More than 50 Parapan American athletes from across the continent will gather this Friday, March 28, and Saturday, March 29, at the Paralympic Training Center (CEP) to participate in the historic first Parapan American Athletes Forum.
This pioneering event is a joint initiative by the Americas Paralympic Committee (APC), the Chilean Paralympic Committee (Copachi), Chile's Ministry of Sports (Mindep), and the Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean (CAF). Its primary goal is to promote active athlete participation in critical decision-making within the sports domain.
The forum will feature prominent figures such as Julio César Ávila, APC representative; Gabriela Rosero Moncayo, head of UN Women’s Office in Chile; and Esther Kush Laroche, director of UNESCO’s Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean, among other renowned speakers.
In addition to presentations, various working groups will be held where members of the Athletes Council will play a leading role. These groups aim to generate concrete proposals for designing APC's Paralympic education program and strengthening national Paralympic committees.
Throughout the forum sessions, key topics for developing Paralympic sports in the region will be addressed, including empowering people with disabilities through sports, sports governance, medical-sports classification, and developing marketing tools for athletes, among other relevant subjects. This gathering is set to be a milestone in strengthening the Parapan American movement and amplifying the voice of its athletes across the continent.