Essilor Vision Foundation, in support of the World Games Special Olympics 2015,emphasizes the importance of healthy vision in sports and in helping intellectually challenged  individuals  work  towards  making  critical  social  changes,  fighting discrimination and in tolerance; and generating acceptance in the community.

“Healthy  vision  is  critical  for  every  individual,  including  intellectually  challenged persons who, like many of us, have aspirations and goals in life.  Helping them see the  world  better  can  make  a  huge  difference  in  what  and  how  much  they  can achieve. This is the reason why Essilor is a huge supporter of Special Olympics.

We’re  happy  to  support  the  Special  Olympics  Social  Impact  Summit  where  our Philippine  delegates  can  participate  and  share  ideas  on  how  to  achieve  critical changes in society,” says Dr. Emelita Roleda, Essilor Philippines general manager.

 The Social Impact Summit is a six-day international convention that will take place during the Special Olympics World Games in Los Angeles, California from July 23 to28, 2015. The summit aims to gather youth leaders who will generate and implementactionable ideas that can educate, motivate and activate individuals, particularly the youth,  towards  accepting  and  including  people  with  intellectual  disabilities  in community life and activities.

As  part  of  its  commitment  with  Special  Olympics  to  help  improve  the  treatment towards  people  with  intellectual  disabilities,  the  Essilor  Vision  Foundation  fully supports the 2015 Special Olympics Social Impact Summit, which features the lead Philippine delegates Brina Maxino and Sashi Montaňa as co-chairs.

 During  the  Social  Impact  Summit,  12  mentors—including  professional  athletes,eentrepreneurs and social innovators—from Special Olympics partner organization will  train the youth leaders of Generation Unified on interviewing, public speaking and presentation.

These youth leaders will gain an in-depth look into the challenges facing people with intellectual disabilities and how to equip themselves to influence change. As the finale of this six-day Summit, the top projects will be pitched to a star-studded panel of judges, who will select a project to execute based on the level of innovation and potential impact on generating acts of acceptance and inclusion in their communities.

The Summit will end with a presentation of the Generation Unified Manifesto, which is a declaration of social change by the youth leaders of Generation Unified.

Essilor has been supporting Special Olympics for more than 10 years by providing athletes with prescription eyewear, protective sports eyewear and important healthcounseling on proper eye health and vision care to  more than 100,000 athletes.

Special Olympics is the world’s largest sports organization that fosters acceptance and inclusion of all people, regardless of ability or disability, through the power of sports.