The London 2012
Paralympic Games are a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to challenge
perceptions of disability and transform the lives of ten million
disabled people across the UK, delegates at the Office for
Disability Issues annual event will be told today.
With exactly 1,000 days to go until the 2012 Paralympics begin
and on International Day of Disabled People, the Government will
outline its commitment to delivering a Disability Legacy from the
London Games that will bring about lasting change to the life
experiences of disabled people.
Tessa Jowell, Minister for the Olympics and Paralympics, said:
“In just one thousand days some of the world’s greatest and most
inspirational athletes will be in the UK to participate in the
biggest ever Paralympic Games.
“But this is more than just an elite sporting event - it is a
chance to challenge society’s perceptions of disabled people. That
is why we have put disabled people at the heart of our legacy
ambitions. We want to break down barriers to inclusion and
participation in areas such as business and sport, helping to
accelerate change that will transform disabled people’s lives.”
Jonathan Shaw, Minister for Disabled People, said:
"It is vital that disabled people benefit from the
once-in-a-lifetime opportunity presented by the Games.
It's the opportunity to make a real and lasting change,
to showcase disabled people’s talents, not just in the sporting
field, but through employment, through positive role models and
through the 2012 disability arts programme. Such a legacy will
live past 2012 and take us towards our vision of disability
equality by 2025."
In the spring the Government will publish the Disability Legacy
promise which will focus on three areas: increased sports
participation, improved business services for disabled people and
changing attitudes particularly through inclusion.
New research published ahead of the event by the Department for
Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) and Office for Disability Issues
(ODI) shows that this approach is supported by 90 per cent of
disabled people who feel that it is important the Games yielded
long-term benefits for disabled people. Three in four disabled
people agreed the long-term benefits should be wider than sport.
Of the 665 disabled people questioned, nine out of 10 believed
that it is important that spin-off benefits for them from 2012
should be:
more access to sport and physical activity;good access to
Games-time facilities; andinitiatives to promote a positive
understanding of disability.
Work to improve sports provision for disabled people is already
underway. This includes Sport England’s Sport Unlimited Programme
which numbers among its aims opening up opportunities for disabled
children to take part in sport.
To mark 1,000 days to go to the Paralympics, Sports Minister,
Gerry Sutcliffe, will today be visiting the Vale, a school for 80
young disabled people from the London boroughs of Haringey,
Enfield, Hackney and Islington, to see a Sport Unlimited project
in action.
At the Vale’s site for primary school
children, part of the Lancasterian Primary School, he will see
coaches from the Tottenham Hotspur Foundation, including Danny
Jarvis who himself has cerebral palsy and uses a powered
wheelchair, helping young people who do not regularly play sport
outside their time at school.
Gerry Sutcliffe said:
“Sport for all has to be much more than just a slogan. Schemes
like Sport Unlimited are helping to make it a reality, encouraging
young disabled people to see how sport can be fun, healthy and
rewarding – all in all, a valuable part of their lives.”
As part of the celebrations to mark 1,000 days to go to the
beginning of the Paralympic Games, LOCOG will be launching their
Paralympic Pictograms representing each of the Paralympic sports.
UK Sport, the English Institute of Sport, and the British
Paralympic Association will also be launching a nationwide
recruitment drive to find ‘last-minute talent’ – disabled people
who think they might have what it takes to be a champion at the
Games.
Notes to Editors
1. Work has been carried out across government looking at
existing and new initiatives that would meet the vision for a
legacy from the Games. The programme identifies three areas in
which the Games will act as a powerful catalyst for change:
Business –using the Games to establish new standards for
services, facilities and opportunities that businesses and public
bodies offer to disabled people.Sport –boosting the participation
of disabled people in sport and activity.Perceptions –promoting
the inclusion and positive perceptions of disabled people in
society.
2. The new legacy promise has been created for disability issues
and a full report on what the government and the Olympic family
will deliver will be produced in Spring 2010.
3. Survey work for the London 2012 Legacy Research 2009 was
carried out between 14 October and 7 November by Continental
Research, questioning 665 disabled people aged 16 years and over.
The findings are available at http://www.culture.gov.uk/images/publications/011209finaldisabilityreport.pdf.
The full report, questioning over 3.000 people will be published
on 17 December.
4. The Office for Disability Issues is working towards equality
for disabled people by 2025. Find out more about the ODI’s annual
event at www.odi.gov.uk
Contacts:
DCMS Press Enquiries and Out of hours telephone pager
Phone:
020 7211 6263
Mobile: 07699 751153
NDS.DCMS@coi.gsi.gov.uk
Julia Smith.
Phone: 020 72116215
julia.smith@culture.gsi.gov.uk