A Billion Reasons to Embrace Inclusive Sport

More than 1.3 billion people, over 15%of the world’s population, live with disability. Yet disability inclusion as  a  social  movement  is  often misunderstood, overlooked and underfunded. Persons with disabilities face many structural, educational, financial, environmental and attitudinal barriers that hinder their full and equal participation in society. 

In the world of sport, these barriers limit access and opportunities for persons with disabilities to participate in sporting activities, quality physical education (QPE) settings and structured opportunities to play. These barriers include a lack of disability inclusion workforce capacity in sport, physical education (PE) and beyond; infrastructure,  including transportation and sport-related facilities, that is either inaccessible or not fit for purpose; misrepresentation and underrepresentation of Para sport and Para athletes in the media and underrepresentation of professionals with disabilities in the media industry; limited capacity to produce accessible media content and provide information services, as well as a shortage of reliable and disaggregated data on disability inclusion in sport and physical education.

Beyond  sport,  and  across  its  programmes in  education,  the  sciences,  culture,  and communication and information, UNESCO promotes disability inclusion as a human right, in line  with the United Nations Disability Inclusion Strategy (UNDIS) and UN Partnership for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNPRPD), which fosters joint programming to assist countries in the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

I - Rationale

The aim of the event is to help in advancing the implementation of the Paris 2024 Call to Action and to drive change for persons with disabilities in sport, physical education and across all fields of competencies.

II - Objectives

This event aims specifically to:
1 - Sensitize the audience on the topic on sport and disabilities

2 - Cultivate strategic partnerships with stakeholders for programmes.

3 - Learn from the Partners of the event on specific case studies or other suggestions for improving the programmatic initiatives.