Special Olympics offer corporate social opportunity By Selina Lo (China Daily) Updated: 2006-04-20 11:51
Over 70 CEOs and senior executives from some of the world's largest and
best-known consumer brands attended the 25th China Daily CEO Roundtable and
marketing summit yesterday, themed "the 2007 Special Olympics World Summer
Games, Shanghai A Global Corporate Social Opportunity Realizing
China's National Vision Towards Developing a Harmonious
Society".
Initiated by China Daily, the session was co-chaired by Zhou
Taitong, vice-mayor of Shanghai, Shi Derong, CEO of the 2007 Special Olympics
World Summer Games Shanghai and Timothy Shriver, Chairman of the board of
Special Olympics International.
The first SO Games in China
"The
12th World Summer Games in 2007 is first time that the Special Olympics (SO)
Games have come to a developing country and to Asia to China, in
particular," says Zhou.
"When President Hu Jintao met the SO delegation
in Beijing in March 2004, he asked our commitment to make the first ever SO
games in China, the first of the three Olympics events in China between 2007 and
2008, a great success."
The SO movement is an international programme of
year-round sports training and athletic competition for persons with
intellectual disabilities. Founded in 1968 by Eunice Kennedy Shriver, the
movement has become increasingly prominent in China, with 25 per cent of the
world's 2 million SO athletes now in China and Shanghai hosting the 2007 Special
Olympic World Summer Games.
"By including this programme in the 11th
Five-Year Plan of social economic development, the Shanghai municipal government
will make the Games a top priority in Shanghai's social development and a major
event in people's lives. We aim to further promote the SO Games in China to
promote the well-being of people with disabilities and continued social harmony
and progress," Zhou added.
Roundtable Co-Chairman and CEO of the 2007
Special Olympics World Summer Games Executive Committee (GEC) Shi Derong
reported the remarkable progress Shanghai has made in preparing for the
world-class sports competition.
"The opening and closing ceremonies of
the 2007 SO Games in Shangahi will be held in a 80,000-seat stadium. Like the
Olympics, SO will have a torch run starting in Athens, Greece, and the torch
will be passed in five continents before arriving in China with an ignition
ceremony in each province and major municipalities in China. We are confident
our SO Games will be a spectacular and inspiring sports event."
Working
with the SO Committee, Shi does not hesitate to share his own experience, "When
you are actually involved, you will be touched and feel what true happiness is
and where value lies."This is where the new term "Corporate Social Opportunity"
comes in.
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