Active Disability Ireland, the national advocate organisation for sport and physical activity inclusion will, in association with Sport Ireland, host its first in-person event following the pandemic in Portlaoise today.
It is also the first since the rebranding from CARA.
The event, supporting International Day of People with Disabilities, which is on Sunday, will also provide a launchpad for Active Disability Ireland’s first-ever youth forum, giving a voice to young people with disabilities to ask organisations to do all they can to ensure they have the choice and opportunities that they deserve.
Sport for Business will look back on the stories we have covered about inclusion over the past year in a special on Friday to mark the Day.
National guests and key individuals in the sport, health, community, and disability sectors will take part in discussions about the importance of creating opportunities for people with disabilities to get involved in sport and physical activity, and also to understand the impact that small changes can have on making these opportunities a reality.
The seminar will celebrate the five-year anniversary of Active Disability Ireland’s Sports Inclusion Disability Charter, now with 2,000 signatories among Ireland’s sporting and leisure organisations.
“We have seen a huge growth and interest over the last five years since the launch of the Charter and have seen how organisations have begun to take a more cultural approach to the whole area of inclusion of people with disabilities, resulting in more awareness of what needs to be done, but also more opportunities created for people with disabilities.”
Sport for Business was among the first to sign up to the Charter which is reprinted below for a reference to all our members who want to do the right thing.
The biggest impact on the way we work is that we will not host an event in a facility that is not fully accessible.
The seminar’s keynote speaker is Fergus Farrell, of the Toughest Trek, joining fresh from the challenge of running five marathons in four days to support the National Rehabilitation Hospital Spinal Programme – a unit he knows all too well.
Five years ago, Fergus suffered a severe spinal cord injury when lifting a bench at work – a simple, split-second action which left him completely paralysed from his waist down.
He spent seven months in hospital, four of those in the NRH. He was told he’d never walk again. Since then, however, fuelled by courage and determination he has achieved remarkable
things.
– Walking across the country from Athenry to the NRH (206kms over five days), arriving into the NRH just one year after his accident and raising €70,000 for the NRH Foundation
– Rowing 1000kms across the North Atlantic Ocean, this time raising €15,000 for the NRH
– Running five marathons in four days from Athenry to NRH, raising €10,000 so far
Fellow guest Speaker Johnny Quaid, now an Active Disability Ireland ambassador, will also give a personal account of his experiences of growing up with a disability.
Offering people with disabilities the widest range of opportunities is a matter of concern for all – with the 2022 Census showing that over 1.1 million people (22% of the population) having experienced at least one long-lasting condition or difficulty.
