Why we will be wearing the Special Olympics wristbands with pride?

The Olympics games have the capacity to inspire like a few other global events. In 10 days, Abu Dhabi is hosting the Special Olympics World Games 2019.

Why special? Because this particular event; which happens to be the largest humanitarian and sports event on the planet this year is dedicated to “The Determined” - a phrase used to embody the spirit of those who compete despite some disability.

We at SAS believe-in and share with the Special Olympics the same ethos of “Turning possible limitations to limitless possibilities” and we are proud to support this historical event.

Globally, SAS is a proud partner for the Data for Good movement, which encourages using data in meaningful ways to solve humanitarian issues around poverty, health, human rights, education etc. and the Special Olympics World Games Abu Dhabi is a perfect match.

The Determined as a term?

Back in April 2017, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, launched a National Strategy for Empowering People with Disabilities during a visit to the Ministry of Community Development. He said back then: that people with disabilities will be called "people of determination" from now on.

Ever since, you can see the term being adopted nationwide across the public and private sector alike (see picture below for an example) 

It’s truly inspiring to see this special term being used now at the scale of the Special Olympics World Games, and we are proud to support its positive message of inclusion.

I’m part of the SAS team that is supporting this event; we are the official #Analytics Supplier for the Special Olympics World Games Abu Dhabi 2019 and we have a team of data scientists volunteers, and other volunteers on the ground along with their families helping the organizers with the logistics of this outstanding event.

My colleagues will be sharing how the Analytics solutions we are providing will make the event a better experience for the athletes as well as the fans. Personally, I want to raise awareness about a simple way the rest of us who are not data scientists or couldn’t volunteer can support the Determined.

Why wristbands?

The Special Olympics wristbands have been on sale for sometime now. These are two-two-sided red and white bands designed to be a visual sign of support. When worn with the red side facing out, the wrist bands read "meet the determined”. When turned inside out, with the white face on display, the band reads "be unified" and points to the Unified Champion website.

The wristband of the Special Olympics World Games Abu Dhabi 2019 was spotted on the wrists of heads of states, sheikhs and royal families, athletes and celebrities all showcasing their support for “the Determined” and the world games.

They are a simple way for anybody to demonstrate support for the event and especially the athletes. However, they are on sale only at the ADNOC fuel stations in Abu Dhabi, UAE.

So how can SAS supporters around the world show their support? Among our colleagues, we gathered many wristbands and shipped them around the world to different offices for colleagues who are passionate about #Data4Good projects and wanted to show their support to this event.

Over the next few days we invite you to join us, and SAS colleagues around the world, who will be wearing these wristbands and recording a personal message of support. Look out for the videos and posts under the hashtags: #data4good and #meetthedetermined.