ICSSPE/CIEPSS – Communities and Crisis – Inclusive Development through Sport – German-Chinese Expert Exchange – Sailing, Fencing and Equestrian

The eighth edition of “Communities and Crisis – Inclusive Development through Sport” was held in Rheinsberg, Germany, from 2^nd to 7^th November 2015. A total of 61 persons from 19 countries on five continents were part of this great learning experience.

Once again, the hands-on seminar focused on using the potential of sport and physical activity for disaster relief and inclusive community building.

In addition to some of our seasoned speakers – such as Jutta Engelhardt with her workshop on “The Responsibilities of a Facilitator: Sport Interventions as Psychosocial Support” and Joeri Verellen with his session on “Principles of Adapting Physical Activities, Games and Sports: Dealing with Diversity”,  we also participated in two entirely new workshops this year. Anna König added a new dimension to the seminar with her session on “Occupational Therapy, Participation through Play.” Occupational therapy runs on the assumption that humans act and interact with their environment through occupation. The core aim of occupational therapy is thus to use movement to enable clients to participate in daily activities.

The second new session was led by our long-time speaker Marianne Meier on “Children Win,” the campaign by Terre des Hommes International Federation focusing on the rights of children in the face of mega sporting events. As part of this presentation, participants were also able to see the new documentary “The Fighter.”

“Communities and Crisis” 2015 was once again held at Hotel HausRheinsberg; a fully accessible hotel specifically designed for people with various disabilities. For the second time, we were able to offer evening activities for other guests of the hotel. Under the direction of Lydia La Rivière-Zijdel and Ken Black, seminar participants designed and adapted games so that hotel guests of all abilities could play them and experience the joy of movement. Hotel guests and participants agreed that this was a great experience for all involved.

The “Communities and Crisis – Inclusive Development through Sport” seminar is supported by the Federal Ministry of the Interior, Germany, and the Fürst Donnersmarck Stiftung. The next edition will take place 30 October until 4 November 2016.

German-Chinese Expert Exchange – Sailing, Fencing and Equestrian