New York,
NY (June
19,
2003) --
Scholastic News Online (
www.scholastic.com/news), America's leading news source for kids, today announced the launch of
News-In-Depth: The Special Olympics World Games, a detailed report on the 11th Special Olympics World Summer Games, which are being held for the first time outside of the United States in Dublin, Ireland. The 2003 Games take place from June 21-29, 2003 and will showcase the athletic skills, courage and dignity of 7,000 athletes with intellectual disabilities from more than 150 international delegations.
Scholastic News Online's
News-In-Depth report will provide news on the World Games, the flagship event of the Special Olympics movement, as well as profiles of the athletes. The report will also offer highlights from the competitions in eighteen official team and individual summer sports, as well as demonstration sports including kayaking and judo. Athletes and partners ages 12-18 who are participating in the Global Youth Summit, a forum held in conjunction with the games, will become Scholastic student reporters providing daily first-person accounts of the games and events at
www.scholastic.com/news
As part of Scholastic News Online coverage, student reporters will also submit stories on two important meetings, a special Global Youth Summit conference with Nelson Mandela, and the Global Youth Forum, where students will meet with educational leaders, including U.S. Secretary of Education Rod Paige, celebrities and other government officials from around the world to share their views about stereotypes and attitudes towards people with disabilities.
“Students across the United States rely on Scholastic News Online to learn about world events and people. The
News-In-Depth: The Special Olympics World Games report will allow our audience of millions of children to hear first-hand accounts of the events and athletic achievements of Special Olympic athletes from their international peers,” said Rebecca Bondor, Editor-in-Chief, Scholastic Classroom Magazines.
Special Olympics representative Ron Vederman, Director of Athlete Recruitment, School and Youth Outreach added, “We are delighted to partner with Scholastic News Online to help millions of students across the U.S. and the world think about, discuss and take action to deliver messages of acceptance and respect of individuals with disabilities, and better understand the spirit of Special Olympics — that skill, courage, sharing and joy incorporate universal values which transcend boundaries of geography, nationality, political philosophy, gender, age, race, or religion.”
Special Olympics is an international year-round program of sports training and competition for individuals with intellectual disabilities. More than 1 million athletes in more than 150 countries train and compete in 26 Olympic-type summer and winter sports. Founded in 1968 by Eunice Kennedy Shriver, Special Olympics provides children and adults with intellectual disabilities continuing opportunities to develop fitness, demonstrate courage, and experience joy as they participate in the sharing of gifts and friendship with other athletes, their families and the community. There is no fee to participate in Special Olympics. Visit Special Olympics online at
http://www.specialolympics.org
Scholastic is the world's largest publisher of educational magazines for grades pre-K through 12. Scholastic News, grade-by-grade classroom magazines for grades 1-6, gives kids their own thought-provoking, interactive news weekly through which they can understand current events and relate them to their world. Junior Scholastic is a bimonthly current events magazine for grades 6-8. The magazines' online companion Scholastic News (
www.scholastic.com/news) is a free resource for teachers, parents and children that can be used in the classroom or at home to discuss current events and develop students' understanding of how national and international news affects their lives. Scholastic News Online special reports have won high praise from teachers for sensitive coverage of major breaking news.
Interviews with Scholastic Student Reporters and Editors can be coordinated upon request.