Asian Paralympic Committee announce speakers for Athletes’ Forum

The Asian Paralympic Committee have announced the first confirmed speakers for the inaugural Athletes’ Forum for Asian Para-athletes which takes place at the start of December.

Korean Paralympian Jung Jin-Owan will deliver the keynote speech entitled “The role of the para-athlete as a driver for social change”. This will kick off a 2-day programme of events which will be delivered to athlete representatives from the 44 Asian NPCs, IFs and IOSDs.

Jung Jin-Owan was selected by the APC’s Athletes’ Committee based on his vast experience of the Paralympic Movement spanning several decades. He competed at the Sydney 2000 and Athens 2004 Paralympic Games in shooting, winning one Gold and one Bronze medal.

He is currently the Head of the Korea Paralympic Committee’s Icheon Training Centre with whom the APC signed an MOU in 2019.

He commented: “Personally, it is a great honour for to take part in this great project. As someone who has been at the forefront of the Paralympic Movement in Korea and stood up for what he believes in, it is wonderful to share my thoughts with fellow para athletes, just around the corner of a turning point for Asia to pioneer a new trend in the Paralympic Movement. I hope we all can learn and communicate actively through this ground breaking initiative and envision a better future, where people of all abilities flourish together.”

IPC Partner Adecco will deliver a presentation in a section on Athlete Career Management. Mayi Cruz Blanco, Adecco’s Global Head of Athletes Programmes will present on the IPC Athlete Career Programme which is designed to support athletes transitioning from their sporting career into the labour market. She will focus on the adaptations that have been made to the programme in the light of the Covid-19 pandemic and explain how athletes from all over Asia can access these programmes.

She commented: “We think that the APC Athletes’ Forum is a fantastic initiative which will help keep the athlete community across Asia together, despite the physical distances imposed by the pandemic. It’s an honour for Adecco to be invited to be part of this.”

APC Athletes’ Committee Chair, Jeong-Min Lee welcomed the announcement of the speakers saying: “It’s exciting that we have such a selection of high-quality speakers already announced for our first Athletes’ Forum. The remaining speakers, who will lead on topics such as classification, anti-doping and women in sport, will be announced shortly. Together they will ensure that our para-athletes in Asia are better equipped for success in their sporting careers and beyond.”