Special Olympics Presented with the Fair Play Award for Peace 2025

On 16 September 2025, in Brussels, Philippe Housiaux, President of the European Fair Play Movement, joined the Italian National Fair Play Committee and Panathlon Wallonie-Bruxelles in awarding Special Olympics the Fair Play Award for Peace 2025, marking the third year of the award and the first time Special Olympics International has received this prestigious honor.
 
Established by the European Fair Play Movement and aimed at promoting the principles of fair play in Europe, the award recognizes organizations that actively promote fair play and use sport as a means to build more peaceful and respectful communities across the continent.
 
In a video speech, Special Olympics Chairman Dr. Timothy Shriver shared, “Thank you for this extraordinarily important award. The Special Olympics movement is determined to be a singularly powerful force for peace for decades to come. We will not rest until every child and every adult with an intellectual challenge is afforded the opportunity to play, to be an athlete. We will not rest until their message, the message of our athletes, extends and is heard by leaders and activists and citizens all over the world. We each have a gift, we each deserve dignity, and that is the pathway to peace.”