sport as a tool for a better world."
The IOC not only gave patronage to the event but
is playing a very active role in the delivery of this innovative event. The
Olympic Channel https://www.olympicchannel.com will
be airing the Opening Ceremony and there could be no better day as 20 November,
United Nations World Children's Day. The Closing Ceremony will also be aired on
the 22 November. All festival events and information can be found on the UTS
website https://unitedthroughsports.com/
The Special Olympics are participating in all
aspects of the festival, whereby a new innovative fitness competition model has
been created and will be launched during the event. The concept for the
competition places individuals and teams into varying ability categories based
on who demonstrates the most personal improvement across three fitness tests
rather than using the traditional best score approach.
Mary Davis, CEO of the Special Olympics said:
"On behalf of the over 6 million Special Olympic athletes, we applaud the
effort of United Through Sports to demonstrate the power of inclusive sport for
all."
Mary Davis further said: "Together with
United Through Sports, the Festival will open hearts and minds towards greater
inclusion worldwide."
President of the National Olympic Committee of
Thailand General Prawit Wongsuwan said: “Thailand is proud to be the host of
this event, where history is being made. This is the first event in Thailand
where the IOC, IPC and SOI have granted patronage. Youth of all abilities are
coming together under one umbrella.”
UTS President, Stephan Fox said: “We would like
to thank all organisations for their support and for the patronage granted by
the IOC, IPC, SOI. We would like to also give extend our gratitude to the AIMS
Family (Alliance of Independent Recognised Members of Sport), GAISF (Global
Association of International Sports Federations) and SportAccord."
President Fox explained that the five-day event
will see an Opening Ceremony hosted by the youth, from Bangkok and cities
around the world participating in a lively performance. A five-day Educational
Programme with speakers from many organisations, will focus on current sport
and world topics.
For further information about the UTS World Virtual
Youth Festival 2020, please visit the UTS website https://unitedthroughsports.com/ and
follow #ONESPIRITONEHEART on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube.
The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) is the global governing body of the Paralympic Movement. It co-ordinates the organisation of the Summer and Winter Paralympic Games, and serves as the International Federation for 10 sports, for which it supervises and co-ordinates the World Championships and other competitions. The IPC’s vision is to enable Para athletes to achieve sporting excellence and inspire and excite the world.
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