POSTED: Tuesday April 5th 2011
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Sport can bring change to societies

London, 5 April 2011 – Today, SportAccord Convention saw an extraordinary side meeting: International federations (IFs) had the opportunity to meet with Mr. Wilfried Lemke, Special Adviser to the UN Secretary-General on Sport

for Development and Peace, IPC President Sir Philip Craven, Mr. Joel Bouzou, President of Peace and Sport, and SportAccord President Hein Verbruggen to discuss possibilities of including persons with disabilities while at the same time developing their sport.

In his opening address, Mr. Lemke noted that 'Access and the right to sport for persons with a disability requires a firm and sustained global commitment and engagement of all stakeholders working in close partnership.'

A principal stakeholder being the IPC, Sir Philip emphasised how 'Activities and projects should be athlete focused. We need to promote and increase leadership skills, promote coaches, train the trainers and increase sports opportunities for people with a disability. In turn, inclusive participation in sport will be found to have immense benefits to society in general.'

'It is most important to adopt a "can-do" philosophy,' said Mr. Bouzou during his address. 'We do not need to invest a lot of money but with the right people involved, governments, IFs, local actors and civil society, we can bring communities together, thus breaking down prejudices, encouraging socialisation and inclusion, and in doing so fostering sustainable peace.'

What can IFs do? There are manifold opportunities by working together with youth centres, NGOs or local associations, by providing appropriate adapted equipment and by developing sports programmes that are adapted to local needs and situations.

'With this meeting, we not only wanted to raise awareness, but we wanted to give IFs the opportunity to share ideas, best practices and develop new partnerships with these important stakeholders. We are very honoured that Mr. Lemke, Sir Philip Craven, and Mr. Bouzou were present to discuss these important issues,' said Mr. Verbruggen after the meeting. 

The background of the meeting:
80% of people who live with a physical or intellectual disability live in 'developing countries'. Many of these people face basic challenges of exclusion, marginalisation and lack of access to education and employment. In some countries it is a taboo to be seen in public and therefore parents do not take their children out of their homes.
Sport has been identified as an effective tool in fostering positive change in the lives of persons with disabilities and is recognised as a fundamental right in the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
Against this background, the sports movement is required to act and contribute.

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Keywords · SportAccord · SportAccord Convention · Adaptive Sport · IPC · UNOSDP · Peace and Sport

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Name: Iwona Lapinska
Organization: SportAccord
Email:
Phone: +41 (0)21 612 30 70
URL: http://www.sportaccord.com

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