Damascus, (SANA) – The Regional Special Olympics for the Handicapped, which will be held under the auspices of Mrs. Asma al-Assad from September 25 to October 3, was the subject of a meeting held on Monday at the Syrian Arab Radio and Television building.

The meeting was attended by Minister of Information Mohsen Bilal, Minister of Social Affairs and Labor Diala al-Haj Aref, National Director of the Special Olympics Anwar Abdelhai, and representatives of mass media.

Discussions focused on the Special Olympics and the accompanying activities and events, underlining its significance regarding the number of participants which exceeds 2500 from 23 countries and stressing that the true goal of this event is integrating the handicapped into society, which is a priority for Syria.

Minister Bilal said that organizing the Special Olympics reflects the attention given to the handicapped by Syria and its care for them to assume an active role in society, stressing the need for increasing efforts to achieve true integration for the handicapped.

He also underlined the role of mass media in changing the conventional viewpoint towards the handicapped and empowering them.

In turn, Minister al-Haj Aref pointed out to the role of mass media, particularly Syrian television series, in posing issues related to the handicapped. She also noted that the number of participants in the upcoming Special Olympics increased threefold compared to the previous session.

For his part, Abdelhai stressed the importance of developing the sports talents of the handicapped and providing the necessary infrastructure to integrate them into society.

Participants in the meeting called for focusing on the handicapped in television and radio programs to help spread social awareness about them and how to integrate them into society and academic life.

This will be the second time that the Regional Special Olympics is held in Syria, with handicapped athletes from Middle Eastern and North African countries competing in 15 events.

The Syrian Special Olympics joined the Special Olympics international organization in 1994. This organization is dedicated to empowering individuals with intellectual disabilities to become physically fit, productive and respected members of society through sports training and competition.

H. Sabbagh