Eunice Kennedy Shriver with athletes at a Special Olympics

The Special Olympics movement was initiated by Eunice Kennedy Shriver, sister of the former United States President John F. Kennedy, in the early 1960’s when she was working with people diagnosed with intellectual disability. Here Mrs. Shriver realized that people with intellectual disability were far more capable in sports and physical activities than many experts believed possible.

This led her to organize a day camp for people with Intellectual disabilities at her home. Today, this vision has evolved to more than 200 programmes in over 180 countries around the world. Special Olympics has been changing lives and attitudes around the world for more than 40 years.