Vista Presentations Available Online

"Access to Sport, physical activity and play is a fundamental human right for everyone."

Presentations from the International Paralympic Committee’s VISTA conference, which was held in early September, are now available to view online here.

Wilfried Lemke, the United Nations Secretary General’s Special Adviser on Sport for Development and Peace presented the opening symposium on Social Legacy in the Paralympic Movement.

Lemke said: “Access to Sport, physical activity and play is a fundamental human right for everyone.

“The IPC is a very important and successful actor not only in the field of sport, but in the promotion and support of rights for persons with a disability – this is where UN and IPC stand united very tightly, as the recent meeting of Sir Philip and the Secretary-General on 11 May 2011 has confirmed.

“Sports can change what communities think and feel about persons with a disability and what persons with a disability think and feel about themselves.

“The upcoming Olympic and Paralympic Games in London, along with other important international events, will prove the next excellent opportunity for Adaptive Sport to stand out, with great sport and emotional highlights.”

Fellow speaker at the Symposium, Rosa López de D’Amico from the Universidad Pedadógica Experimental Libertador (UPEL) in Maracay, Venezuela highlighted how the Paralympic Movement can lever education and awareness to individuals with a disability.

“Physical education in school is the most effective and inclusive means of providing all children, whatever their ability/disability, sex, age, cultural, race/ethnicity, religious or social background, with the skills, attitudes, values, knowledge and understanding for lifelong participation in physical activity and sport,” she said.

Tracey Dickson from the Faculty of Business and Government, University of Canberra, Australia spoke on volunteer legacy.

“If a social legacy of volunteerism is important, I recommend planning for it. Make it part of the bid criteria and infrastructure legacy plan, recruit those motivated by altruism and provide funding beyond the Games to support social legacy not just infrastructure,” Dickinson recommended. “Evaluate and measure it to see if, what and how it is working.”

To view presentations, please visit www.paralympic.org/events.