| Our first IPC Strategic Planning Congress was successfully concluded at the end of April 2001. More than 250 delegates from the international Paralympic Movement gathered in Kuala Lumpur to review the current state of the Movement and to chart the future direction. Our discussions were open and lively, at times tricky as different views were expressed and debated, but always underlined by honesty and commitment to the overall improvement and to the ideals of the Paralympic Movement.
At its meeting in Kuala Lumpur on 28 April, the IPC Executive Committee, upon the recommendation of the IPC Legal Committee, reaffirmed the suspension of the International Sports Federation for Athletes with an Intellectual Disability (INAS-FID) and determined that the provisional recognition of eligibility for athletes with an intellectual disability wishing to compete in IPC-sanctioned events is not achievable at the present time. While I recognize the disappointment of the athletes and officials affected, I wish to emphasize that the IPC will work closely with INAS-FID to develop a new eligibility verification process for ID athletes that will be tighter and more comprehensive.
In May 2001, the world of sport and entertainment converged at the Laureus World Sports Awards Ceremony in Monaco to celebrate sporting excellence in all disciplines. Sailor Vinny Lauwers of Australia was named World Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability. The presentation of the Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability Award, along with able-bodied sports awards in this high-profile event, is a sign of the gradual merging of the disability and able-bodied sporting worlds.
I am very pleased to report that the IPC and the Athens Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games (ATHOC) signed the host city contract for the 2004 Paralympic Games on 5 April. We have had some delays in the preparations, but we have a good relationship with the Organizing Committee and we are certain that the XII Paralympic Summer Games will be a great success.
On 13 July 2001, the host city for the 2008 Olympic and Paralympic Summer Games will be elected in Moscow. The bid process for both the Olympics and the Paralympics has been integrated for the first time. The Paralympic Games must continue to grow on a basis of equality and partnership with the Olympic Games. I also wish to express my warmest thanks to Bob McCullough for serving on the IOC Evaluation Commission on behalf of the IPC.
As IPC President and IOC Member, it was my honor to have been appointed to the International Olympic Truce Foundation Board of Directors by IOC President Juan Antonio Samaranch. In June 2001, I will deliver the opening speech on behalf of the distinguished guest lecturers at the 41st Session of the International Olympic Academy in Greece.
Our work in the Paralympic Movement goes on. I wish all athletes, coaches, member nations and volunteers well in the coming months. The Congress provided us with a refreshing opportunity to take another look at our organization. Let us continue this process of consultation, discussion, strategic review and action-oriented implementation, in a spirit of trust and integrity, for the largest benefit of our Movement.
Dr. Robert D. Steadward, O.C., LLD (Hons.)
President |
