IPC ATHLETES' FORUM
The IPC Athlete’s Forum brings together athlete representatives from across the Paralympic Movement, providing an invaluable platform to discuss key issues facing the athlete community, sharing experiences, and networking.
Athletes are the heart of the Paralympic Movement, and the Forum provides representatives the knowledge and resources they need to succeed during and after their sporting careers.
2025
Fourth IPC Athletes’ Forum, Germany
The 2025 Athletes’ Forum will be held in Bonn and Duisburg, Germany from 24-26 June 2025. It will be the fourth Forum held to date.
The first of three days will be held in Bonn at the IPC’s headquarters, one of the most accessible office spaces in Germany, and will coincide with the inauguration of the new IPC Campus. The programme on days two and three will be held at the Sportschule Wedau campus in Duisburg, the venue of the first IPC Athletes’ Forum held in 2017.
The 2025 Athletes’ Forum will mark the first in-person global meeting of athlete representatives since the election of IPC Athletes’ Council members at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games, and the selection of Vladyslava Kravchenko as Chairperson.
2023
More than 60 athlete representatives from across the Paralympic Movement participated in the Forum in Icheon, Korea from 25-27 June.
It was hosted by the Korean Paralympic Committee (KPC) at their National Training Centre, with the support of the BDH Foundation.
On the forum’s first day, following an opening ceremony attended by Vice Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Cho Yong-man, there were discussions on a variety of topics including the impact of Para sports, leadership, Paralympic Games and anti-doping.
The forum’s second day was spearheaded by an in-depth discussion about classification, covering everything from the basics of classification to an update on the progress of the IPC Athlete Classification Code review.
There was also a session on governance and how, under the new IPC Constitution, each IPC Committee must feature athlete representation. A lengthy Q&A session where attendees could ask questions to the IPC President Andrew Parsons and IPC CEO Mike Peters PLY closed out the day.
On the final day of the forum, there was a panel discussion regarding athlete representation, and talks on athlete well-being and career transition. There was also a breakout session on what qualities an athlete leader should have.
2019
The second Forum was hosted by the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC) from 22-24 November 2019.
The highlights of the Forum were the qualitative open sessions and break-out meetings to encourage representatives to voice their suggestions and opinions; thus providing tangible outcomes to help drive the future of the athletes' voices within the Paralympic Movement.
Over 70 athlete representatives from around the world convened under one roof to continue to chart out a roadmap for athletes’ growth and involvement in the IPC’s future.
2017
The first IPC Athletes Forum was held in Duisburg, Germany, from 8-11 June 2017.
It was a forum for open dialogue, consultation and information sharing on various topics such as effective athlete representation, anti-doping, classification and Paralympic Games.
The event took place at the Sportschule Wedau in Duisburg, Germany.
Targeting different groups of athletes, the IPC Athletes Forum included two different events. The first three days were dedicated to bringing the International Federation (IF) athlete representatives and the IPC Athletes’ Council together with the goal of developing sustainable communication lines. The final two days focussed on NPC athlete representatives and involved group discussions and the sharing of experiences.