Sport, a lever for inclusion for people with intellectual disabilities

Published on 02/10/2025 - 10:21 GMT+2

Athletes with intelligence disabilities competed successful boccia and array tennis astatine the European Commission during European Sports Week, pressing EU officials to summation backing and policies for inclusion successful sport, education, employment and healthcare.

The event, organised astatine the European Commission by Special Olympics, aims to beforehand the inclusion of radical with intelligence disabilities successful the EU.

"We are present to amusement the European Union that funds and policies are needed for greater inclusion, not lone successful sport, but besides successful education, employment and wellness services," Bulgarian jock Viktor Petrov Hristov told Euronews.

Hristov discovered equine riding immoderate 10 years ago, acknowledgment to the Special Olympics. Founded successful 1968, this question organises sporting events and competitions successful implicit 200 countries to combat favoritism against radical with disabilities.

"I emotion riding due to the fact that I interact with the horse, I person to negociate the horse. It's thing that gives maine comfort, makes maine brave and makes maine much similar different people", explains Viktor.

It's an accidental to situation the pervasive perceptions that inactive beryllium successful athletics and society.

"In my experience, radical are afraid, they don't cognize however to speech to (people with disabilities) and they deliberation they're conscionable children. But we are quality beings. We work, we spell to school, we person friends," added Inge Maiberg, Estonia's apical jock astatine the Special Olympics.

The swimmer trains 5 times a week to enactment progressive and look aft her intelligence health. She besides works successful a kindergarten and campaigns for inclusion done the Special Olympics. She believes that sex diverseness connected the sports tract and connection connected societal networks assistance to beforehand the cause.

'Social education, awareness, outreach'

People with intelligence disabilities look stigmatisation and isolation, warns David Evangelista, President of Special Olympics Europe and Eurasia.

"Unfortunately, connected a planetary scale, they are the astir under-employed, the astir under-educated, the astir trafficked, the astir exploited and often the astir abused. The concern of radical with disabilities is scandalous," Evangelista told Euronews.

"If they person trouble accessing sports clubs, what bash you deliberation a infirmary looks like? What does a schoolhouse look like? What does a workplace look like? It's unacceptable," helium adds.

In his view, the accent indispensable beryllium connected acquisition and awareness-raising.

"Look astir you. When these radical spell backmost to their offices, they volition person a antithetic knowing of what intelligence disablement is," Evangelista said. "It has a batch to bash with societal education, awareness, outreach."

The Special Olympics representatives met with members of the European Commission and the European Parliament to question to beforehand inclusion successful the EU.

Estonian MEP Jüri Ratas hopes that funds volition beryllium allocated to the origin successful the EU's adjacent semipermanent budget. According to disposable data, much than 20 cardinal radical successful Europe person a learning disability.