Dubai hosts OCP1 Educator Course

"I have delivered a number of programmes for the Agitos Foundation and I am very humbled with the quality of the people who are taking part; they are often selfless people motivated to help others improve."

In preparation of the Organisational Capacity Programme level 1 (OCP1) workshop with South Asian NPCs, which will be hosted in November in India, the Agitos Foundation held its third OCP1 Educators Course in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE), from August 10-12.

The programme was aimed at teaching educators to develop their delivering skills, assist the NPCs going through the OCP and implement it in their respective nations. Representatives from the Asian Paralympic Committee (from Japan and UAE), NPC India and Agitos Foundation staff learnt about the three OCP focus areas – athlete development, marketing and communications and governance and planning.

Sessions were delivered by Simon Jones, master trainer for IPC Academy, and the Agitos Foundation Development Manager Carolin Rickers.

The IPC Academy is a partnership IPC and the World Academy of Sport (WAoS) and works closely with Agitos Foundation on delivering Educational and Learning Programmes, helping to spread awareness of the Paralympic Movement across the globe.

"I have delivered a number of programmes for the Agitos Foundation and I am very humbled with the quality of the people who are taking part; they are often selfless people motivated to help others improve. This programme is designed to help develop their delivering skills. It is not about teaching them how to deliver but rather allowing them to experience and practice a different methodology of teaching,” said Jones.

The participants shared their excitement at attending the training programme, calling it a "new experience" and "interactive".

APC representative Naoe Yasuoka said: "I enjoyed all the sessions. They were very informative and interactive. I want to implement my learning from here in workshops first and if I am certified then, I will try to co-operate with the NPC in Japan and other Asian nations."

The Agitos Foundation is aiming to deliver the first level of the Organisational Capacity Programme to 120 NPCs by 2020. So far, 68 NPCs have started the OCP1, which receives significant support from the IPC’s Worldwide Paralympic Partnership with Toyota.