Change Your Mindset-Sport4Everyone

Project targeted and empowered approx.1000 young people with disabilities (aged 15-29), their family members, family physicians and physical education (PE) teachers. It was implemented in Croatia, Austria, Italy, Slovenia, Serbia, Montenegro and Macedonia. The project was focused on highlighting and promoting the importance of physical activities in terms of recreational sports for young people with disabilities. We stimulated young people with disabilities to actively participate in recreational sports as a means of social inclusion. Experts developed training modules which served as a tool to improve knowledge of target groups and a base for creating the Guidelines to promote social inclusion. Through capacity building activities (CBA) target groups were presented with all benefits of physical activities, resulting in the success of all project partners in soft skill upgrade of the participants. CBA included volunteers, mostly students of kinesiology who will be able to use the knowledge gained in their future professional engagement. Many young people with disabilities started practicing physical exercise, and their interest to get involved in sports is getting stronger. The project facilitated communication with the decision-makers who proposed measures for overcoming the negative conditions for better inclusion. The mobile app. mapping various sports clubs for people with disabilities, the network of stakeholders, the transfer of best practices contributed to a wider impact of the project. All outcomes were presented through media campaign and at the Final conference. The main conclusion from the Guidelines is “without the support of society and a raised awareness within society, adequate education, ensured material conditions, continuous research and the evaluation of program effects, as well as the engagement of professionals and the family, the improvement of the quality of life of persons with disabilities by means of recreational sports is not possible.