Second workshop of IPC's Proud Paralympian education programme held in Mexico City

The second workshop of the Proud Paralympian pilot has been held in Mexico City ©IPC

The second instalment of the International Paralympic Committee’s (IPC) Proud Paralympian programme has been staged in Mexico City during the 2015 IPC Powerlifting Open Americas Championships.

Athletes participated in modules focusing on Paralympic values and media training, as part of the education project, which is designed to help athletes to develop in and out of competition in the build up to the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games.

About 70 athletes also took part in the Raise the Bar - Say No! to Doping initiative, held in collaboration with the World Anti-Doping Agency.

The programme, supported by the Agitos Foundation, encompasses training for athletes who have not yet competed at a Paralympic Games, with training sessions conducted by leaders within Para-sport.

The leaders were nominated by International Federations and have previously taken part in a two-day interactive programme, which was supported by the Dubai Club for the Disabled.

Athletes in Mexico City were encouraged to show how they use Paralympic values through an activity titled “Tree of Dreams”, as well as sharing their aspirations within the sport of powerlifting.

The first workshop was held at the IPC Powerlifting World Cup in Dubai, United Arab Emirates ©Getty Images

Additionally, 40 athletes, from countries including Argentina, Brazil, Canada and the United States, attended two social media workshops, investigating the positive aspects of the Twitter and Facebook mediums for sharing their stories, attracting fans and potential sponsors and promoting Para-sport.

Athletes, many of whom previously did not have accounts prior to the workshops, were soon tweeting and using the hashtag #ProudParalympian.

They were equally informed about the potential risks of social media.

Further editions of the scheme are scheduled to be held at powerlifting regional championships in Almaty, Kazakhstan, in July, and Eger, Hungary in November.

A Para-rowing development camp is also due to be held in Gavirate, Italy in May, while training camps will be staged in São Paulo, Brazil in June, and at the Toronto 2015 Parapan American Games in August.

The pilot programme is being held ahead of the official launch of Proud Paralympian next year, before the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games.