CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE FOR PARA ATHLETES
3. Fundamental rights of disabled While historically limitations and exclusions were imposed on the participation of men and women with a disability in sport, namely due to the myth that sport, being representative of physical prowess, could not include those who had a physical impairment but in December 2006 a human right treaty that provided a legal framework to ensure people with a disability can access their fundamental human rights, one of which is the right to take part in cultural life, including participation in play, recreational, leisure and sporting activities, on an equal basis with others and it was one of the fastest treaties ever negotiated at the United Nations.
4. Origin of paralympic games The history of sports for persons with disabilities traces back to the 18th and 19th centuries when sports just began to be viewed as a tool for the rehabilitation of people with a disability. Dr. Ludwig Guttmann was the instrumental figure in establishing the International Paralympic Movement as he founded the National Spinal Injuries Unit at the Stoke Mandeville Hospital in England in 1944 to address the needs of the people injured during World War II. He believed that sports could play a massive role in the development of people with a spinal cord injury as a result of which the Stoke Mandeville Games were introduced. The Stoke Mandeville Games later became the Paralympic Games which first took place in Rome, Italy, in 1960 featuring 400 athletes from 23 countries
5. Born of paralympic committee Finally, on 22 September 1989, the International Paralympic Committee was founded as an international non-profit organisation in Dusseldorf, Germany, to act as the global governing body of the Paralympic Movement. Ever since then the Paralympic Games have grown and developed on a global scale with several federations and organizations being set up with an aim to work towards the welfare and development of the para-athletes.
Figure 75: IPC Logo; Source: paralympics.org
63 | PROPOSALS AND INTERVENTIONS
