Inaugural Inclusive Sport Conference 2021 : President Halimah encourages persons with disabilities to play sport regularly

by Circle Stories, on March 15, 2021

ISC 3 (Left to Right: Mr Ho Cheng Kwee, Honorary Secretary of Singapore Disability Sports Council, Mr Toh Boon Yi, Deputy Chief Executive (National Movement), SportSG, President Halimah Yacob, Mr Edwin Tong (Minister for Culture, Community and Youth) Mr Kerk Kim Por, (Head of SportCares, SportSG) Captain Roger Loh, President of Special Olympics Singapore)

16 March 2021 – Sport Singapore (SportSG) will introduce a new Social Service Corporate Membership scheme, which will be rolled out from June this year. The scheme aims to encourage organised, regular sports and exercise sessions for persons with disabilities (PwDs) at ActiveSG sport centres. This will include curated programming with partner organisations, as well as free access for their beneficiaries to ActiveSG swimming pools and gyms. The new scheme was announced by SportCares Patron and Guest-of-Honour President Halimah Yacob at the inaugural Inclusive Sport Conference 2021.

“Sport has long been recognised as a good way to bring people together, regardless of who we are and where we come from. It is thus an excellent driving force to empower persons with disabilities to improve their quality of life, build independence and stay healthy physically and mentally,” said Madam President. “Through the Social Service Corporate Membership scheme, SportSG will work with partner organisations to encourage persons with disabilities to kickstart an active lifestyle through regular sport and exercise activities at our ActiveSG Centres.”

Targeting more than 13,000 new members, the scheme hopes to get more PwDs to participate in sporting activities more than once a week. For a start, Social Service Agencies will be given $1,000 ActiveSG credits to book facilities and programmes offered by ActiveSG The 2019 National Sports Participation Survey revealed that 1 in 2 persons with disabilities participated in at least one sport activity every week, which is a significant increase from the 2016 survey that showed only 1 in 3 persons participated in sports. (More details in Annex)

“The Social Service Corporate Membership scheme aims to encourage persons with different abilities to participate in sport and sustain an active lifestyle. It will create opportunities for the community to enjoy sport together at our ActiveSG centres, building better understanding and fostering meaningful friendships across people of all abilities. It is through progressive steps like this that we can build toward making Singapore a more inclusive sporting nation,” said Mr Edwin Tong, Minister for Culture, Community and Youth & Second Minister for Law.

Inaugural Inclusive Sport Conference 2021

Hosted by the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth (MCCY) and Sport Singapore (SportSG), and co-hosted by Singapore Disability Sports Council and Special Olympics Singapore, the inaugural Inclusive Sport Conference 2021 (ISC 2021) will be held from 16 – 18 March.

Emphasising the importance of embracing inclusivity within the community, Madam President said, “Today’s conference serves as a new but important platform to bring all stakeholders in the disability ecosystem together. I am confident that the ideas and discussions put forth at today’s conference can catalyse partnerships among the many stakeholders in Singapore’s disability community, to empower Persons with Disabilities through sport and build a more inclusive society.”

The three-day virtual conference will discuss topics ranging from the individual level to community and ecosystem levels, targeting specific focus areas and knowledge gaps surrounding inclusion and adapted sports. The conference aims to strengthen Singapore’s ecosystem for inclusive sports by first establishing a baseline on disability sports and capability building, with a long-term view towards international and regional partnerships.

Themed Forge Forward Together tying in with its tagline Towards an Inclusive Society through Sports, the conference takes a multi-pronged approach to inform the basis of the ecosystem surrounding disability sports, with its sub-themes focusing on:

Sport and health and wellness for PwDs (Individual based);
Multi-agency partnerships towards a collaborative ecosystem; and
Co-creation of projects and initiatives for greater social integration through

ISC 2021 has more than 700 registered participants including persons with disabilities and their families, Special Olympics athletes, sport practitioners, educators, students, allied professionals, caregivers and volunteers. Keynote speakers include Mr Ken Black from The Inclusion Club, Dr Teo-Koh Sock Miang from the Singapore Disability Sports Council and Captain Roger Loh from Special Olympics Singapore.

Annex