Sport and Persons with Disabilities in one of the five Thematic Working Groups of the Sport for Development and Peace International Working Group (SDP IWG). The Thematic Working Group focuses on three strategic priority areas outlined in the draft Action Plan:

• Independence and Sport Participation
• Using Sport to Empower Persons with Disabilities
• Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities within Sport

The Thematic Group on Sport and Persons with Disabilities has not officially been activated. The SDP IWG Secretariat encourages Member States to come forward with proposal to chair the thematic.

These three strategic priority areas and the associated recommendations may be challenging for some governments to pursue due to a scarcity of resources and also due to the jurisdictional division of responsibility with provincial/state, local governments for education and other matters. It is assumed that governments will seek partnerships wherever possible to leverage the resources necessary to advance the objectives cited below. It is also assumed that, where governments do not have direct jurisdiction, they may use their convening power, shared-cost partnerships and other forms of influence to promote positive action by other levels of government.

Objectives

Working together with Members (Member State representatives) and Observers (experts, NGOs etc), the Sport and Persons with Disability Thematic Working Group aims to meet the following objectives:

1. Utilize available resources to identify issues and best practice approaches within the Sport and Persons with Disability Working Group thematic;
2. Provide a forum for governments to benefit from each other’s experience and share best practices with regard to sport and persons with disability;
3. Support the implementation of the recommendations with regard to sport and persons with disability which include the following strategic areas of priority: Independence and Sport Participation; Using Sport to Empower Persons with Disability; Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities within Sport.
4. Sustain momentum with regards to government awareness and take-up in sport and persons with disabilities policy and programmes.