Special Olympics Unified with Refugees, a program that brings inclusive sports and related services to Special Olympics athletes and refugee youth alike, is committed to driving inclusive development to this population.

All refugee and migrant children and adults, with and without ID, lack safe spaces and activities that can nurture their social and emotional development. At Special Olympics Unified with Refugees, we address these issues head through our international partnerships with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), UNICEF, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), and others to both gain access to camps and reception centers, and align strategies, services, and interventions. Special Olympics also works with a number of other partners to support this work, including Lions Clubs International, as well as corporate sponsors and private philanthropy. We invite other organizations to join forces with us as partners in this mission.

Learn more about the national and regional Special Olympics programs working with our partners to support one another during this time of crisis.

Special Olympics currently has active, inclusive programming in refugee settings in Ukraine, Poland, Syria, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Cyprus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Malta, Belgium, the Netherlands, Italy, and Thailand. Other nations across regions have communicated the need and intention to begin Unified with Refugees as part of their national Special Olympics Program.