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On the eve of the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games, UNESCO and the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) have brought together international decision-makers to draw up a roadmap for increasing the inclusion of persons with disabilities in sport and across all areas of society.

Last update: 29 August 2024

After hosting the Paralympic Torch Relay at UNESCO headquarters, Audrey Azoulay, the Organization's Director-General, joined Andrew Parsons, President of the International Paralympic Committee and Ministers from 28 countries, alongside Paralympic athletes and para-sport and education specialists, to assess global progress towards inclusion and come up with concrete solutions.

"The Paralympic Games are the pinnacle of para-athletic prowess – a source of inspiration to us all. We must capitalize on the momentum of the Paris 2024 Games, to drive change: UNESCO calls on its Member States to build more robust polices, train teachers, and step up investments to boost the inclusion of people with disabilities. It is up to us to change our policies, adapt our infrastructure and ensure fair and equitable portrayals if we are to move towards a more constructive, more open, more inclusive society."

Audrey Azoulay (UNESCO Director-General)

Over 15% of the world’s population lives with a disability. They face a range of barriers to practicing sport and accessing quality physical education including a lack of specialized capacity in the workforce, and a lack of adequate transportation and sporting infrastructure. Persons with disabilities are also under-represented in the media, who often lack the capacity to report representatively – whether on para sport or on disabilities more broadly – and to produce accessible content. 

Recent UNESCO research shows the work to be done for physical education in particular. The Organization’s Global Status Report on Quality Physical Education published in July this year revealed that 1 in 3 disabled students have no access to physical education, and only a third of schools surveyed offer adapted infrastructure to support inclusion. 

UNESCO provides a framework for policy makers to accelerate inclusion in sport, education, media and beyond, and is supported by range of tools and activities, including inclusion-training for teachers and coaches and global surveys to collect more data on disability and sport. UNESCO works to promote social inclusion in the domains of science, culture, education and the media. 

The UNESCO-IPC Call to Action makes several key policy recommendations, including:

1. IMPROVE ACCESS: Ensure access and opportunities for persons with disabilities to participate in Para sport and physical activity from grassroots to high performance.

2. INFRASTRUCTURE: Provide access to safe, inclusive, affordable, accessible, and sustainable sport and recreation infrastructure for all. Promote and ensure access to affordable assistive technology, and accessible information services and media content to support the participation of persons with disabilities in sport.

3. INCLUSIVE EDUCATION: Increase budgetary allocations to ensure equal access to education, including physical education, and strengthen training of teachers and coaches to support inclusion and fight discrimination.

4. MEDIA INCLUSION: Encourage policy and decision-makers as well as editors, reporters, content producers, technical staff and managers in media institutions to integrate the principles of diversity, equality and inclusion in management practices into their employment and working practices. 

5. DATA COLLECTION: Support and invest in expanding existing data collection mechanisms for sport, physical education and physical activity to include disability-specific data.

URL: https://www.unesco.org/en/articles/paris-2024-unesco-and-international-paralympic-committee-call-greater-investment-disability