The Fondazione De Rigo H.E.ART supports the ‘Integrally Sport and Culture’ project led by the ASSI non-profit organisation

Belluno, 4 February 2020

The initiative, intended - through sport - to introduce Belluno-based teenagers between the ages of 11-18 to the world of disabilities - is being sponsored by the Province of Belluno, which hosted the presentation earlier today at its Palazzo Piloni offices.

‘Integrally Sport and Culture’ offers an informative course on disabilities and an incentive to prac-tice Paralympic sports at secondary and upper schools in the province of Belluno.

Qualified representatives from sports organisations are joined by Paralympic athletes, who will be of-fering a first-hand account of their experiences as a stimulus and example for the teenagers. ‘Sports personalities’ who have succeeded without letting the hardships of life get the better of them. Individ-uals who have had the courage to fight to achieve their dreams and who are committed, on a day-to-day basis, to personally demonstrating how the disability is not a limitation, that there are no obsta-cles to the desire to live life to the full, and that nothing is impossible if you set your mind to it.

‘Integrally Sport and Culture’ represents a concrete commitment for the region, with the involvement of as many as 21 schools and 1,079 students (including 69 with disabilities), in addition to sports in-stitutions, academics with degrees in sports science, and technicians and operators working in vari-ous different professions.

The teenagers will in fact be offered the chance to learn about and practice a number of Paralympic sports disciplines, such as: boccia, table football, basketball, wheelchair rugby, swimming, tennis, ta-ble tennis, orienteering/trailO, equestrian sports, archery, sitting volleyball, baskin, integrated football and resistance activities.

The project will come to an end in May, with a special event dedicated to Paralympic sports at the Spes Sports Arena and an awards ceremony devoted to the students who have supported and par-ticipated in the initiative.

Over the course of the day, prize money will also be awarded to the classes/students who have pro-duced the best ‘good practices’ to be considered by and made available to users in the region.

‘Integrally Sport and Culture’ is part of a wider project that, this year, in addition to the participating schools and sports clubs, is also benefiting from collaborations with the following organisations: MI-UR, Comune of Belluno, CIP, Giesse, Maja Dress, Lattebusche and Sport Assi.

Barbara De Rigo - Fondazione De Rigo H.E.ART President - commented: “We are particularly pleased to be working alongside the Assi non-profit organisation once again. As was the case with ‘Favolando on the road’, the ‘Integrally Sport and Culture’ project is fully in keeping with the mis-sion and guiding principles of our Foundation. Brainchild of a De Rigo family idea intended to give back at least a part of what we have received in the last four decades, the Fondazione De Rigo - H.E.ART (Health, Education & Art for Youth) aims to support children and teenagers with their in-tellectual and physical development and self-expression, by contributing to the removal of any possible obstacles that may limit growth. The Foundation logo was inspired by a metaphor - that of a hot air balloon, which, in order to take flight, must leave behind the weights that keep it firmly an-chored to the ground. This is the goal of each and every project that we embrace”.

Oscar De Pellegrin - ASSI non-profit organisation President - added: “Carrying forward this initia-tive aimed at young students with an important local partner such as the Fondazione De Rigo H.E.ART is very satisfying indeed; the sensitivity and commitment to social issues shown by the De Rigo family encourages and motivates us in the realisation of new social projects”.