Wesley Mosley Selected to Participate in Global Youth Activation Summit During the 2009 Special Olympics World Winter Games

/PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Wesley Mosley from Tucker, Ga. was selected from among hundreds of applicants from around the world to participate in the fifth Global Youth Activation Summit on intellectual disabilities that will be held in conjunction with the 2009 Special Olympics World Winter Games Feb. 7-13. The summit will launch a new Special Olympics youth engagement initiative which positions young people as leaders for fostering inclusion in their schools and communities.

Mosley, a Special Olympics Georgia athlete, will be accompanied by his mom, long-time volunteer and Special Olympics Georgia staffer Andrea Mosley.

During the summit, he and the other participants will attend youth-led leadership training programs, participate in interactive sports experiences and help host four live Webinars to connect with their peers internationally. He will also serve as a journalist, writing blogs, developing podcasts and composing stories for publication and to be shared with home and school news outlets, posted to the Special Olympics Web site, posted to the 2009 World Winter Games Web site and shared through other social networking sites.

The youth leaders participating in the summit, aged 12 to 20, come from 22 nations, representing all seven Special Olympics regions and various educational levels including middle school, high school and some college. They will be paired - one Special Olympics athlete and a peer partner without an intellectual disability from the same community, state or country.

"Bringing together these students for the 2009 Global Youth Activation Summit is an important step as we work to eliminate stereotypes and change views about the capabilities and gifts of people with intellectual disabilities," said Special Olympics Chairman Timothy Shriver. "Special Olympics provides one of the greatest platforms in the world for acceptance and inclusion. It is our desire that this summit help Special Olympics become a leading cause among young people, and develop the next generation of world leaders."

Wesley Mosley was chosen to participate based upon his involvement with Dekalb County Special Olympics and Special Olympics Georgia where he serves as a Global Messenger, where he and other athletes participate in the Special Olympics movement beyond sports training and competition as coaches, officials, team captains, spokespeople and board and committee members.

In addition to the activities during the week-long summit, he will be part of a Global Youth Rally at the Taco Bell Arena on the campus of Boise State University on Monday, Feb. 9. The rally will bring together thousands of young people with and without intellectual disabilities from the Boise, Idaho, area and around the world. It will be an exciting multi-media event designed to help youth develop awareness and discuss current issues, as well as serve as a call to action for youth to promote inclusion and acceptance for all.

"While doing this, Wesley has gained self-confidence and a sense of self-worth. He feels as though he can accomplish anything and wants to be involved even more in the Tucker community in which he lives," said his mom, Andrea Mosley.

The 2009 Special Olympics World Winter Games will bring together nearly 2,500 athletes from more than 100 countries in Boise, Idaho, to compete in seven Olympic-type sports. It will be the largest multi-sport event in North America in 2009.

The Global Youth Activation Summit is one of several Special Olympics global initiatives helping promote school communities where all young people are agents of change. The summit was made possible through a $4.4 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education and a generous donation from Special Olympics Global Sponsor Mattel Children's Foundation. Other initiatives include Project Unify, a year-long U.S. national project to energize young people across the nation to foster respect, dignity and advocacy for people with intellectual disabilities. Special Olympics believes that through sports youth can make a difference in friendships, schools and communities.

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