‘Historic’ workshop takes place in Caribbean region

“This workshop is a historic milestone and memorable experience in planning for the promotion of the Paralympic Movement in the Caribbean region”

A workshop held in the Caribbean to enable National Paralympic Committees (NPCs) to keep up their excellent progress has been described as an ‘historic milestone’ for the Paralympic Movement in the sub-region.

The event, funded by the AGITOS Foundation and entitled ‘maintain the momentum’, was held in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic and attracted 18 people from 12 countries including the Dominican Republic, Jamaica, US Virgin Islands, Suriname, Puerto Rico, Cuba, Trinidad and Tobago, Haita, Bermuda and Barbados. Participants came from 10 NPCs and two prospective NPCs from Aruba and Guyana.

Ken McKell, President of the Caribbean Association of National Paralympic Committees (CANPC) spoke of his delight at being involved: “This workshop is a historic milestone and memorable experience in planning for the promotion of the Paralympic Movement in the Caribbean region”

The objective of the workshop was not only an opportunity to develop a strategic plan for CANPC and share experiences, but also to learn and use planning tools for work taking place in the individual NPCs.

Georg Schlachtenberger, Chief Operating Officer of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) said: “This workshop is another initiative of the IPC to further develop and increase activities of para-sport.

“I’m convinced that through this initiative we facilitated closer cooperation in this sub region.

“This will not only enable people to share experiences but find common answers for the most critical challenges each of the NPCs is facing.”

The workshop also featured a visit from CONADIS (Consejo Nacional de Discapacidad – National Council for Disability) CEO Mr. Magino Corporan, President and Secretary General of the Dominican Republic Olympic Committee, Mr. Luis Mejia and Mr. Antonio Acosto respectively, who expressed their full support to the Dominican Republic Paralympic Committee and the Paralympic Movement in general.