Angolan First Lady Honoured for Paralympic Support

During the Opening Ceremony of the World Conference on Women and Sport in Jordan, the World Trophy as well as five continental trophies were presented to women who have made outstanding contributions to strengthening the participation of women and girls in sport around the world.

The Trophy for Africa was given to Ana Paula Dos Santos from Angola. The First Lady of the Republic of Angola has taken a hands-on approach to help develop Paralympic Sport in her country. Ms. Dos Santos is founder and President of the Lwini Foundation, a body that promotes and financially supports the interests of land mine victims. Using sport as a means to bring back hope, she started a collaboration with the Angolan Paralympic Committee and set up the Lwini Cup. During this event, which has already been successfully held six times, people with a disability get the opportunity to enjoy sports activities such as Athletics, Wheelchair Basketball and Football.

In the upcoming days, more than 600 participants from across the world will debate the topic "Sport as a vehicle for social change" and the role women and girls can play in this. The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) will be represented by Tine Rindum Teilmann, Chairperson of the IPC Women in Sport Committee and Maha Barghouti, member of the IPC Athletes’ Council. They will present on the topic “Integrating and empowering girls and women with a disability through sports.”

For more information about the award and the conference, please visit the official website at www.olympic.org.