The Consortium – PARA dig

“Dual-Track Careers for Para-Athletes” consortium has a detailed defined roles and responsibilities structure, which consists of a group of highly qualified organisations and staff that have long-term experience and knowledge to meet the challenges of the project. The partnership is composed of 9 organisations from 8 different EU countries with extensive experience in doping among young swimmers. All partners have extensive experience in EU projects, complex skills/competences/resources and share same values and goals that will guarantee project success. The partners have a successful track record of developing high quality trainings of professionals, capacity building and awareness raising campaigns across and outside Europe and the implementation of transnational projects working at grassroots level and targeting physically and mentally disabled athletes.

AETOI THESSALONIKIS

The main objectives of AETOI Thessalonikis (AETOI) is supporting people with disabilities. Our organization works directly with about 70 children and adults with disabilities, together for the common goals of social participation and inclusion. AETOI is one of the two non public organizations in Greece that have the accreditation by the Greek Ministry of Culture and Sports to develop and implement “Sports for all” programs and one the few (organisations) certified as “body of Sports, Tourism and Alternative Activities of Sports Recreation and Training”. The permanent staff of our organization are the physical trainers, and we have external collaborators such as doctors, psychologists, social workers, IT specialists etc. Besides the managing board, several people are offering their voluntary work. Our goal for our staff is to get acquainted with further informal and non-formal educational techniques and to improve their techniques for promoting volunteering, supporting athletes and social inclusion. Therefore, our activities are divided in three sectors:

Sports: AETOI is operating “sport for all” teams (3 in athletics, 2 in basketball, 1 in swimming, 1 in boccia, and 1 in table tennis) with 50-60 athletes participating in those teams, while our more than 10 elite athletes (world level) are training individually with their coaches. Annually, all our athletes participate in the national championships and the best also participate at international level as members of the Greek National Team. In 2017, 2018 and 2019, AETOI was the club with the most athletes in the national championships among about 80 athletic clubs for disabled. In addition, as part of our dissemination strategy, our club annually organizes a basketball tournament for special education schools .
Educational/European programs: AETOI occasionally participates and develops educational programs for people with disabilities as a part of their overall education. Moreover, the staff, the board, and the athletes participate in several European programs such as Erasmus+. The common place of all EU programs that AETOI participate in is disability and vulnerable groups in generally.
Training programs and actions: AETOI organizes/participates in seminars and conferences for professionals connected to sports disability and disability in general. In addition, we accept and guide/mentor students from universities that are willing to have an internship/practice in our structures. Occasionally, AETOI organizes/participates in actions that promote the goals of the organization.

CHAMPIONS FACTORY IRELAND

Champions Factory Ireland Limited is a non-governmental organisation based in Dublin whose main activity is to develop innovations in the field of sport, education, training and youth. The organisation is a member of Champions Factory International Network, with official branches in London (UK), Sofia (Bulgaria) and Bursa (Turkey).

The mission of Champions Factory Ireland Limited (ChF IE) is to encourage and support interdisciplinary and inter-collaborative sports research, serve as a research hub for sport researchers from across Europe, and to disseminate sport research results to academics, sport practitioners and the general public. The world of sport is rapidly evolving. As a result, issues arise with increasing regularity. ChF IE’s organisational goal is to therefore create awareness of these issues and to foster creative solutions. Specifically, ChF IE is committed to serving as a national and international sports research centre, building research capacity – both internally and externally.

ChF IE has a youth division team, which uses innovative educational methodologies such as “Education through Sport”, “Path of Solutions” methodology, as well as “Theatre of the Oppressed” and “Experiential Learning” methodologies. They develop and empower young people to be active citizens and to reach their potential full capacity. ChF IE has involved more than 100 young persons with disadvantaged backgrounds (bullied migrants and orphans) living in Ireland in local, national and international educational and sport activities.

ChF IE provides teaching and training courses for staff working in adult education organisations in sports management; and using sport as a tool for enhancing social inclusion, sport to develop personal skills and the methodology “Education through sports”.

As a member of the. Champions Factory international network, ChF IE supports the scientific development and testing of the methodology Education through Sport, which builds leadership skills in youth, and promotes the values of sport (fairness, team building, equality, discipline, inclusion, perseverance and respect).

NATIONAL SPORTS ACADEMY “VASSIL LEVSKI”

The National Sports Academy of Sofia (NSA) is a university institution with 75 years of history dedicated to sport, higher education and research. The NSA offers its programs through three faculties and a department for language and IT training.

The mission of NSA is:

To prepare highly qualified specialists with higher education, capable of developing and applying scientific knowledge in the different areas of physical education, sport, tourism and kinesitherapy;
To realize fundamental and applied scientific research, to create and apply scientific products;
To consolidate and develop national traditions in education, science, sport, tourism and kinesitherapy;
To select, prepare and qualify its teaching and academy staff;
To co-operate at national and international levels in the areas of education, science, sport, tourism and kinesitherapy;
To raise the qualifications of the specialists coming from higher and secondary education.

The three faculties cover several areas of social sciences: the Faculty of PE (covering pedagogy, adult education, community communication, citizenship and knowledge of social issues, etc.), the Faculty of Sport (coaching, instructors, communication in sports teams, non-tangible properties in sport, sport management etc.), and Faculty of Kinesitherapy (rehabilitation of sports injuries, postoperative rehabilitation, sport and PE for people with disabilities etc.)

Courses in NSA are taught by 532 researchers and teachers and the total number of students is 3200. Research and scientific culture are included in all study programs from Bachelor degrees to Doctoral studies.

NSA is a member of many European networks and associations (FIEP, ICCSPE, ENOS, ENPHE etc.) and the university participates actively in educational and research projects. An important aspect of the mission of the National Sports Academy is supporting the positive influence of sport on social development. In relation to this among the priority topics of research and social initiatives are efforts to fight against sport hooliganism and intolerance in stadiums. (For instance, the NSA organizes an annual international conference on the topics of Sport and Security, Security in Stadiums and to provide better information about the rights of people with disabilities.) Students of the academy are permanently involved in volunteering for security maintenance instadiums, sports halls and sports grounds. The NSA implements such research activities under contracts with the MES, Ministry of Inferior, Bulgarian Football Union, among others.

MINE VAGANTI NGO

Mine Vaganti NGO was estalished in Sardinia (Italy) in 2009. Mine Vaganti (MVNGO) has four offices in Sassari, Olbia, TempioPausania and Uri, covering the northern half of Sardinia. MVNGO is composed of 10 full-time local staff members plus five international interns employed on a temporary basis under different mobility programmes.

The mission of MVNGO is to promote intercultural dialogue, social entreprenurship, social inclusion through Sport, the social integration of migrants, and environmental protection. MVNGO operates in both the formal and non-formal education and provides educational services: MVNGO is an educational training provider at the local and European levels; it is also provides consultantcy to public and private bodies in order to promote and develop European and trans-continental projects.

Programmes: MVNGO works on Erasmus+, Horizon 2020, Europe for Citizens, Creative Europe, EuropeAid, COSME, AMIF, the United Nations programmes (UNDEF) and with foundations such as EYF, Anna Lindh Foundation, and Open Society and Fondazione CON IL SUD.

MVNGO is part of three international networks: Youth and Environment Europe, the International Sport and Culture Association (ISCA) and MV International ( a network of 37 European NGOs , 8 non-EU associate organizations fostering the exchange of knowledge among professionals in the field of European design. ISCA is a global networks of NGOs organizations and Sport clubs working in the field of Sport for All. MVNGO has always been working in Sport for All, combining sport with non- formal education (NFE), using “Education through Sport” methodology.

BULGARIAN SPORTS DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATION

Bulgarian Sports Development Association (BSDA) was founded in 2010 and is a nonprofit public benefit organization devoted to the development of Bulgarian sport and improving sporting culture in Bulgaria. The top proiorities of BDSA are to :

to revive the sport culture of Bulgaria
to promote volunteering in sport
to promote education through and within sports
to promote good governance in sport
the fostering of social integration through sports
the skilling of young people and orienting them to entrepreneurship

BSDA pursues 10 main goals; these are:

The sustainable development of physical education and sport in Bulgaria;
To develop different strategies and programs for sport tourism.
To contribute to the development, application, implementation and coordination of projects and programs leading to development of sports, sports facilities and physical education, at all levels from international to municipality, via the pan-Europe and national levels.
To improve overall health, physical condition and sports culture of the nation, particularly for troubled youth;
Optimization and mobilizing human and material potential in sport and personal development;
Creating an enabling environment for sustainable and efficient management and entrepreneurship in sport and sport tourism;
To develop education within the physical culture and sport and through sport itself, and to embed continuing informal education in the field of sport; to promote professional development, business skills and entrepreneurship;
To protect the rights of children, youth, professional athletes, coaches, sports figures and sports organizations;
Develop and stimulate entrepreneurship and personal development in the young people;
Develop premptive sports programming to avoid problems such as social exclusion, violence, crime and addiction.

BSDA is a full member of the International Sport and Culture Association (ISCA) and of the National Patient Organization Confederation “Health Protection” – Bulgaria. Represented at:

BSDA sits on the Public Council on youth issues reporting to the Minister of Youth and Sport in Bulgaria (December 2017 – present).

Recognition and awards:

Our “European Everyday of Sport” project was selected by the Directorate-General Education, Youth, Sport and Culture of the European Commission in July 2018 as a success story demonstrating good practices.
Our “Vitamin S(port)” project was awarded with the “Quality Sign” by the National Agency Erasmus+ of Bulgaria in December 2018;
BSDA received an award from ProSport Foundation for “Overall Contribution to Broadening Access to Sport” in Bulgaria in the category “Civil organization” – December 2018.

BDSA has successfully participated in roughly 30 Erasmus+ Sport projects.

EUROPEAN PARALYMPIC COMMITTEE

The European Paralympic Committee (EPC) is a non-profit-making organization which being registered in Vienna, operates under Austrian law. The EPC was founded as the IPC European Committee in November 1991 and adopted its current name in 1999. In 2008 the permanent Office and Headquarters was established in Vienna, Austria.EPC is supported by both the European Union and the Austrian Government. The EPC is composed of 47 National Paralympic Committees and the European branches of four disability-specific International Organisations of Sports for the Disabled. A General Assembly, held every two years, is the supreme governing body of EPC. As part of the global Paralympic movement, EPC’s mission is to:

promote and contribute to the development of sport opportunities and competitions for European athletes with disability and to
ensure the growth and strength of the Paralympic Movement through the development of the European National Paralympic Committees,
and to support the activities of all EPC members.

EPCs vision is:

to be the pioneer region in the Paralympic movement with regard to the development and promotion of sports for European athletes with a disability;
and EPC should be known as the pioneer region where the European Athletes with a disability and the Sports are the main focus and drive in everything that is done in EPC.

EPC’s purpose is to:

to promote and defend the collective interest of European athletes with disabilities
to provide sports programs and initiatives for sports for persons with disabilities.

VÄSTERBOTTENS PARA SPORTS FEDERATION

VPSF lies under the umbrella organisation Swedish Sports Confederation and covers over 70 national sports federations and 21 district/regional sports federations. The Swedish Sports Federation proactively works towards encouraging a lifelong participation in sport and one of the most important tasks is to represent the whole Swedish sports movement in contacts with the authorities, politicians etc. High priority is given to employing the full force of a united popular movement vis-à-vis politicians. It has an established network with sports clubs in the Västerbotten Region and works collaborates closely with Umeå University – a relationship which is leveraged for disseminating the project’s intellectual outputs and results. VPSF has experience in organising seminars, lectures, and round table discussions. VPSF is experienced in website building, leaflet design and social media. One thing we specially take consideration of is the parent`s desire that their children may not be photographed without consent.

The Swedish Sports Federation in the region of Västerbotten has close working relationships with the Umeå School of Sport Sciences (USSS) at the University of Umeå, where research has its emphasis in sports medicine, sports education, and sports psychology. USSS currently offers the broadest education to most students in the field of sport in Sweden and USSS has sport-related research within all faculties at the university. Since 1980, Umeå has since 1980 been working with various forms of partnerships for dual careers to enable high performance athletes’ studies and their sport career. Today there is a university-wide policy for this purpose and a top-level competition. Umeå has about 800 sport students, of which about 100 are high-performance athletes.

Swedish Sports Federation in the region of Västerbotten employs 22 full-time staff and has established a network of sports consultants responsible for supporting the region’s 800+ sports clubs and 110,000 members. Our monthly newsletter has a reach of 110,000 individuals and the distribution of the national newsletter reaches to 3,2 million individuals. Our Marketing & Communication team and network with local media (TV, newspaper, magazines, event companies) is also available to promote and disseminate the project’s events, intellectual outputs, and results.

Specific target groups are identifiable from our dedicated team who have regular contact with all the local sport clubs. VPSF has expertise in assuring the participation in sports for people with mobility, visual and intellectual impairments at local and regional level and collaborates closely with the Swedish National Parasport Federation.

CROATIAN PARALYMPIC COMMITTEE

The Republic of Croatia made its Paralympic Games debut at the 1992 Summer Paralympics, in Barcelona, and has continued to send para-athletes to all events since then. In recent years the Croatian NPC has made major efforts to improve access of children with an impairment to sports. This effort started with a modest program called ‘Wholehearted Coaches’ in 2013. The goal of this project was to provide equal opportunities for children with an impairment throughout Croatia, and provide equal opportunities for their inclusion in sports. As part of the project, 20 sports schools (offering athletics, swimming and table tennis) were established. As of February 2019, more than 450 children with impairments have participated in the programme, of which 17 are now involved in competitive sports. More recently the IPC in conjunction with Internal Partner Allianz began a new initiative called Orientation Innovation Camps. These camps cater for around 50 children and have them meet and be taught by para-athletes. According to Ratko Kovacic, President of the Croatian Paralympic Committee, there are currently less than six percent of sports clubs in Croatia that run sports programmes for children with an impairment.

President of the NPC Croatia Ratko Kovačić, developed the organization from a small group of enthusiastic athletes to an organization that stands for (and develops) the Paralympicmovement. As a table tennis athlete,who already participated at the ParalympicGames in Sydney and Athens, Ratko has had a long sports carrier; as a Paralympic athlete and an European championshipmedalist, as a coach and as a president of one of the Croatian leading table tennis clubs.

Aside from the Paralympic event-related duties, the day-to day work of the Croatian NPC is to deliver news about Croatian para-athletes and their accomplishments, to keep a record of medals and other awards, and to archive the biographies of Croatian para-athletes with the IPC. Additionally, the Croatian NPC regulates issues relating to the registration of athletes with disabilities, monitors the status of athletes and other sport workers, the disciplinary responsibility of athletes and sports professionals, as well as care for the constant improvement of the sector, including the level of professionalism of sports trainers and other staff, the quality of care for athletes with registered disabilities, and performs other tasks set by the Sports Act.

SERBIAN PARALYMPIC COMMITTEE

The Serbian Paralympic Committee (NPC Serbia) is a non-profit organisation that selects teams, and raises funds to send Serbian competitors to Paralympic events organised by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC). It was founded in 2006. Its mission, according to President Zoran Mićović is to provide better conditions for top sportsmen with disabilities and athletes with disabilities in general, debating the Paralympic movement and familiarizing the public with the great successes of our athletes. Our recent achievements have been improved internal organization, the enhanced status of Paralympians in the Serbian sport system, have won more than 160 medals won in the last Paralympic cycle at official international competitions, of which more than 40 were gained at the Paralympic Games, World and European championships. “The greater public recognition of our movement and our athletes urges me to keep driving toward our goals.” According to the Serbian National Sport Strategy and its Action Plan, NPC Serbia is a major stakeholder in the development of Sports of Persons with Disability, as well as for Paralympic Sports.

The stated goals of NPC Serbia are:

To perform sport activities that meet the IPC standards;
To take part in activities which help the promotion and expansion of peace;
To promote women’s status in sport;
To stimulate development of sports ethics;
To fight against doping; and
To be and stay autonomous.