Congratulations to Special Olympics BC – Smithers athlete and SOBC Athlete Input Council member Torben Schuffert, who participated with pride in the Global Athlete Congress at the 2023 Special Olympics World Summer Games in Berlin!
Schuffert had a blast at the Global Athlete Congress, as he enjoyed sharing his successful community inclusion project and connecting with other congress members and their projects.
“I am proud to be here and presenting my project to others. I have learned new skills in speaking to others and teaching others how important it is to include everyone in your community,” Schuffert said.
The Global Athlete Congress is a platform where Special Olympics athletes lead the way to a more inclusive world. From June 15 to 19 during the Special Olympics World Summer Games, athlete leaders from around the world came together and shared their ideas and inclusion projects they worked on leading up to the World Games.
“I learned how fun it is to be together and be strong when learning new things,” Schuffert said.
LEARN MORE ABOUT THE 2023 SPECIAL OLYMPICS GLOBAL ATHLETE CONGRESS
In his hometown of Smithers leading up to the Global Athlete Congress, Schuffert successfully led a powerful inclusion project called Shine Together, with a goal of growing inclusion and showing the leadership potential of people with intellectual disabilities. He gathered a strong community of artists from Smithers and encouraged them to connect with people with intellectual disabilities and champion inclusion.
This led to the creation of the Shine Together band who wrote a song about living with intellectual and developmental disabilities, and an art group who created paintings while listening to the song!
SOBC is proud of Schuffert for successfully representing Smithers, B.C., and Canada in the Special Olympics Global Athlete Congress, and for leading the way to a more inclusive world!
READ MORE ABOUT SCHUFFERT’S SHINE TOGETHER PROJECT
READ SCHUFFERT’S 2023 GLOBAL ATHLETE CONGRESS PROFILE