A ROUND OF MEETINGS HAS STARTED FOR THE LIMA 2019 PARAPAN AMERICAN GAMES

The Eighth Coordination Committee started this morning at the National Stadium in Lima, almost six months before the start of the Games on August 23. Officials and representatives of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC), the Americas Paralympic Committee (APC), the National Paralympic Association of Peru (ANPP) and of various Lima 2019 departments were present at the meeting. Lima 2019 presented the progress of the various areas of organization for the largest multi-sports event in the Americas.

Lima 2019 President Carlos Neuhaus, APC President Julie O’Neill Dussliere, IPC CEO Xavier González and President of National Paralympic Association of Peru Lucha Villar attended this important meeting.

Carlos Neuhaus gave the opening remarks for this round of meetings and stressed the importance of organizing the Parapan American Games in Peru. “This is the most important challenge for us. All participants and attendees will have accessible facilities during the competitions. But, its’s not only for the Games, its also for the legacy that will remain for the Peruvian people,” he stated.

“We want to involve Peru’s main authorities, President of Peru Martín Vizcarra, Mayor of Lima Jorge Muñoz and Ombudsman Walter Gutiérrez, who are very interested in all the benefits of accessibility. We want to raise awareness about the pending tasks for the benefit of people with an impairment. In general, we are making progress with a view to the Games and the Government authorities are satisfied with that. The infrastructure projects are going well and VIDENA will be an example of accessibility,” said Neuhaus.

Meanwhile, the APC President highlighted the value of these meetings for the upcoming Lima 2019 Games. “It is very important to work together over the next few days to ensure that these Games provide the best opportunity for the athletes and the National Paralympic Committees (NPCs) that will be here in August,” said Julie O'Neill Dussliere.

While Lucha Villar welcomed the international executives. “We’re preparing for the Parapan American Games and we are confident we will make a good impression,” she stated.

Meetings

It should be noted that the Eighth Coordination Committee meeting with APC, IPC and COPAL checks the progress on different work areas for the upcoming Parapan American Games.

The following representatives participated in these meetings: Dr. Peter Van de Vliet, IPC Medical and Scientific Director; Stephanie Keller, IPC Head of Protocol, Hospitality and Events; Paul Freudensprung, IPC Operations Coordinator; Jürgen Padberg, IPC Paralympic Games Sport & IF Relations Senior Manager; Aimée Poyo, APC Regional Sports Competitions Manager; Ileana Rodríguez, APC Para athlete representative; Qayser Sachdev, Membership Engagement and NPC Services Senior Manager; Hernán Goldzycher, IPC Public Relations and Editorial Coordinator; and Lima 2019 representatives.

The functional departments that gave presentations in front of APC and IPC officials on the first day of meetings were the following: Volunteering, Workforce, Infrastructure and Overlay, Sports, Venues, Marketing, Commercial, Games Services and Legacy.

IPC and APC

The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) is the international governing body of the Paralympic movement. This committee’s objective is to organize the Summer and Winter Paralympic Games and to act as the International Federation of nine sports, in order to supervise and coordinate the World Championships and other competitions.

The Americas Paralympic Committee (APC) was established in August 1997 with the aim of creating a Para sport governing body for the Americas.

Since 2007, the Parapan American Games are held in the same city as the Pan American Games.

In Peru

The National Paralympic Association of Peru (ANPP) is the governing body of the Paralympic sports movement in Peru. Since 2016, it promotes individual and group Para sports participation. The association also works to transform society by promoting Para sports, as part of the legacy of the Lima 2019 Parapan American Games.