The Sport Empowers Disabled Youth 2 (SEDY2) project encourages inclusion and equal opportunities in sport for youth with a disability by raising their sports and exercise participation in inclusive settings. It was important to ensure that the authentic views, wishes and feelings of youth with a disability regarding inclusion in sport were attained. Therefore, online focus groups were conducted with youth with a disability, their parents and sport professionals in Finland, Lithuania, Portugal and The Netherlands. During the online EUCAPA 2020 conference the preliminary results of these focus groups were presented.
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During the online International Symposium of Adapted Physical Activity (ISAPA) in June 2021 te results of the SEDY2 project were presented. Aim The Erasmus+ Sport Empowers Disabled Youth 2 (SEDY 2) project addresses the topic of encouraging inclusion and equal opportunities in sport. Currently, different terminology about inclusion is being used in different countries, making it difficult to compare findings and to set unilineal goals and targets. In order to tackle the issues that are currently preventing youth with disabilities from participating in sports, the primary purpose of this study is to reach a consensus statement on what inclusive sport truly means. Literature shows that inclusion is a question about individual choice of a sporting activity across a continuum of segregated, integrated and inclusive approaches (Kiuppis, 2018) considered as The inclusion spectrum (Stevenson & Black, 2011). Most of the existing research is not based on the authentic wishes and feelings of children and young people with a disability themselves. Therefore, the main research question is ‘Inclusion in sport: what does it mean in practice?’ Methods To ensure that the authentic views, wishes and feelings regarding inclusion in sport were attained, online focus groups interviews were conducted with children and young people with a disability, their parents and sport professionals in Finland, Lithuania, Portugal and The Netherlands. Data is coded and analysed with Maxqda through the method of thematic content analysis. Results All four countries conducted a focus group with each stakeholder group: children with a disability themselves, their parents and sport professionals. In total 12 focus group interviews were conducted. Preliminary results show that inclusion is about individual needs and wishes and is associated with terms as feeling welcome, taking part, having a choice and equal opportunity. “…it is equal opportunities for all to participate and that, that you are part of like a group and, and that feeling of being part of a group and that you feel welcome.” Focus groups with professionals found that for them inclusion is not the same as inclusion policy. “I think we are talking about the same thing, and we feel the same way, but if we compare that to the inclusion policy or the sports covenant, maybe we are not always talking about the same thing.” All focus groups will be analysed and the results will be presented during the session. Discussion/conclusion Results have been discussed within the SEDY project group with sport organisations, Paralympic Committees and Universities of Applied Sciences to reach internal consensus. In order to tackle the issues that are currently preventing people with disabilities from participating in sports, there is need to reach a broad consensus statement on what inclusive sport truly means. Therefore the next is to discuss the results externally, to reach broad consensus. This can be taken as starting point for actual steps of improvement to include more children with disabilities in sport.
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The Sport Empowers Disabled Youth 2 (SEDY2) project encourages inclusion and equal opportunities in sport for youth with a disability by raising their sports and exercise participation in inclusive settings. The SEDY2 Inclusion Handbook is aimed at anybody involved in running or working in a sport club, such as a volunteer, a coach, or a club member. The goal of the handbook is to facilitate disability inclusion among mainstream sport providers by sharing SEDY2 project partners’ best practices and inclusive ideas.
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MUSE supports the CIVITAS Community to increase its impact on urban mobility policy making and advance it to a higher level of knowledge, exchange, and sustainability.As the current Coordination and Support Action for the CIVITAS Initiative, MUSE primarily engages in support activities to boost the impact of CIVITAS Community activities on sustainable urban mobility policy. Its main objectives are to:- Act as a destination for knowledge developed by the CIVITAS Community over the past twenty years.- Expand and strengthen relationships between cities and stakeholders at all levels.- Support the enrichment of the wider urban mobility community by providing learning opportunities.Through these goals, the CIVITAS Initiative strives to support the mobility and transport goals of the European Commission, and in turn those in the European Green Deal.Breda University of Applied Sciences is the task leader of Task 7.3: Exploitation of the Mobility Educational Network and Task 7.4: Mobility Powered by Youth Facilitation.
The focus of this project is on improving the resilience of hospitality Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) by enabling them to take advantage of digitalization tools and data analytics in particular. Hospitality SMEs play an important role in their local community but are vulnerable to shifts in demand. Due to a lack of resources (time, finance, and sometimes knowledge), they do not have sufficient access to data analytics tools that are typically available to larger organizations. The purpose of this project is therefore to develop a prototype infrastructure or ecosystem showcasing how Dutch hospitality SMEs can develop their data analytic capability in such a way that they increase their resilience to shifts in demand. The one year exploration period will be used to assess the feasibility of such an infrastructure and will address technological aspects (e.g. kind of technological platform), process aspects (e.g. prerequisites for collaboration such as confidentiality and safety of data), knowledge aspects (e.g. what knowledge of data analytics do SMEs need and through what medium), and organizational aspects (what kind of cooperation form is necessary and how should it be financed).Societal issueIn the Netherlands, hospitality SMEs such as hotels play an important role in local communities, providing employment opportunities, supporting financially or otherwise local social activities and sports teams (Panteia, 2023). Nevertheless, due to their high fixed cost / low variable business model, hospitality SMEs are vulnerable to shifts in consumer demand (Kokkinou, Mitas, et al., 2023; Koninklijke Horeca Nederland, 2023). This risk could be partially mitigated by using data analytics, to gain visibility over demand, and make data-driven decisions regarding allocation of marketing resources, pricing, procurement, etc…. However, this requires investments in technology, processes, and training that are oftentimes (financially) inaccessible to these small SMEs.Benefit for societyThe proposed study touches upon several key enabling technologies First, key enabling technology participation and co-creation lies at the center of this proposal. The premise is that regional hospitality SMEs can achieve more by combining their knowledge and resources. The proposed project therefore aims to give diverse stakeholders the means and opportunity to collaborate, learn from each other, and work together on a prototype collaboration. The proposed study thereby also contributes to developing knowledge with and for entrepreneurs and to digitalization of the tourism and hospitality sector.Collaborative partnersHZ University of Applied Sciences, Hotel Hulst, Hotel/Restaurant de Belgische Loodsensociëteit, Hotel Zilt, DM Hotels, Hotel Charley's, Juyo Analytics, Impuls Zeeland.
Horse riding falls under the “Sport for Life” disciplines, where a long-term equestrian development can provide a clear pathway of developmental stages to help individuals, inclusive of those with a disability, to pursue their goals in sport and physical activity, providing long-term health benefits. However, the biomechanical interaction between horse and (disabled) rider is not wholly understood, leaving challenges and opportunities for the horse riding sport. Therefore, the purpose of this KIEM project is to start an interdisciplinary collaboration between parties interested in integrating existing knowledge on horse and (disabled) rider interaction with any novel insights to be gained from analysing recently collected sensor data using the EquiMoves™ system. EquiMoves is based on the state-of-the-art inertial- and orientational-sensor system ProMove-mini from Inertia Technology B.V., a partner in this proposal. On the basis of analysing previously collected data, machine learning algorithms will be selected for implementation in existing or modified EquiMoves sensor hardware and software solutions. Target applications and follow-ups include: - Improving horse and (disabled) rider interaction for riders of all skill levels; - Objective evidence-based classification system for competitive grading of disabled riders in Para Dressage events; - Identifying biomechanical irregularities for detecting and/or preventing injuries of horses. Topic-wise, the project is connected to “Smart Technologies and Materials”, “High Tech Systems & Materials” and “Digital key technologies”. The core consortium of Saxion University of Applied Sciences, Rosmark Consultancy and Inertia Technology will receive feedback to project progress and outcomes from a panel of international experts (Utrecht University, Sport Horse Health Plan, University of Central Lancashire, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences), combining a strong mix of expertise on horse and rider biomechanics, veterinary medicine, sensor hardware, data analysis and AI/machine learning algorithm development and implementation, all together presenting a solid collaborative base for derived RAAK-mkb, -publiek and/or -PRO follow-up projects.
