Name: Empowering inclusion through sports: a conversation with Geoff Quinlan
Uploaded: 2023-08-28T00:31:23.859Z
Duration: 394.77
Description: In this video, Jeff Quinlan, Head of Strategy and Brisbane 2032 Coordination for Paralympics Australia, emphasizes the Paralympic movement's role in promoting inclusivity and social change. Join us in celebrating the transformative power of the Paralympic movement and its impact on shaping a more inclusive world.

Geoff Edited.mp4

Perspective on Disabilities (2).vtt

Subtitles

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So that's a huge message to

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show that the Paralympians

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are seen at the same level,

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that they're as valued, that

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their performances and their

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medals, equally valued.

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It sends a really powerful

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message that says that you are

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seen and that you are valued.

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My name's Geoff Quinlan.

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I'm the head of strategy and

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Brisbane 2032 coordination

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for Paralympics, Australia.

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So I think we can see how

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sport has the ability to, you

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know, just engender so much

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passion and pride and how.

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How the whole country

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got behind the Matildas.

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And we think that the

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Paralympics and the

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Paralympic movement also has

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the ability to inspire the

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nation and how we can make

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break down barriers around

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social change, and to make

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a more inclusive world.

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So, we also know the power

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of sport and the power of

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Paralympians to, you know,

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galvanize and garner respect.

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So the Australian Paralympic

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team at the moment is the

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number one team for emotional

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connection with Australians

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and ranked very high on,

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you know, attributes like

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pride, trust, and respect.

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And we believe that we can

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use that to leverage real,

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real social impact and change

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for, for Australians where

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inclusivity is a way of

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life and, and everyone is

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feeling equally valued and,

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and no one is left behind.

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So the Paralympics Australia

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education program is an

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example of where we go into

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schools and help to, to break

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down those barriers and show

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both the schools and the

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students how inclusivity, can

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be a part of a way of life.

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But in a very practical

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sense in that school setting.

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So, you know, we have

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Paralympians and para-athletes

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come into the schools and

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tell 'em their, you know,

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really rich and powerful

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stories, and about their

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successes in high performance.

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But we also give the, the,

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the students an opportunity

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to do botcher and goalball

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and sitting down volleyball

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so they get to experience

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it and, and feel what it's

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like, but also to create

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an an inclusive experience.

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We know that, employment

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for people with a disability

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is a very wicked problem.

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You know, the employment

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rate for people with a

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disability hasn't changed

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in over two decades, and it

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is a wicked, wicked problem

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for us to address people

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with, of of a working age.

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We have people with a

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disability of less than

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48% employment compared

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to 80% for people that,

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don't have a disability.

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And that's something that

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really needs to be addressed.

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And when the process of

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developing a program, the

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Athlete Employment Program,

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and the way that we are

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tackling that and looking at

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that is looking to how we can

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build employer confidence.

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To attract, retain, and employ

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people with a disability.

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'cause what we're finding is

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that, that they, they have

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the desire to do so, but they

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lack the confidence to do it.

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So we've gone through a

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co-design process where

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we've engaged over 50 people

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in that process, over 20

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para athletes, over 15

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employers, and we've also

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reached out to our network

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the University of Queensland,

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the, Queensland Academy

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of Sport, the Australian

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Sports Commission, AMP.

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So a lot of our sector,

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we've engaged in this

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co-design process.

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We've come up with a

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framework, and nine

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initiatives that we are going

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to deliver to give employers

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the confidence to employ

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people with a disability.

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Brisbane 2032 it's an

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enormous opportunity.

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I've been saying, you

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know, it's a decade out.

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I can't say that anymore.

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It's just clicked over.

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We're now nine years

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until Brisbane 2032.

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And that's.

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That's meaningful, right?

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The time's gonna go quickly,

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and we want to leverage

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this opportunity, but we

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believe, you know, the

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Paralympics, Australia and

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our strategic plan will

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look to collaborate, engage,

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and align,  individuals

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within our ecosystem to

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leverage that opportunity.

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It is a once in a lifetime

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opportunity to use this

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green and gold runway.

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But what's important is

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it's not just about 2032, we

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talk about the 10 plus 10.

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So it's the 10 all now, nine

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years leading into 2032,

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but also the decade beyond

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so that we leave a lasting

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legacy and some of those

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areas that we are looking

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to, to leave a legacy for

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are an EM in employment

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that we touched on where

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people with a disability,

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are underrepresented

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in employment.

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Secondly, we know that only

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one in four people with a

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disability participate in

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sport, yet three in four

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wish to participate in sport.

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So we need to address that.

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And another area is in

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the area of facilities

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and sporting fields and

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venues, so we don't have

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enough accessible venues

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and sporting facilities for

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people with a disability.

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But we know what the

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power of sport can do.

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We saw what the Matildas

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have done and just over

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the weekend, the federal

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government have announced $200

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million for sporting fields.

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For women and girls so that

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they can participate in

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sports, so we know what can

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be achieved, in that area, so

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there's a lot of opportunities

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for us to leverage that.

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And our, strategic plan

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has a number of initiatives

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that we will implement

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and deliver on between now

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and 2032 and, and in the

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decade follow to follow.

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We're making some

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meaningful progress.

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We've got a lot of work to do,

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but just at the end of last

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month, at the end of July, the

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Queensland government and, the

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premier Annastacia Palaszczuk

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announced $1.5 million team

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appeal funding to get the

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Paralympic team to Paris

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2024, and for the first time,

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that's equal funding with the

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Olympic and Paralympic team.

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So that's a huge message to

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show that the Paralympians

{{00:06:16}}
are seen at the same level,

{{00:06:17}}
that they're as valued, that

{{00:06:19}}
their performances and their

{{00:06:20}}
medals are equally valued.

{{00:06:23}}
It sends a really

{{00:06:24}}
powerful message.

{{00:06:25}}
It says that you are seen

{{00:06:27}}
and that you are valued.

Expert Insight

In this video, Jeff Quinlan, Head of Strategy and Brisbane 2032 Coordination for Paralympics Australia, emphasizes the Paralympic movement's role in promoting inclusivity and social change. 

Join us in celebrating the transformative power of the Paralympic movement and its impact on shaping a more inclusive world.

Disability

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Geoff Quinlan

Head of Strategy and Brisbane 2032 Coordination

Impact of sports on perception

3 - (2:32) Sport and employment empowerment
4 - (3:57) Brisbane 2032 paralympic goals
5 - (5:46) Personal journeys and advocacy"
