Follow-up from our top winning European Project, which has helped thousands of people since the very start.
The InSport project: Sport Inclusion – Full Participation in Sport by Persons with Disabilities is co-funded by the European Union under the Erasmus + program and will run from January 2018 to June 2020.
As a key aim of #INSPORT+, #partners set-up groups of local stakeholders (representatives and volunteers from #associations and #NGOs, health and sport professionals, local, regional and national authorities) working with different groups of people with mental disabilities. From 2016 to 2017 partners and their stakeholders got involved in a series of roundtables and meetings in order to exchange information and good practices, follow interactive mentoring workshops, plan and organise joint sport initiatives, support the interregional events, identify challenges and foster dialogue with authorities and institutions, promote INSPORT+ philosophy in their respective work environment. Overall 6 local stakeholder groups have been established with 250 organisations and 300 staff representatives.
In addition, 8 #interregionalevents have been organised in each partner’s location featuring 3-4 days of interactive seminars, visits to local centres of excellence, city-mobilisation events, volunteer-led sporting events and activities with European and local partners, experts in the field of sport and mental health, target groups and citizens. The events represented the opportunity for learning from each other’s experiences, grasping and practising mentoring principles, testing innovative practices, networking, discussing deficiencies and new ideas, exploring further synergies, but also for getting in touch with the reality of the different contexts, people with mental disorders and their perceptions. Overall the events gathered the participation of 2.720 actors.
The importance to increase the understanding of how sport is delivered to and practised by people with mental disabilities led the partners to investigate various dimensions (e.g. the legislative/normative framework, the institutions and facilities linked to the provision of sport and physical activity, the participation of persons with mental disabilities in sport and in social activities within the community). The research findings have been gathered in the INSPORT+ Vademecum embracing Country Profiles that outline conditions, frameworks and issues at stake in each partner context. The Vademecum further illustrates the interregional events, with users’ testimonials as well as impressions and memories from the time spent together. Last, the document ends with recommendations in order to further enhance the chances of people with mental disabilities to engage in sport and community life and to facilitate the widespread adoption of the INSPORT+ approach.
As integral part of the project, efforts have also been capitalised towards a comprehensive communication strategy so as to ensure increased awareness on the role of sport for people with mental disorders and widespread knowledge of INSPORT+ activities and results. Actions included the organisation of the Final Project Event at the European Parliament in Brussels, 5 City-Mobilisation events, 60 deliverables including press releases, interviews, videos, newspaper and media articles, 5 Newsletters, the set-up of a dedicated project website, in addition to Facebook and Youtube pages, and the use of ACES Europe network to advertise the project's initiatives.
Today, this project has 6 partners! It is coordinated by the #APCAS-Cerebral Palsy Association of Almada Seixal (#Portugal) and has different partners: European Paralympic Committee (Austria); #TAFISA-The Association for International Sport for All (Germany); UNESCO Chair, Tralee Institute of Technology (Ireland); Portuguese Institute of Sport and Youth (Portugal); and Knowledge Center for Sport Netherlands (The Nederland).
