Cisco to Sponsor the Special Olympics World Summer Games Athens 2011

ATHENS, Greece – Feb. 14, 2011 – As part of its ongoing commitment to diversity and inclusion, Cisco announced today that it will be a sponsor at the Special Olympics World Summer Games Athens 2011.

Special Olympics is a non-profit organization founded in 1968. From then on until today, Special Olympics have evolved to a Global Movement that offers the opportunity to 3.1 million athletes with intellectual disabilities from 185 countries, to reinforce their self-esteem, to discover their special abilities, and in this way become active and useful members of their societies.

This year, Cisco will build a comprehensive, robust and highly secure information technology platform based on its Borderless Network Architecture that will empower collaboration across the Games’ stadiums, host towns and working teams. The Cisco Unified Computing System^TM will be used to deliver end-to-end optimization to both physical and virtualized data centers.

Highlights

• Cisco is providing the technologies required to build a robust and a highly secure Borderless Network which will be used as a platform for a data center solution based on the Cisco Unified Computing System. Cisco will be deploying switching, routing, security, and wireless access solutions
• Cisco Unified Communications solutions will connect dispersed buildings and campuses in Athens and Nicosia, the main host towns of the Games via more than 700 Cisco Unified IP phones. Additionally, Cisco TelePresence® rooms will be used to facilitate collaboration between the teams in these two cities.
• The Special Olympics World Summer Games Athens 2011 will be held in Athens, Greece, from June 25 to July 4, 2011, with the participation of 7,500 Special Olympics athletes from 185 nations, 2,500 coaches, 3,000 referees, 40,000 family members, and 3,000 media representatives globally.
• In the games held every year by the Special Olympics movement in the world, offering the opportunity to take part in more than 30 Olympic-type summer and winter events, participate 550,000 athletes from the US, 500,000 from Europe, 700,000 from China, and 410,000 from India. In Greece, the athletes who participate in Special Olympics events reach 12,000.

Supporting Quotes

• Joanna Despotopoulou, President of the Organizing Committee of Special Olympics World Summer Games ATHENS 2011:

“February 14th is a very special day for Special Olympics Hellas. Today in 1987 the Founding Act of the Public Beneficial Athletic, Educational, non Profit Association, titled Special Olympics International – Hellas, was signed. After 24 years of constant effort we can say with certainty that all of us, companions in this wonderful journey, receive much more than we offer. Today we are twice as happy for welcoming Cisco in our family of Proud Sponsors of the Special Olympics World Summer Games ATHENS 2011. Cisco is a company with huge experience in industry, worthy of its international prestige and reputation. Totally confident in the above, we rely on Cisco’s valuable services for the creation of an integrated and reliable technological environment, where host cities, data centers and contributing to the organization members will communicate. We would like to thank Cisco for sharing the same values and merits for a world that respects Diversity”.

• Jordi Botifoll, vice president, Mediterranean Geography, Cisco:

“At Cisco, we are committed to fully embracing the human network in all its multiplicity, fostering innovation and talent. In doing so, we are able to better serve our customers and engage with our partners in the worldwide marketplace with the strength of working together. The Special Olympics Games in Athens sets an excellent example of a diverse, inclusive human network, and we are proud to serve as a sponsor for the upcoming games.”

• Odysseas Charalambous, general manager, Greece, Cyprus and Malta, Cisco:

“Inclusion is not just about recognizing diversity, it is about recognizing and appreciating the value that people can bring to a team. Inclusion is about all the wonderful things we can do, as long as we are together. Cisco’s involvement to this athletic event of global magnitude makes me really proud.”

Supporting Resources

• Cisco’s commitment to diversity: http://www.cisco.com/web/about/ac49/ac55/index.html
• Join Cisco Diversity Discussion Forum: http://www.cisco.com/web/about/ac49/ac55/resource/forum.html
• Learn more about the Special Olympics World Summer Games Athens 2011: www.Athens2011.org
  http://www.athens2011.org/en/special_world.asp
• Learn more about the Special Olympics:
  http://www.specialolympics.org/
• Follow Cisco Greece on Twitter: www.twitter.com/Cisco_Greece

Tags/Keywords

Cisco, Special Olympics World Summer Games Athens 2011, Diversity, Inclusion, Borderless Network, Data Center, Collaboration, Jordi Botifoll.

About Cisco

Cisco (NASDAQ:CSCO, news, filings) is the worldwide leader in networking that transforms how people connect, communicate and collaborate. Information about Cisco can be found at http://www.cisco.com. For ongoing news, please go to http://newsroom.cisco.com. Cisco equipment in Europe is supplied by Cisco Systems International BV, a wholly owned subsidiary of Cisco Systems, Inc.

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