Pädagogische Hochschule Salzburg

Erasmus+ Blended Intensive Programme (BIP): Inclusion and Sport

Volunteer at the Special Olympics World Games in Berlin as part of a blended intensive programme.

Objectives

Qualification goals - Students gain an insight into the topic of inclusion, sport and health using the example of the Special Olympics World Games 2023. - Students expand theoretical and practical knowledge and action competencies in the field of inclusive sports offerings and health-promoting approaches. - Students reflect on their learning processes, expand their personal and professional self-reflection competence and complement their previous studies in a professional perspective.

Background

The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UN CRPD), Article 30 formulates, among other things, the goal of enabling people with impairments to participate in sports activities on an equal basis. People with impairments should be encouraged to participate as fully as possible in sports activities at all levels. This includes providing an appropriate range of guidance, training and resources. According to the UN CRPD, States Parties must ensure that children with impairments are able to participate on an equal basis with other children in play, recreation, leisure and sport activities in and out of school. With this in mind, students will participate in the Special Olympics World Games in Berlin as part of a blended intensive programme of the course "Inclusion and Sport". The course includes theoretical content on the topic of sport and health (digital seminar parts) and practical tasks in the volunteer programme of the World Games (presence parts on site). A main focus of the professional discussion is dedicated to the Healthy Athletes® programme. Healthy Athletes® is a programme of Special Olympics, which offers free health check-ups in an inclusive environment and enables people with disabilities to engage with health.

(Implemented) Activities

Participants of the Erasmus+ Intensive Programme and the course 'Inclusion and Sport' have participated as volunteers at the Special Olympics World Games as part of the Healthy Athletes® Programme, in addition to online and onsite events at the Catholic University of Applied Sciences Berlin.

Results

Volunteering is not only an essential part of the Special Olympics, but a mainstay of our society. Especially our students of the specialisation 'Inclusive Education' benefited greatly from the participation and got an insight into one of the largest inclusive events worldwide. They were not only able to contribute their experiences in the field of inclusion, but were also able to acquire and expand intercultural competences. The PH Salzburg is the tertiary centre for diversity-conscious and inclusive pedagogical education in Salzburg, in close cooperation with university and non-university partners with regional, Austria-wide and international networking. This international networking could be expanded with the participation in this blended intensive programme and future cooperation could be initiated.

Lessons learned

The Special Olympics World Games offer the opportunity to bring the world together like no other event can. Here, people with and without disabilities, people of different nations, cultures and religions meet and can overcome existing prejudices with the power of sport. This event is a pioneer for diversity, for freedom and is home for people from all over the world.

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