JUDO4ID KICK-OFF MEETING
Between the 23rd and 24th of January, the JUDO4ID project funded by the European Union officially started. CS Bronx Powerlifting Club Bacău (Romania), Judo Klub Bežigrad (Slovenia), Special Needs Judo Foundation (Netherlands), and The Swedish Judo Federation (Sweden) met in Stockholm in a two-day kick-off meeting to plan the project’s innovative activities designed to revolutionize the world of adaptive judo and improve the participation of intellectually disabled people in sport activities.
To go deeper into the JUDO4ID story, the project conceives and tests innovative transdisciplinary solutions to make the supply and demand of physical activities for children with intellectual disabilities meet in an international context. Judo, the most recommended and preferred sport by UNESCO for optimal human development, becomes an accelerator for creating a sustainable sports ecosystem that makes it possible for new ways of playing sports to be offered.
In the next 18 months, JUDO4ID will deliver innovative practices that facilitate the physical and mental development of disabled people, with a focus on their social integration and autonomy. The project will equip judo coaches and physical education teachers with the necessary tools to work with students with intellectual disabilities, as well as design and implement an innovative judo training programme and necessary tools based on engaging sports exercises that can be played while practicing judo: a Judo Training Guide for Judo Coaches and PE Teachers working with ID Students, a Judo Animated Series for teaching children with ID judo techniques and principles, as well as a Special Needs Judo Competition Software to manage judo competitions for ID children and an E-guide for Organizing International Special Needs Judo Events.
All project partners will be involved in different stages of the project by providing their specific input, as well as contributing more widely to the core message and outcomes of the project while involving a wide range of local, regional, national and international stakeholders, such as the International Judo Federation and the European Judo Union.
The kick-off meeting brought together the Steering Committee of JUDO4ID, as well as a representative of the Regional Development Agency, North-East Romania, Andreea Leru. After the event, which was organized with the support of The Swedish Judo Federation, the big team visited the old town of Stockholm, ending the journey with a Viking dinner.
‘’JUDO4ID is about making judo much more friendly, inclusive, and empowering. We will have the honor of learning from some of the biggest trainers in adapted judo worldwide, Tomas Rundqvist and Tycho van der Werff. Our team will create a significant infrastructure for making the practice of adapted judo much easier and more effective. Also, our team has Miro Biliç, a representative of The International Judo Federation IT Team, our project bringing in innovative digital tools for adaptive judo activities and events. So stay close to our story.’’ (JUDO4ID Team)
Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.
Main JUDO4ID website: https://judo4id.ro
