On 28.07.2022. in the premises of the Cultural Center in Ruma, the STEPin Final Conference was held.
The welcoming speech was made by the President of the Municipality of Ruma, Mr. Stevan Kovačević. The first lecture entitled “Challenges of Paralympic Sports” was held by academician prof. Dr. Izet Rađo. The second lecture entitled “Classifiers in Paralympic sports” was held by prof. Romana Romanov from TIMS. The third lecture on “Assistive technologies in sports” was held by psychologist Tamara Blagojević. The lecture “Inclusive Judo” was held by master Roberto Rocklitzer. Asst. Dr. Darinka Korovljev gave a lecture on “Health benefits of sports for people with disabilities.” Master Marko Manojlović presented an example of good practice. Aela Ajdinović closed the conference with the words “Step with us into the world of equal opportunities!”
The common conclusions of the Closing Conference are:
The main obstacles in the improvement of para sports in Serbia are the lack of human and material resources.
There are very few employees in the clubs. Also, the level of knowledge about parasport is low. It is necessary to organize a series of educational programs (general and specific) in order to bring this area closer to people who work in clubs.
In addition, the space where the clubs provide their services is inaccessible and it is very difficult to adapt it according to universal design standards. Adaptation of inaccessible clubs should be a priority. Club representatives should lobby at all levels and sectors in order to provide funds for adaptation. Until the problem of accessibility is solved, people with disabilities will not be able to use the services of the clubs. When dignified access and stay in the club will be enabled, the number of people with disabilities in the sports club will increase. Also, all new sports facilities must be designed for everyone.
What has been observed is that clubs do not use the services of classifiers in sports and recreational activities. One of the reasons is the fact that there are not enough classifiers. This can be overcome by the Faculty of Sports and Physical Education of the University of Novi Sad accrediting an educational program that would be intended for all persons who have completed basic studies in the field of sports.
