IPC's Sport for Mobility initiative promotes peer-to-peer learning and collaboration

Over 100 athletes and sport technical personnel from 22 emerging National Paralympic Committees (NPCs) have so far benefitted from world class coaching, mentoring and facilities courtesy of the International Paralympic Committee’s (IPC) Mentoring Hubs initiative in Asia, Africa and the Americas.

Part of the IPC’s Sport for Mobility programme, product of a grant agreement with the Toyota Mobility Foundation, the Mentoring Hubs initiative gives leading NPCs the opportunity to share their expertise with emerging NPCs to accelerate development. The initiative aims to empower the next generation of Para athletes, coaches and officials to reach their full potential.

In 2025, the IPC adopted a targeted approach and awarded grants to the NPCs of Malaysia and Morocco to serve as mentor hosts. In addition to these, the Americas Paralympic Committee also received a grant and hosted a joint initiative across two cities and countries with the NPCs of Brazil and Colombia.

By encouraging collaboration and peer-to-peer learning, the IPC is working to level the playing field and facilitate expansion of knowledge across the Movement for the benefit of Para athletes from all over the world.  

Chief Executive Officer Mike Peters said: “The IPC’s Mentoring Hub is an initiative that fosters collaboration and peer-to-peer learning, bringing National Paralympic Committees together to learn from real, on-ground experiences of leading NPCs in their regions.

“Our members have shared with us their willingness to support the development of emerging NPCs, which is fantastic. Through the Mentoring Hub initiative, the IPC is working with members to level the playing field and facilitate expansion of knowledge across the Movement for the benefit of Para athletes from all over the world.”

In Kuala Lumpur, NPC Malaysia hosted 33 representatives from the NPCs of Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Maldives, Myanmar and Timor Leste. Participants took part in a competition management course and a best practice workshop on developing national classification strategies.

In the Americas, 42 representatives from the NPCs of Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Guatemala and Paraguay participated in a joint Mentoring Hub led by the Americas Paralympic Committee and NPCs Brazil and Colombia.

Participants first attended a competition management course in Bogota, Colombia, before heading to NPC Brazil’s world class Paralympic Training Centre in Sao Paulo to observe and manage sport competitions in Para athletics, boccia and Para swimming.  This allowed participants to put into practice what they had learnt weeks earlier. In Sao Paulo, participants also took part in a national classification strategy workshop.

In early 2026, a Para athletics training camp was held in Rabat, with NPC Morocco sharing their knowledge with 26 representatives from the NPCs of Benin, Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, Ivory Coast, Morocco and Senegal.

From 2026 onwards, the IPC has adopted a competitive grant approach for the Mentoring Hubs initiative, making more funding opportunities available to IPC members to drive Para sport development globally.