The Abhinav Bindra Foundation (ABF), in partnership with the Olympic Studies Center, German Sports University Cologne is set to host the third episode of its educative webinar series, Olympism and its values.

The episode is scheduled to be hosted at 5 pm (IST) on 26th October, and is titled Sports for Inclusion – Breaking Barriers. The discourse will focus on the need to imbibe the Olympic spirit in our daily lives and promote the ideals, values and vision for acceptance, human rights and non-discrimination. This dialogue will carry forward the momentum from the first two episodes, which centred around the relevance of the Olympic movement in the post-Covid era and Empowering young Indians through Olympic Values Education, respectively.

Registration link for the webinar is: Sports for Inclusion – Breaking Barriers

The group of panelists for the webinar include leading educationists, professors and former Olympic and Paralympic athletes. A brief description of the speakers’ professional work is given below:

● Prof. Dr. Nelson Todt: Professor at the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul, President – Pierre de Coubertin Brazilian Committee.

● Eli A. Wolff: Director- Power of Sport Lab, Co-founder and Advisor to the Sport and Society initiatives at Brown University, Co-founded – Disability in Sport International, Athletes for Human Rights, the Olympism Project, and Mentoring for Change.

● Niccolò Campriani: 3-time Olympic Champion in shooting, Senior Sports Intelligence Manager – IOC Sports Department, Founder – Make a Mark

● Manasi Joshi: The current para-badminton World Champion, recognized by BBC as one of the 100 most inspirational & powerful women across the world in 2020

The virtual 90-minute discussion will be held using a video-conferencing platform and will be moderated by Mrs. Delnaz Elavia, Head of Delivery for the Consulting Practice for Great Place to Work® in India.

Prof. Dr. Nelson Todt said, “It is critical to provide a pathway leading to harmonious and authentic human development, seeking to reduce social exclusion, misunderstanding and oppression. On account of the current social reality and the challenges proposed by Olympic Agenda 2020, the historical tradition of Olympism should be adopted and adapted by some modern world institutions that encourage ethical attitudes, adjusting the Olympic Movement to our time.”

Eli A. Wolff said, “By including persons with disabilities, sport also provides opportunities for innovation and recognizes the range of diversity within the disability community itself. Sport can provide a variety of mainstream and disability-specific opportunities across the inclusion spectrum for persons with disabilities. Inclusion as a core value makes our lives more meaningful when everyone is fully involved, accepted, and respected.”

Niccolò Campriani said, “After I retired, it was a question of finding further meaning from my 16 years long career, beyond the medals, after spending thousands of hours staring at a piece of paper, which is basically what shooters do. Through the Make a Mark initiative, we wanted to rehabilitate and improve the lives of three refugees, who found a sense of belonging in the sporting community. The inclusive power of sport is immense and I hope we can explore more on this theme through this webinar organised by the Abhinav Bindra Foundation.”

Manasi Joshi said, “The barriers that exist in India, be it gender, caste, religion, region, disabilities, sexual orientation etc., sports bridge these barriers by bringing people together and giving them equal opportunities. For me, sports has amplified my voice thereby giving me an opportunity to share my thoughts and ideas with the world. It has proved to be a great catalyst in changing the narrative around disability and para-sports.”

Sports Education partner – International Institute of Sports Management (IISM), Education Partner – GITAM University, Media Partner – The Bridge

About ABFT: The Abhinav Bindra Foundation in India aims to bring Global Best Practices into the Indian Sporting Landscape, not only supporting what currently exists as a protocol in Sport, but also to make it more accountable, expert-driven, and locally contextualized. Under the vision of India’s only Individual Olympic Gold Medalist, Mr. Abhinav Bindra, the Foundation operates under 3 pillars – Education, Intervention, and Social Upliftment. With activities across the country, the objective is to ensure that we help India redefine its understanding of sport and use that understanding to improve the day-to-day process of creating a robust Sporting Ecosystem that can create World Champions. Because it’s not every four years, it’s every day!