Using sport as a force for social good

Mr Majid Abdulla Rashed Al Usaimi, President of the Asian Paralympic Committee,

Dato' Zainal Abu Zarin, President of the ASEAN Para Sports Federation,

Dr Teo-Koh Sock Miang, Chairman of the Board of Governors of the ASEAN Para Sports Federation,

Distinguished Speakers and Guests,

1. Good morning to all of you. It is my pleasure to welcome you to the inaugural ASEAN Para Games Symposium. To our friends from abroad, a very warm welcome to Singapore.

Personal empowerment through sport

2. When the 8th ASEAN Para Games officially begin tomorrow, we will be seeing the amazing talents and abilities of the para athletes from around the region. The ASEAN Para Games will be more than just a sporting event. It is a celebration of the extraordinary life stories of our para athletes – all of whom have bounced back from setbacks and obstacles. To overcome their disabilities, they rallied their mental and physical strengths, and forged steely determination to pursue their sports.

3. Take Singapore's Chef de Mission, Mr Raja Singh, for example. He met with an accident as a young man and lost the use of his legs. Undeterred, he picked up wheelchair racing and won 4 medals at the 1986 Fespic Games for the Disabled, before representing Singapore at the 1988 and 1992 Paralympics.

4. To me, our para athletes are already champions, regardless of whether they win their competitions over the next week. I salute their courage, and I celebrate their spirit. Their passion for sports has brought out the best in them. I think everyone in this room will agree that when we look at many of our para athletes, we do not see a person with disability. Instead, we see a confident individual who has mastered his or her own destiny.
   

Fostering a more inclusive and caring society

5. We also see the ASEAN Para Games as a great opportunity to foster a more inclusive and caring society, which is echoed by today's theme, "Sport without Boundaries: Social Inclusion through Sport."

6. We believe that sport should be inclusive. Everyone, regardless of age, gender, or ability, should have the chance to realise their potential through sport.

7. We have seen many great examples of how sport can bring people of all abilities together, and grow even stronger as a team. Take the Deaf Dragons for instance. They are a Dragon Boat team that has the combined strengths of both abled members and individuals who have hearing and intellectual disabilities. They train and compete together, and have even won prestigious international competitions like the 8th Club Crew World Championships.

8. You may have also heard of the Runninghour club, where volunteer guides run alongside persons with visual and intellectual disabilities to keep fit together. Along the way, the shared experience has helped to grow understanding and friendships between members.
   

Preview of the recommendations from the Committee for Disability Sports

9. The Singapore Government is also building a more inclusive society through sport. Earlier this year, my Ministry formed the Committee for Disability Sports, chaired by MOS Sam Tan, to look into how we can open up opportunities for persons with disabilities to participate in sports.

10. Comprising representatives from the public, people and private sectors, the Committee consulted a wide range of stakeholders, including voluntary welfare organisations, the National Disability Sports Associations, and Special Education schools.

11. The Committee is finalising its report, and will announce its recommendations early next year. Today, I have taken the liberty to share with you a preview of the key recommendations.

    Expanding access & opportunities for participation

12. Our main priority is to expand access for persons with disabilities to participate in sport. We need to address the challenges that persons with disabilities face in taking up sport, and to facilitate and sustain meaningful participation in sport.

13. To achieve this, we will set up Centres of Expertise in disability sports at five of our ActiveSG sports centres spread over the country – beginning with pilots at Jurong West and Toa Payoh next year. These Centres of Expertise will provide enhanced barrier-free access, and offer sports programmes tailored for persons with disabilities. We also plan to build inclusive gyms within these centres, with fitness equipment suitable for users of all abilities.

14. Overall, these Centres will provide persons with disabilities with the supporting infrastructure to develop motor skills and improve their fitness, and do this within an environment where persons with or without disabilities can exercise and participate in sports together. The Centres will allow individuals to pursue a sport at different levels, by starting with learn-to-play modules, before progressing to play-the-game, and finally building up their competencies in learn-to-compete programmes. Each centre will pilot programmes in one disability sport, such as Table Tennis, Swimming and Boccia.

    Developing organisational & professional capabilities

15. Besides sports participation, we also want to strengthen the disability sports ecosystem and build professional capabilities within the sector.

16. One way is for us to work more closely with VWOs, hospitals and rehabilitation centres, to introduce sport as part of the rehabilitation and recovery process for patients. Not only can sport help to keep patients active, many of our para athletes have actually told us that being exposed to a community of peers, coaches and volunteers provided an important support network that helped them to cope, adjust and move on.

17. We also plan to have workshops to equip teachers to run adapted and inclusive Physical Education (PE) lessons, so that more students with disabilities, whether in mainstream or Special Education schools, can participate in sports. By doing so, we hope to encourage students to embrace an active lifestyle from young and continue even after they leave school.

    Building awareness & affinity

18.  Lastly, we want to build awareness & affinity for disability sport and our para athletes, so as to engender greater support for the sector. While some of our para athletes have become somewhat celebrities as a result of APG, we hope that Singaporeans can be inspired by the personal testimonies and achievements of many more athletes, even after the Games. Having met many of them personally, I know their stories have the power to inspire everyone to reach for their best.

Building a legacy beyond the 8th ASEAN Para Games

19. Ultimately, we hope to build upon the 8th ASEAN Para Games to enable more persons with disabilities to live better through sport. We want to use disability sport to improve society's awareness and understanding of persons with special needs, and through this, foster a more inclusive and caring society in Singapore. This is the legacy that we want to build for the 8th ASEAN Para Games.

Inaugural ASEAN Para Games Symposium

20. As we roll out these initiatives in the coming years, we will need to tap on the collective experience and expertise of the community of disability sport experts. I am therefore appreciative of the ASEAN Para Games Symposium in providing a platform to share our experiences, challenges and successes in promoting social inclusion through sport.

21. Let me take this opportunity to thank the organisers – the ASEAN Para Sports Federation and the SportCares foundation – who have worked hard to make this symposium a reality.

22. I hope that the symposium will be an integral part the ASEAN Para Games in future, so that we can continue to share our knowledge and inspire one another, in using sport as a force for social good.

23. Thank you.