July 2023

Hosted by the Foundacion ONCE, on June 27, 2023 Laura Capranica (President), Mojca Doupona (Treasurer) and Antonio Sanchez-Pato (Board Member) attended the event on dual career of Paralympic athletes, during which issues on their challenges and opportunities of a Dual Career and the experiences in combining high competition and university paths have been addressed.

Moderated by Fernando Riaño (World Paralympic triathlete and Director of Sustainability/ESG and Institutional Relations at Grupo Social ONCE), during the first session Laura Capranica (EAS), Juan Alfonso García Roca (UCAM) and Luis Leardy and María Delgado (Members of the International Paralympic Committee and Spanish representatives) addressed the challenges and opportunities of a Dual Career of para-athletes.

With her personal experience, María Delgado moderate the second session dedicated to High Competition Athletes and the University.    With her personal experience, María Delgado (Paralympic Committee) moderate the second session dedicated to High Competition Athletes and the University with the University Paralympic Carla Casals (Paralympic trainer program FONCE)  and Ignacio Arribas  (Paralympic Committee)-

During the final remarks, Mrs. Dª Isabel Martínez Lozano, Director of Programmes with Universities and Promotion of Young Talent (FONCE), reminded the audience that since 1938 ONCE has laid the foundation for a system of specialized social services for individuals with disabilities to overcome the obstacles to develop socially, professionally and personally. With the Para-Limits project, ONCE included dual career of athletes with disability, ensuring the sustainab  ility of this project.

Following the event, the Para-Limits Team discussed the final steps of the project including the final report and envisioned future collaboration in this area. The Para-Limits – Dual Career of Student-Athletes with Disabilities as a Tool for Social Inclusion project (EPLUS 400622213) will be present at the 2023 EAS Conference in Gaeta, Italy next October 2-4, 2023.

Para-Limits project is funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.