The objective of the Special Olympics Bharat Youth Activation program is to create interest and awareness in the students by helping them bond with Special Olympics Bharat athletes. These initiatives enhance acceptance and nurture caring and inclusive communities. The genuineness of the Youth Activation program entails the fact that students do certain things to increase their knowledge and lose their fear of being in charge of social change. It is also clear that there is a commitment to ensuring youth engagement also includes students with intellectual disability (ID) and those without.
In accordance with India's National Educational Policy 2020 which centers on inclusion, our program partners with Schools and Colleges to harness the youth as change measure. We create many channels for all-inclusive engagement both within the sporting arena and outside, ensuring that youth with Intellectual Disabilities (ID) are included in all stages of development, implementation, and participation. It is important for educational professionals and community members to provide support to the students in order for them to feel comfortable in the more expanded inclusivity.
Special Olympics Bharat implements training, camps, competitions in all the 26 Olympic type able-bodied sports and has more than 1.5 million registered athletes across the country. We help in organizing sports events and competitions at different levels including local, district, state, national and international levels for all abilities and performance levels. The athletes progress through different levels of play and this growth is aided by a large family of coaches and trainers who look after their development. Coaches are trained to impart physical literacy to the athletes and act as mentors and physical educators to the communities and special schools around them.
To prepare for international competitions, athletes are housed at their respective National Coaching Camps (NCC), which are organized by the Sports Authority of India (SAI) and the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports (MYAS) through the Annual Calendar for Trainings & Competitions (ACTC). Throughout the year, Advanced Coaches Training Programs (ACTP) are conducted for the coaches for making them more efficient and effective.
In Special Olympics Bharat competitions, every athlete is given a fair opportunity to participate, perform, and be recognized for their efforts by family, friends, teammates, and fans. This is achieved through a process called divisioning, which ensures that competitions are structured to promote inclusivity and support for athletes with intellectual disabilities.
In a way to encourage participation from all, athletes are categorized or divided primarily depending on Age, Gender and Ability. This division procedure is observed in every sporting activity, be it athletics, soccer, table tennis, skiing or even to the extent of gymnastics, which makes it possible for athletes with mental impairment to compete with the rest of the athletes without any forms of discrimination.