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The Institute for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, I.P., (IDiPD) was represented at the opening session of the first Master's Degree in Physical Activity for Persons with Disabilities for Persons with Disabilities of the newly created University of Leiria and West, held last Friday, the 18th, in the city of Leiria. The session was chaired by the Director of the School of Education and Social Sciences, Professor José Marques and the Director of the Master, Professor Raul Antunes and was also attended by the President of the Paralympic Committee of Portugal and Professor Alexandre Mestre, a specialist in Sports Law. Odete Fiúza, representing the IDIPD, presented the Institute’s work in the field of sport, which translates, inter alia, into the support and financing of measures, programmes and initiatives aimed at promoting the practice of sport for people with disabilities.

In the intervention it was underlined that the practice of sports is a structuring instrument of inclusion, autonomy and full participation in society.

As a Leiriense and visually impaired person, Odete Fiúza also shared his path of inclusion, highlighting the fundamental role of the family in sharing responsibilities and involving everyone in day-to-day activities, the role of the school in social inclusion and the importance of the community as a support network in which, as he said, "no one is left behind and everyone advances pulling for each other."