APC President Dato Zainal Abu Zarin (6th from left) and members of the APC Board of Executives for the 2010-2014. The new Board of Executives for the 2014-2018 term will be elected in Abu Dhabi on Dec 3 2014
The Asian Paralympic Committee (APC) General Assembly and Conference gets underway here tomorrow where delegates from 39 member nations gather to chart plans and initiatives for the region’s Paralympic movement for the next five years.
The Assembly, the third edition after Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in 2006 and Guangzhou, China in 2010, is scheduled from 1 to 3 December at Abu Dhabi’s iconic Yas Viceroy Hotel.
The two-day conference themed “The Next Five Years: Fulfilling the APM2020 Vision” will be followed by the movement’s Election, where delegates elect APC’s new Board of Executives (BOE) for the 2014-2018 term.
United Arab Emirates Minister of Culture, Youth and Community Development Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan is expected to officiate the Assembly.
APC President Dato Zainal Abu Zarin is scheduled to present his keynote address titled “The Next 5 Years: The Power of Para Games of Asia” which will reveal the organisation’s vision towards a more dynamic future for the Paralympic movement.
“Following the successful organisation of two Asian Para Games in Guangzhou 2010 and the recently concluded 2014 Incheon Games, this Conference provides a perfect avenue for APC and member nations to work towards the realisation of APM2020,” said Dato Zainal.
Xavier Gonzalez, CEO of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) and Wilfried Lemke, Special Advisor at the United Nations Office on Sport for Development and Peace will be among the notable speakers at the Conference.
Gonzalez is scheduled to deliver a presentation titled The Global Paralympic Movement: “The Effect, Impact & Expectation on IPC Region” while Lemke is scheduled to present a paper on United Nations’ role in promoting sports for persons with a disability.
This will be followed by a number of other topics that highlight APC’s vision and mission within several pertinent areas such as Sports, Classification, Anti-Doping and APC Sports Forum.
In conjunction with the Conference, all five regions under the umbrella of APC are expected to sign an accord and pledge their commitment to organise Regional Games.
Regional Games scheduled for 2015 include the 8th ASEAN Para Games in Singapore, Islamabad 2015 South Asia Para Games, and the 1st West Asia Para Games in Khorfakkan from 3 to 9 December 2015.
The Elections of the APC Board for the term 2014 to 2018 is scheduled on 3 December which serve as an indicator of this organisation’s outlook towards further development of Para sports and its athletes in the region, and the impact of these athletes’ achievements worldwide.