Mixed Ability Week 22
What was MAW22?
MAW 22 was a prestigious and influential event for Mixed Ability clubs and their networks being hosted in Cork in June 2022, supported by the European Commission through their Erasmus+ Sport programme. Central to this was IMART, plus a series of educational conferences and workshops that brought together relevant stakeholders for the expansion of inclusive sports provision.
This week-long event informed and developed a Transferability Toolkit which enables community clubs to organise events at every level, to raise awareness about Mixed Ability sports and the opportunity for physical wellbeing and the social capital it provides, creating capacity to meet people’s needs in a much more effective and successful way.
Download the MAW22 Transferability Toolkit Here
‘The Future of Mixed Ability: for sport and beyond’
A crucial part of the Erasmus+ Sport funded Mixed Ability Week 2022, was the international conference ‘The Future of Mixed Ability: For Sport and Beyond’. The conference ran alongside the 3rd International Mixed Ability Rugby Tournament and aimed to showcase the transformational power of Mixed Ability in changing lives, communities, and our wider society.
The conference brought together experts with lived experience of disability, academics, practitioners, policymakers, sports participants and National Governing Bodies alongside representatives from the disability, advocacy, healthcare, civil society and private sectors.
It was important to draw attention to the fact that disabled people and other groups facing barriers to participation are still disproportionately affected by the stark increase in health inequalities, isolation, exclusion and lack of connectedness, and try to collectively find a way to tackle these injustices and move forward together. The event received the patronage of UNESCO.