"In August I received information from Ceredigion's Disability Sport Officer about a Young advocate's programme in China. Gemma contacted me as I am currently a volunteer with Disability Sport in Ceredigion.
In September, I got accepted to go to China as part of my volunteer work and became a Young Advocate, along with 100 others from the U.K and 100 young people from China. The aim of the Young Advocate Programme or YAP was to promote disability inclusion in sports and the arts within our local communities but also to develop the paralympic spirit, so that disabled people would feel included and the programme would encourage positive social change.
We stayed in China's development centre for the disabled which was created especially for the Beijing Paralympic games 2008. The centre had numerous facilities, which included a pool, gym, multi sport room and velindrome. Now that the Games are over the centre will act as a training and rehabilitating centre for the disabled.
Upon arrival we had a meeting to discuss core objectives for the duration of our stay and had group photos. The first night we arrived, the British Council paid for us all to attend the opening ceremony of the Games in the Bird's Nest stadium. The ceremony was out of this world, with many of the participants being disabled. It featured deaf women who danced to light and a blind pianist. For me personally, the most inspirational person in the opening ceremony was the man in a wheelchair, who pulled himself up on a rope to light the Olympic flame.
During our stay we were placed in a number of workshops in order to help us increase our awareness and perceptions of disability. I was placed in the Sports Science workshop. In this workshop we tried to understand the technological advancements in sport over the years. It also questioned ethical issues such as is there too much technology in sport? Throughout the workshop it was clear that the technological advancements for the disabled over the years have improved enormously so they no longer feel like they are socially excluded and that any sport is available to them if they wanted to participate.
During the evenings we had to host a party for the Chinese advocates and vice versa to embrace the differences in culture. We had to put on entertainment and what we consider to be our national dish. The British food was fish and chips, while the Chinese had a variety of dishes. The Brits put on a variety show and the Chinese did something more traditional with Kung Fu and Chinese music.
We took a trip to the Great Wall and Tiananmen Square to experience the cultural aspects of the trip. We also went to the theatre to see a performance by China's Young Disabled. There were many performances including people that were blind, deaf, or in a wheelchair. The show was very moving and inspiring to see that anybody could take part regardless of disability.
One evening we also went to see the track and field finals at the Bird's Nest. We saw a wheelchair race and the men's 5000m blind race, where the athletes had to run with a guide in order to compete. We also saw medal ceremony and China won 6 the night we were there. It was amazing to witness the atmosphere within the stadium, especially during the medal ceremonies.
On our last day we took part in a mini indoor paralympic competition, organised by another workshop. We took part in sports such as sit down volleyball, boules and blindfold shot-put. It made us all so much more appreciative of what we have, and how hard it is for disabled people to participate.
On our last evening we had a dinner hosted by the British Embassy to showcase what we had found out over the week. A video was played that the digital media group made and had photos. It was a VIP party and was hosted by Prince Edward and Lord Sebastien Coe.
I enjoyed my experience in China enormously when I was over there and am glad that I went. It was incredible to see the opening ceremony and that sport is no longer discriminating and that anyone could participate if they so wished.
Now that I'm home I have started my second year at university in Aberystwyth and I am still volunteering with Disability Sport Wales here in Ceredigion where I am more able to fully appreciate the restrictions that having a disability imposes on something I had previously taken for granted. I have become a lot more involved in an Athletics club for children with disabilities in Ceredigion and try and make sure that all children present participate in the activities."
If you would like to volunteer with Disability Sport Wales like Emily does please visit the disability Sport Wales website linked on the right hand side of this page for further information or contact your local Disability Sport Development Officer."
Article written by Emily Richards
