9th International Abilympics held at Bordeaux in France

The 9th Edition of International Abilympics is held at Bordeaux, France. The two day event hosted from March 25-26.

• Near about 600 participants representing 35 teams from different continents will take part in this competition.
• The 9th International Abilympics 2016 is a prestigious event for every PwD across the world to showcase their limitless abilities. This time around the competition will be held in five different categories, which include services, IT, industry, craft and food.

India’s Involvement in the Abilympics:

• In India children with disabilities belong to poor families and live in rural regions, it is very difficult for them to get the formal education due to the lack of infrastructure.
• In India, these skills are formally stimulated by National Abilympic Association of India (NAAI). NAAI which was formed in 2001 at the behest of Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment formulate and implement policies for promoting Abilympics, Olympic of Abilities at regional, national and International levels.
• India has also confirmed the entry of 15 PwDs for the mega event.

Abilympics a Glance:

• The name Abilympics comes from the idea of organizing a competition to promote the skills of persons with disabilities. It combines Abilities with the idea of the Olympics.
• The concept was developed in Japan in 1972 based on the model of the skills competition named World Skills and on the Paralympic Games.
• The first International Abilympics (IA) was held in Tokyo, 1981, followed by the 2nd in Colombia, 1985. During this event it was proposed that an international organization be established to promote the games and hold it on a regular basis.