Agitos Foundation launches 2018 Grant Support Programme

Sixth year of funding for Para sports development projects worldwide 01 Jun 2018
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Para ice hockey athlete talks to coach during training camp in Czech Republic

The Agitos Foundation 2017 GSP supported various initatives around the world, such as increasing women's representation in Para sports

ⒸAgitos Foundation
By Agitos Foundation

The Agitos Foundation launched the sixth edition of its Grant Support Programme (GSP) on Friday (1 June) making EUR 650,000 available for Para sport development projects.

Grants of up to EUR 40,000 have been made available for IPC members, so they can develop awareness campaigns, women and athletes in leadership initiatives, education, training of coaches, classifiers and technical officials, and equipment in both summer and winter sports.

Since its launch in 2013, the GSP has invested over EUR 3.2 million in supporting 149 Para sport development projects across the world, making a significant impact on the growth of the Paralympic Movement.

So far 55 National Paralympic Committees (NPCs), five Regional Organisations (ROs), 19 International Federations (IFs) and three International Organisations of Sports for the Disabled (IOSDs) have benefitted from the GSP reaching more than 482,000 people.

This year the Agitos Foundation is calling for proposals from IPC Members in the focus areas of its PARA core themes - Pathways, Awareness, Representation and Ambassadors. Projects may include initiatives aiming at athlete talent identification, Paralympic Movement awareness, national sport technical education, opportunities for Para athletes from grassroots to the high performance level, organisational capacity building, educational tools and training for international technical officials, coaches and classifiers, and sport equipment.

All IPC members can also propose projects to prepare athletes to become ambassadors for the Paralympic Movement, including both Proud Paralympian leader training sessions and the implementation of Proud Paralympian workshops.

In an effort to provide opportunities for refugees and internally displaced persons to access Para sport activities in the lead up to the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, NPCs and IFs are also encouraged to propose projects to benefit these populations.

Projects should also mainstream the importance of gender equality and athletes with high support needs. Successful projects must start after 1 October 2018 and conclude before 30 September 2019.

The online portal for applications will be available for submissions from Friday 1 June 2018 00:00 (CEST) until Friday 20 July 2018 23:59 (CEST). Successful projects will be announced on 10 September 2018.

The guidelines and instructions on how to apply for the 2018 Agitos Foundation Grant Support Programme have been published here.