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CEO Mary Davis Joins US Government Delegation for First-Ever G7 Ministers' Meeting on Inclusion and Disability
UMBRIA, Italy, Oct. 17, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- At the first-ever G7 Ministers' Meeting on Inclusion and Disability, held in Umbria, Italy from October 14-16, 2024, Special Olympics CEO Mary Davis commended attending governments for pledging to take actionable steps to remove barriers for persons with disabilities, but called on leaders to commit to more ambitious financing and to institutionalize advancing disability rights in all subsequent G7 presidencies.
In her remarks throughout the Ministerial, Davis emphasized the urgent need for G7 nations to strengthen their commitment to the social inclusion of persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). Speaking on a technical panel on "Sport and Services for all," Davis addressed how to expand inclusive sports and education programming through more robust national funding commitments and new partnerships dedicated to scaling impact in low- and middle-income countries.
Persons with IDD are among those most underserved by education and social systems worldwide. Data suggests that as many as half of the estimated 65 million primary and lower secondary-school age children with disabilities in developing countries are out of school. Even of those students that do achieve access, some estimate that less than 5% of children with disabilities complete primary school.
Davis represented Special Olympics at the G7 Ministers' Meeting as part of the US Government delegation – led by Sara Minkara, Special Advisor on International Disability Rights at the US Department of State.
The US delegation also included Taryn Williams, Assistant Secretary of Labor for Disability Employment Policy at the US Department of Labor; Virginia Atkinson, senior global inclusion advisor of the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES); and Professor Michael Stein, co-founder and Executive Director of the Harvard Law School Project on Disability.
This landmark summit brought together government officials, civil society leaders and experts from the G7 nations (Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States) to address critical issues of disability and inclusion, setting a new precedent for international cooperation in this vital area. Ministers from Chile, Kenya, South Africa, Tunisia and Vietnam attended as non-G7 observers.
At the conclusion of the Summit, attendees signed the Solfagnano Charter – a series of commitments to strengthen inclusion across diverse areas. In particular, the Charter calls on G7 nations to take concrete actions to support inclusive education and employment opportunities, to embrace sport as a catalyst for inclusion, and to permanently include the topic of "inclusion and disability" in future G7 agendas, ensuring that disability rights remain a priority in global policymaking.
On the conclusion of the Ministers' Meeting, Davis stated: "The G7 Ministers' Meeting on Inclusion and Disability marks a significant step forward in our collective journey towards a more inclusive world. Special Olympics is honored to be part of this historic event and ensure that our community of young people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) has a seat at the table alongside leaders from these seven major economies. We applaud the US Government for taking a leading role in mainstreaming disability inclusion through all multilateral institutions. We are committed to working with G7 leaders to ensure that the voices of persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities are heard and their needs are met. This summit has shown that when we come together with a shared vision, we can create real change.
"But this inaugural meeting must not be the last. We are grateful to Italy for elevating this issue and call on all subsequent G7 presidencies to schedule regular ministerial meetings on disability to monitor progress to ensure that commitments to inclusion yield results: better policies, stronger legal frameworks and more financial resources. We look forward to continued collaboration with the G7 to create a world where everyone is valued and included."
Sara Minkara, Special Advisor on International Disability Rights at the US Department of State, commented: "The G7 Ministers' Meeting on Inclusion and Disability is a pivotal moment in our global efforts to advance disability rights. Disability inclusion is not just a moral imperative—it is an economic and security imperative as well. Multilateral partnerships like the G7 have the power to amplify this message and articulate actionable steps to tear down barriers for persons with disabilities.
"The message from the G7 is clear: the future of economic and political cooperation is disability inclusive. We look forward to seeing how other bi- and multilateral partnerships carry this good work forward and elevate the voices of the 16% of the world's population with a disability."
For decades, Special Olympics has cultivated a theory and practice of inclusion that celebrates differences and harnesses individual and collective strengths to foster learning settings that are characterized by acceptance, understanding and appreciation of others. The mission is simple; by teaching children to play together, they can learn, grow and ultimately thrive together.
The Special Olympics Unified Champion Schools program leverages sports competitions, clubs and student organizations to catalyze inclusion in schools and communities. This model creates opportunities for young people with and without IDD to learn from one another by building friendships that bridge differences. Research demonstrates that all students benefit from this inclusive model, with measurable results for students both with and without IDD – from an improved sense of community to better reading and math scores.
Special Olympics' invitation to the G7 Minister's Meeting follows the organization's first annual letter on the Global State of Inclusion in Education, which found that countries around the globe are falling short of their commitments to inclusion. In 2023, the organization called on governments to dedicate a minimum of three percent of their national education budgets to increase social inclusion for students with IDD. In Summer 2023, Special Olympics also announced the formation of the Global Leadership Coalition for Inclusion, a pioneering multilateral effort, comprising governments, industry, philanthropy and the development community, to increase inclusive practices in education and sport, and create more inclusive schools and communities.
About Special Olympics
Founded in 1968, Special Olympics is a global sports movement to end discrimination against people with intellectual disabilities. We foster acceptance of all people through the power of sport and programming in education, health and leadership. With over four million athletes and Unified Sports® partners and one million coaches and volunteers in 200 countries, Special Olympics delivers more than 30 Olympic-type sports and nearly 50,000 games and competitions every year. Engage with us on: X, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, and LinkedIn. Learn more at SpecialOlympics.org.
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