Over 5200 children and youth with and without intellectual disabilities from 55 cities located in Central Europe, Southern Europe and the Balkans will participate in sports competitions with the purpose of encouraging social inclusion and to contribute to the improvement of cognitive, social and motor abilities in children with intellectual disabilities (ID), ages six to 12.
Over the course of three years, from January 2021 to December 2023, the project titled “Inclusion through sports for children with developmental disabilities” will speed up the organization of competitions for team sports, such as football and basketball games.
The project aims to encourage children with and without intellectual disabilities to learn and play together, in this way helping those with ID in developing essential skills through activities and team games, to promote inclusion in the community and among youth without intellectual disabilities and to help family members of those with ID in gaining back the trust in their childrens’ abilities.
The project “Inclusion through sports for children with intellectual disabilities” is managed by Motivation Romania Foundation in partnership with Special Olympics Romania, SO Iceland, SO Slovakia, SO Lithuania, SO Bosnia and Herzegovina, SO Montenegro, with support from SO Europe Eurasia Foundation and the University of Poznan from Poland.
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“Inclusion through sports for children with developmental disabilities” benefits from of a € 1.195.000 grant from Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway through the EEA and Norway Grants Fund for Regional Cooperation. The aim of the project is to support children with intellectual disabilities and their social inclusion, by encouraging sports practices and participating in sports games among children without intellectual disabilities.
About EEA and Norway Grants
The EEA and Norway Grants represent the contribution of Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway towards a green, competitive and inclusive Europe.
There are two overall objectives: reduction of economic and social disparities in Europe, and to strengthen bilateral relations between the donor countries and 15 EU countries in Central and Southern Europe and the Baltics. The three donor countries cooperate closely with the EU through the Agreement on the European Economic Area (EEA). The donors have provided €3.3 billion through consecutive grant schemes between 1994 and 2014.
For the period 2014-2021, the EEA and Norway Grants amount to €2.8 billion.