Benjamin Haack
Athlete Representative Director at Special Olympics Australia Board
Mr. Haack is a Special Olympics Athlete Leader from Australia. He is an inspirational athlete, an accomplished football and cricket player, and a mentor and ambassador for Special Olympics Australia.
Benjamin is also the Athlete Representative Director of Special Olympics Australia Board; the Athlete Representative on the Special Olympics Asia Pacific Region Leadership Council; Co-Chair of the Asia Pacific Athlete Input Council; and the Athlete Representative on International Advisory Committee of the SOI Board of Directors.
Mr. Haack has a clear vision about his role as a Director and challenges people’s views around intellectual disability, sport and inclusion. He serves as an assistant coach and is a leader both off and on the playing field. He regularly attends sports forums, speaks at conferences, was on the Evaluation Team of the World Games in Athens and is an Athlete Presenter for Inclusion in Sport workshops.
He has also represented SOI at international events and travelled to South Africa in 2010 to participate in the Unity Cup match.
Takes part in
Why Inclusion is Often an Illusion: D&I Lessons from the World of Special Olympics
In our keynote, we will address why diversity can be mistaken for inclusion, how situations that seem inclusive may not be, and ways we can combat the issue. First, we will discuss how we define what we mean by the illusion of inclusion, and how current measures can often be misleading. We will follow that up with personal anecdotes and experiences from within the world of Special Olympics. We will then provide insights on what we see as critical to creating inclusive environments.
Benjamin Haack
Denis Doolan
Kostiantyn Gridin
Emily Klinger