Irpea Mixed Rugby – Padova – Fondazione Milan

Sport is an important tool for social inclusion and integration

THE PROJECT

The Sport for All program also reaches Padua thanks to the collaboration with Fondazione I.R.P.E.A. The main objective is to promote sport, health and social integration; sport, and in particular integrated rugby, presents itself not only as a mediator of psychophysical well-being and educational and moral growth, but also as a tool for social inclusion, through which it is possible to involve people with varying degrees of abilities and disadvantages in socio-cultural and relational terms.

THE PURPOSES

Few people with disabilities in our country take up sports, either in school or extracurricular settings. The sports offer dedicated to them is extremely limited, both in terms of quantity and quality; the facilities are often inadequate, the staff inadequately trained and, in general, there is a widespread indifference about the role that sports can play in improving pathologies and, above all, about the educational and social benefits that derive from the practice of integrated sports.

The project aims to promote a culture of inclusion through the practice of sports, particularly rugby, with the goal of creating mixed teams composed of people with and without disabilities.

For Fondazione IRPEA and Fondazione Milan, supporting cultural change in the representation of people with disabilities through the enhancement of their potential is central. The practice of sports is fundamental in fostering a system of satisfactory relationships with regard to people who present difficulties in their personal and social autonomy, so that they can feel part of communities and relational contexts where they can act, choose, play and see their role and identity recognized.

THE BENEFICIARIES

The initiative is aimed directly at 15 people with disabilities between the ages of 16 and 45 who attend the services of Irpea Foundation, the integration services of Ulss 6 euganea of Padua, and a number of high schools in the Padua area.

Indirect beneficiaries are the families of the people with disabilities involved, the students of high schools in the area, the facilitators of the Padua Mixed ability Rugby team, educational figures and other entities that provide services aimed at people with disabilities.