[PaulaParticipant 15 January 2019 at 17:08 Post count: 8]

in reply to: 6. Planning for disabilities: What kind of infrastructure/facilities women/people with disabilities need to be encouraged/capable to do sport outdoors? #776

Different aspects (according the local reality – Guimarães, Portugal)
▪Physical deficiency > Domiciliation; Tends to escape monitoring
▪Mental disability > Institutionalization up to 100%
▪Adapted sport > Competition, leisure, therapeutic, education (only provided by institutions
▪Adapted physical activity > Physical activity and well-being (hiking, visits to leisure parks, swimming) – mainly provided by institutions

Institutions like CERCIGUI (Education and Rehabilitation of disabled Citizens of Guimarães) and APCG (cerebral paralysis association of guimarães) provide all the support to disable people (in specific domains of disability: Down’s syndrome, cerebral paralysis etc.).
In their daily routines these institutions guarantee education, health and therapy support, physical activities and sports to disable people under 18 (or more, when necessary).
Guimarães also benefits from the work of the Forum Municipal para as Pessoas com Deficiência (Municipal forum for people with disabilities). This forum engages 17 institutions from the municipality.
Unfortunately, there are no records or figures concerning the number of disabled people in the municipality of Guimarães. In order to gather some data and information it was necessary to consult and cross-check databases and platforms of different entities and organisms.
When we talk about disabled population we talk about a double reality:
Institutionalization > educational support; sport and physical activity; monitoring
Domiciliation > Home or social support, always insufficient for the high number of requests; not always known by the network; tends to escape the records

Signaling and identifying barriers

Mobility:
Difficulties in mobility between parishes
Difficulties in accessibility and mobility in the public space
Inadequate public transport services for disabled people
Institutions:
No vacancies for so much demand
Lack of social responses to support disability (especially for those over 18)
Lack of answers for children with disabilities during the school holidays
No openness from kindergartens to integrate disabled children
Institutions poorly prepared to serve an aging disabled population
National education system is not adapted to integration of disabled children and young people
Sports activities:
Difficulties in accessibility and mobility in some sports facilities, specially leisure parks
Schools are not prepared to integrate disabled children and young people into sports or regular physical activity
Increased difficulty for the disabled person to be active or to practice sport
Parents (disabled children and young people) tend to neglect sporting and physical activity, valuing activities that contribute to the autonomy of their children
Social dimension:
Disabled people are very vulnerable to poverty and social exclusion, they face difficulties in access to education, employment, public goods and services, public space and consequently are more distant or apart from sports and regular physical activity.

How to approach for planning?
Oriented planning (More localized planning and by parishes – adapting interventions to a more restricted community space and close to the populations)
Increase school integration of disabled children and young people (Review with the national education system an effective integration of children and young people with disabilities)
Awareness of families for the benefits of physical and sporting activities
*
Extending sporting offer and physical activities
Promote community awareness to change attitudes towards disability
Considering the fine line separating aid from segregation

Recommendations
Leisure parks more accessible with inclusive equipment – access ramps, floor more suitable for citizens in wheelchairs, blind or other disabilities and conditions; signage and inclusive information;
Accessible areas for wheelchairs in all leisure and sports facilities;
Strengthen the perception of disability as a priority for human rights – implementation of new technological solutions, improve inclusion policies;
Attention to the aging population, whose difficulties in mobility and loss of autonomy lead to the growth of the disabled population.
Building a space or sports equipment must be thought as an infrastructure to be used by all citizens, regardless the rules established by law

Reviewed questions to debate:
1 – What is the reality in other partner cities?
2 – What kind of issues should a diagnostic tool include to identify barriers in the urban space what items should be included?
3 – The design and construction of leisure and outdoor sports spaces should contemplate what kind of situations to be effectively accessible to all?
4 – Is it enough to eliminate physical barriers or are there other areas, namely, socially and culturally, that we need to consider?
5 – What kind of approaches adjusted to different disability conditions?
6 – Must we design customized environments or simply promote accessibility?
7 – Is it necessary to promote gendered activities and facilities for disabled people?
8 – Will the development and adaptation of outdoor sports facilities be the best response to meet the needs of people with disabilities to promote sports activity?
9 – Should outdoor sports facilities be supported by specialized technicians or not?

[Paula R. Nogueira, Tempo Livre/Guimarães – presentation summary introduced in the online meeting 14.01.2019]

[PaulaParticipant 14 December 2018 at 18:20 Post count: 8]

in reply to: 2. Enhancing gender equity in outdoor sports – is it desirable to (also) organize women-only places/activities or should all places/activities be open for all genders? #767

This question implies a dual answer, because there is not a single truth, a single path. We repeat what we said at the Ramnicu Sarat meeting: to speak of gender equality we can not exclude the man (or woman) from the equation.
There are both positive and negativa aspects that we can consider:
(+)
* Women-only outdoor sport spaces/activities provide the comfort feeling (which they may not feel in situations of sport practice with men around);
* Women may feel more save from harassment or bullying situations;
* Women-only spaces may give a better response to women’s needs;
* It is easier to overcome socio-cultural barriers that still exist;Consequently, increasing the number of women to practice sport on a regular basis
(-)
*By creating women-only activities or spaces, we are reducing the sociocultural barriers that still exist and, in many cases, preventing women and men from sharing the same spaces and sports activities;
*By doing this “segregation”, we are assuming a gender gap, which is not justified;
*By creating exclusive activities for women, we can get the idea that all other sport activities are not for women (or other places), but for men only. Socially there will be a tendency to associate women to certain kind of activities or spaces.Is no sense.
* An exclusive practice will be contradictory to the concept of inclusive sport that is due in a modern society of the 21st century

Paula Nogueira, Tempo Livre, Guimarães

• This reply was modified 5 years, 4 months ago by  Paula.
• This reply was modified 5 years, 4 months ago by  Paula.

[PaulaParticipant 14 December 2018 at 18:03 Post count: 8]

in reply to: 5. Local impact generated by the outdoor sport activities. #765

* Dimensios which seem to be more important to evaluate:
Health and well-being: – monitoring tools that allow us to combat the sedentary lifestyle and the increasing prevalence of diseases associated with physical inactivity
Values and traditions: – considering bias and stereotypes (namely in relation to women and age groups), it is important to know the reality (collecting information) so that we can find the appropriate tools to combat those prejudice trends. We are talking about segregation and marginalization and discrimination, often associated with the dominant culture or traditional values that need to be tackled. Segregated and marginalized people belong to the group of those who largely are away from sport or physical activity. It would be important to assess the impact that outdoor/physical activity has on eliminating gender and age inequalities.

• This reply was modified 5 years, 4 months ago by  Paula.

[PaulaParticipant 14 December 2018 at 17:29 Post count: 8]

in reply to: 5. Local impact generated by the outdoor sport activities. #764

5. Which are the main impacts of outdoor sport activities at community level?
It provides the construction of a collective identity and the sense of belonging to a group. Physical outdoor activities strengthen the bonds of friendship and companionship that can extend to other domains of the social life (of the individual and the community in which he lives).

[PaulaParticipant 14 December 2018 at 17:23 Post count: 8]

in reply to: 5. Local impact generated by the outdoor sport activities. #763

4. Which are the main impacts of outdoor sport activities at individual level?
We can examine this question in two ways. From a less positive point of view, outdoor physical activity can expose people to the gaze of others, possible harassment and insecurity situations. On the other hand, it has a very positive characteristic because being informal and free access makes it easier for everyone to participate, regardless of their condition (physical, economic or social).

[PaulaParticipant 14 December 2018 at 17:19 Post count: 8]

in reply to: 5. Local impact generated by the outdoor sport activities. #762

3. Which are the areas of social life you believe social impacts or potential changes are much more deployed?
• Outdoor sports can conduct to socializing and sharing. They contribute to get people together and to combat loneliness and isolation, especially for the elderly. Outdoor physical activity, by its more comprehensive and less formal character, can attract more people to practice sports.

[PaulaParticipant 14 December 2018 at 17:13 Post count: 8]

in reply to: 5. Local impact generated by the outdoor sport activities. #761

2. To which main questions an analysis of the local impact of outdoor sport activities can provide an answer?
•The main issue is participation rates. The impact will be bigger if participation rates increase (both genders).

[PaulaParticipant 14 December 2018 at 17:07 Post count: 8]

in reply to: 5. Local impact generated by the outdoor sport activities. #760

1 – How local impact generated by outdoor sport activities can be identified and evaluated?
Outdoor activities may be seen by the general population as something very positive, mainly as a vehicle for promoting physical activity and well being.
It has a mobilizing role among non-practitioners, working as an important marketing tool. Thus, it becomes a dynamic factor of promotion, not only of the sports spaces in the open air, but also of the commerce and the city life itself.
The (increasingly) presence of people in open air values urban sports spaces and works positively to strengthen the social and economic impact of sports in local community.
In order to carry out the evaluation and monitoring of activities it should be considered the level of objectives achievement:
• By the participation rate in the activities (through registration of entries and participation in the different activities that include outdoor sports; in Guimarães we always register the number of participants in our activities such as “Liga Mini”, “Vida Feliz”, “Jogos da Comunidade” and “Férias Desportivas”).
• Measuring the economic impact, by calculating all the values involved in the sport activity (sports equipment, travel, food, medical exams). We (Tempo Livre) recently published in Guimarães (2018) a book with scientific evidence concerning the (important) economic impact of sport in Guimarães (it represents 67M € per year wich is, from the economic pont of view, something very relevant).
• Crossing data collected in the registration act in activities that allows us, among other information, to relate the economic level of each participant with his/her regular physical activity or sports practice;
• Assessing and monitoring anthropometric mesures and levels of physical fitness, wich allow us to evaluate the impact of physical exercise/activity on the health and well-being of practitioners (including application of regular functional fitness tests);
• Evaluating the continuity of the sports practice (We can start with young ones and try to follow their sports career or physical activity on regular basis)
• Assessing the extent to which physical activities motivate participants to continue the practice;
• Evaluating the social impact in outdoor physical activities involving the community. In Guimarães we are studying the implementation of an evaluation instrument so we can understand whether projects such as the “Jogos da Comunidade” result at the local level by creating new activities to stimulate and promote physical activity and outdoor sports.

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