Written by NCHPAD
It is widely known that participating in physical activity and sport makes us healthier and gives us skills to take throughout life, but did you know that not all children have opportunities to participate in recreation and play? The fact is, children with disability are nearly 4.5 times less likely to be active than their peers without disability. This means they are also more likely to develop other serious health conditions. One billion people in the world today – about 15% of the world’s population – experience disability. At all stages of childhood and adolescence, participation in physical activity and sport has a profound impact on overall growth and development and is an essential element of quality of life.
The Global Partnership on Children with Disabilities’ Task Force on Physical Activity and Sport is engaging in a worldwide search for innovative approaches to adapt the rules, equipment, teaching methods, and environment in all areas related to physical activity and sport. This initiative, led by UNICEF, the Lakeshore Foundation, the Institute for Human Centered Design, and the American College of Sports Medicine, aims to identify new ways to foster greater diversity and inclusion of children and adolescents with disabilities in physical activity.
The launch of the Inclusion by Design Impact Awardsis intended to fuel the international reach of the Commit to Inclusion campaign that advocates for an end to the exclusion of children and adolescents with disabilities from all forms of physical activity and associated areas (physical education, sport, recreation, play). The goal of this award is to inspire and share best practices that demonstrate excellence and innovation in their approach to achieving more inclusion for children and adolescents with disabilities around the world. It encourages individuals, organizations, and key stakeholders to make a ‘commitment to inclusion’ stating how they will work to ensure the rights of people with disability are realized and ensure their work is inclusive of everyone.
Individuals and organizations wishing to submit an application for the Inclusion by Design Impact Awards can visit http://committoinclusion.org/innovation-challenge/. Applications must be received by January 31, 2016.
Let’s join together to make sport, physical activity, physical education, and play accessible for everyone!
Spread the Word! Share this announcement with your networks using one of these sample tweets:
- Join @NCHPAD to end the exclusion of ppl w/ disability from physical activity. Learn more at BAYW blog #CommitToInclusion
- @NCHPAD talks inclusion for ppl w/ disability to physical activity & sport on the BAYW blog. The Ask? #CommitToInclusion