Janet Froetscher took over as Special Olympics CEO a year ago. “I got to know about Special Olympics a long time ago as it is a very famous and well known organisation in the US. “From my point of view, it is an extraordinary organisation that makes a great difference. They were looking for a well experienced person with vast experience in a global organisation and Special Olympics was very appealing for me as it serves the intellectually disabled. So I applied and was appointed as the new CEO. Before joining SOI, Froetscher had worked with a number of social service organisations and schools and “got to meet a number of intellectually disabled whom I enjoyed being with”. Taking over the responsibility of 4.4 million athletes and 81,000 competitions throughout the world, Froetscher fell in love with the movement. “I love it. Once you work with Special Olympics you can never quit. For me, the athletes are adorable and amazing. It is an easy job for me because you are inspired every day. It is a global organisation so you always find interesting global challenges and this is what I like.” According to Froetscher, “in social work, when you work with students who quit schools or are addicts, you see the results a bit later but in Special Olympics it is completely different and that is why our mission is much easier than any other career I had experienced before. “If you spend a sports day with one of our athletes, you feel the impact of our mission and you see the result directly, not like any other place. We use sports to build confidence skills, personal skills and bring intellectually disabled into the community society. There is research that tells us that. Practicing sports with intellectually disabled also has an impact on those who are not intellectually disabled. The challenges is that I have many countries that are suffering from a lot of disruption and instabilities so part of our challenge is how to work and grow a global organisation and work on all levels with those different countries all over the world.” Asking if she was afraid to come to Egypt, Froetscher said she feared no such thing. “We are an organisation that works with the impossible dream. You can't be afraid of anything. I know that the region is suffering a lot of trouble but among those challenges you need something inspiring and you need to gather people together and that is what we are doing. I don't think there is a more powerful way to bring people together except through practicing sports.” Although it is my first visit to Egypt, I think it is fantastic. And so was the 8th Regional Games.” She added that she felt very happy to hear that the event was held under the patronage of President Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi.”We need to change attitudes and one of the biggest challenges for athletes is that the people don't know what the intellectually disabled can do so they don't want to include them in society. So one important thing is that when our athletes are acknowledged by celebrities and famous people this will open people's hearts and minds to accept and include Special Olympics athletes in society.” About the MENA region, “SO MENA is facing a challenge. It is one of the most difficult regions we have to work and operate with but in spite of this we are making progress: we are adding athletes, we are adding games, we are adding youth. It is the 8th here in SO MENA while in SO Asia Pacific I have just attended their first Games and SO Europe/ Euroasia their second, so we are really progressing in the MENA region in spite of all challenges. At the global level we were targeting 5.3 million athletes by the end of 2015 so we will be able to reach it and this is perfect. “We want to go on with our health programmes. To be an athlete you have to be healthy. We have to complete with family programmes. We added a young athlete programme that will be launched alongside the Games. It deals with intellectually disabled aged two to eight. We said when we impact early you attract a larger number of athletes and for a longer period of time and you help more families as they will meet other families who can help them through exchanging experiences and through the services that the Special Olympics movement offers them. They received nine-month training on motor skills development and you can really see the change. There is a lot of research that showed that there is a link between developing motor skills and cognitive ones.” Froetscher thinks Ayman Abdel-Wahab, SO MENA region president and regional director, is a man who makes the impossible happen. “He has great vision, determination and a strong will. He is respected inside Egypt and all around the MENA region and we are lucky to have him with us.” “I know that the MENA region under his leadership is intending to bid to host one of our World Summer Games and I think they can. I am here to raise enthusiasm and interest in our movement and its athletes and I will really appreciate it if MENA is capable of doing so. “The Special Olympics movement as a global movement is targeting to look as a movement and to have something that tells our story to the world. We are especially targeting the youth who are the future and where intellectually disabled athletes play with the able-bodied to form a team. Our athletes told us ‘we don't want to feel different. We want to feel as a part of the community'. When they play together they will no longer fear them and the ice will break so the walls hindering the inclusion of mentally disabled will fall and from here came the idea of the Special Olympics' Red Ball that invites the world to play unified, hand in hand with our intellectually disabled athletes.” Prior to being Special Olympics CEO, Froetscher was chief executive officer of the United Way of Metropolitan Chicago where she led the merger of 54 United Ways into a single entity. She also served as chief operating officer of the Aspen Institute. Her corporate experience includes leadership roles within the Commercial Club of Chicago and Bankers Trust Company. Froetscher holds a bachelor's degree from the University of Virginia and an MBA from the Kellogg Graduate School of Management of Northwestern University. She is a board member of the Chicago Board Options Exchange and Chicago Chamber of Commerce, and a member of the Chicago Network and Commercial Club of Chicago. Froetscher is also a Henry Crown Fellow of the Aspen Institute.
