HOPE FOR THE FUTURE

TURKEY - Izmir

Third Comenius Meeting

21st -25th October 2013

Learning Active European Citizenship

“Palla in rete”

 

Associazione Bellaria Solidarietà – Pontedera

Bellaria Solidarity Association - Pontedera

‘’Palla in Rete’’ - SPORT FOR DISABLED PEOPLE

Bellaria Solidarity Association

It is a non-profit voluntary association which puts emphasis on the importance of sport and team games to promote democracy, equality, inclusion, a sense of belonging, observance of rules, respect for your playmates and adversaries.

It promotes and seeks to increase sport and physical recreational opportunities for disabled people, expecially those with physical disabilities and mental disorders. The programs, the centre provides, empower the participants in their daily lives and have a positive enduring effect on self-efficacy, health, independences and overall well-being.

‘’Palla in Rete’’

‘’Palla in Rete’’ sports event was held in Bellaria Sports Centre in Pontedera on 3rd and 4th May 2013. This inclusive initiative involved able and disabled people who competed together in several sports activities.

Two groups of students from two classes III ASI and IV CG of our school took part in this event.

The First Day

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THESE TWO BOYS ARE PONTEDERA FOOTBALL TEAM PLAYERS. THEY ARE ABOUT TO GIVE THE KICK-OFF.

The main focus of this project “Palla in Rete” is to encourage the relation between young healthy people/students and disabled people and to engage them and train them in different sports activities such as football, basket, volleyball, fencing, archery.

The Football Match

The beginning of the football match

The Second Day

The Basketball Match

The physical and psychological benefits of exercise can be very powerful. In addition to feeling good, increasing self-confidence, promoting better health and possible improvement in ability, sport and exercise can also bring added benefits such as social interaction and friendship.

The Volleyball Match

“Palla in Rete” event had the power to transform volunteers (in this case two groups of students from ITCG E. FERMI – Pontedera), in the process, leading to increased confidence, a strong sense of personal accomplishment, a new awareness about what disabled people can and cannot do.

The unique ability of sports to overcome linguistic, cultural, social barriers makes it an excellent platform for strategies of inclusion, integration and adaptation. Sport can help reduce the stigma and discrimination associated with disability because it can transform community attitudes about people with disabilities by highlighting their skills and reducing the tendency to see the disability instead of the person.

What does volunteering mean to you?Volunteering means:

Challenge, opportunities, a learning experience

Fun, rewarding, vital

Enriching, evolving, inspiring

Fun, fulfillment, sharing

Enpowering, exciting, exhausting

Selfless, joy, others

It activates confidence building.

Just do it!

Istituto Tecnico Commerciale e per Geometri “Enrico Fermi” – Pontedera

(Pisa)

Classes IV ASI and V CG

Pontedera, September 2013