Adapting Sport Programmes to Local Conditions and Requirements

ICSSPE
11/12/2011 08:10

 

ICSSPE´s international seminar Communities and Crisis - Inclusive Development Through Sport was held from 21 to 26 November, 2012, in Rheinsberg, Germany.

Supported by Kennesaw State University, USA; Otto Bock HealthCare GmbH, Fürst Donnersmarck-Foundation and Freie Universität Berlin, all from Germany; UNESCO; and The Halle Foundation, USA, the event provided theoretical knowledge and first-hand practical training on developing and using inclusive sport and movement programmes in crisis and social problem areas.

More than 60 participants from over 20 countries were informed of the necessity of adapting respective programmes to local conditions, as well as to individual requirements and abilities of the participants. In this context, Dean Ravizza, from Salisbury University, USA, and Ken Black, from Loughborough University, UK, both explained that before starting a project, it is essential to ask for and understand local people´s needs to be able to adapt programmes according to these needs.

There was a consensus that sport may contribute to issues including reconstruction, building trust and co-operation, gender empowerment, social interaction, and inclusion. Often, said Black, more than one goal may be pursued with sport and movement programmes. For example, children’s participation in sport may, firstly, get them out of their current setting for a certain time and, secondly, give adults some time to focus on reconstruction issues.

Participants and speakers said that at the seminar they especially enjoyed the mixture of practical and theoretical learning sessions. “It is good to offer different methods of learning about such an important topic, as nobody learns in the same way,” stated Rachcaniwan Bulakul from Special Olympics Thailand. In addition, Black appreciated the interesting contrast of people with different backgrounds interacting and learning with each other.

To download presentations that were held during the event, please click here. Please also keep watching the ICSSPE website for further reports and pictures of the seminar.