International symposium of Adapted Physical Activity ISAPA was held virtually from June 15th to June 18th, 2021. The symposium was organized by the sports faculty of University of Jyväskylä. You can look at the diverse programme of he event on University of Jyväskylä website. Link to the website.
As part of ISAPA's program, two Nordic Panel discussion sessions were held. The Panels were dedicated to showcase adapted physical activity in the Nordic countries. The first panel was held on Wednesday, June 16th. The topic was ”Assistive devices for physical activity in the Nordic countries”. The second panel, which was held on Thursday, June 17th, the topic was how national sporting organizations are working to include more persons with disabilities into sport.
Nordic Panel discussions have been published on Finnish Society of Sport Sciences' Youtube -channel. You can find the links to the videos from below after the discriptions.
Assistive devices for physical activity in the Nordic countries
Procurement, adaptation and use of assistive devices for physical activity are different within the Nordic countries. The panel starts with a description of how the system works in Finland, Sweden, Denmark and Norway. The introduction are followed by a 30 minutes panel discussion. The main focus is on good examples from the different countries, and on how the Nordic countries could do better cooperation in the field of assistive devices for physical activity. The panel is chaired by physiotherapist Berit Gjessing from Norway.
Panelists:
- Anita Klindt, Parasport Danmark, Denmark
- Johanna Sakko, Malike, Finland
- Viljar Aasan, Beitostølen Healthsports Centre, Norway
- Leif Thorstenson, Parasport Sweden, Sweden
How are national sporting organizations working to include more persons with disabilities into sport? Reflections from the Nordic countries
Each Nordic country has their own unique path towards inclusion. Consequently, disability sports or parasports are organized different ways from Norway’s full inclusion model to other countries more or less included systems. In this panel, representatives from Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden reflect on parasport recruitement successess and challenges. Last 25 minutes of the panel is dedicated to open discussion. The panel is organized by the Finnish Paralympic Committee in co-operation with the ISAPA organizers, and chaired by the general secretary of Finnish Paralympic Committee Riikka Juntunen.
Panelists:
- Peter Kock Hansen, Development Manager, Parasport Danmark, Denmark
- Aija Saari, Head of research, Finnish Paralympic Committee
- Ingi Þór Einarsson, Lector and researcher at Reykjavik University and High-performance coordinator for NPC Iceland, Iceland
- Mads Andreassen, Head of Activity Development, Norwegian Olympic and Paralympic Committee and Confederation of Sports, Norway
- Linda Torége, Development manager, Parasport Sweden, Sweden