WSA enjoy fantastic Disability Sport Wales Dylanwadu Conference

The WSA were delighted to Partner with our members Disability Sport Wales and Gogledd Cymru Actif North Wales, as well as Sport Wales at the recent Disability Sport Wales ‘Dylanwadu’ conference in Llandudno.

The day commenced with an inspiring keynote from Jay Lusted – a former para-badminton athlete and current actor/presenter.

The event then split into breakout sessions – each of the sessions highlighting the importance of sport & leisure and the positive steps that organisations are taking to make a more inclusive and equitable sports system.

The main breakout rooms covered the following areas:

– Collaboration on Coach Development – reflecting on current inclusive practices

– Delivering place-based and a whole system approach – this session introduced the principles of place-based – Asset Based Community Development (ABCD) – and co-production of services.

– Xcessible & insport – the impact of a Collaborative Approach to Inclusion – exploring the collaborative journey between Active Disability Ireland and Disability Sport Wales.

– Equality Impact Assessments that make an impact – to check that the work we do (from inception to review) anticipates what people want and need from services.

– Building Inclusive, Accessible Trilingual Resources: the Challenges & Learnings

– Inclusive recruitment and retention and the Introduction to Systems Leadership

If you would like to find out more information, or access the presentations from these various sessions, please do get in touch or access the Disability Sport Wales website.

Following the morning breakout sessions, the afternoon kicked off with a Keynote Panel: from Wales to the World Stage: Paralympic Journeys – A powerful panel session profiling exceptional Paralympic athletes including Liz Johnson, James Roberts and Jay Lusted.

The final sessions of the day covered the following topics:

Breaking Barriers, Building Bridges: Advancing Inclusion for Ethnically Diverse Communities and Disabled People in Sport

Representation Matters: The importance of listening and understanding lived experience
Resources and Case Studies to Support Inclusive Practice
Building Inclusive Communities – Sector Equity and Diversity Forum – Inclusive Cultures
Building a winning culture of inclusion in the workplace.

The WSA was delighted to contribute to the Inclusive Communities session, with our very own Tom Sharp discussing the WSA and our role in
the Equality Alliance, which existed pre Covid. Using our ‘super connector’ ability, we’re well placed to collaborate with the sector about considering a reborn version for us to work more efficiently. Please look out for comms on this in the coming weeks.

A huge thank you to the entire Disability Sport Wales team for such a thought provoking and inspiring day – we’ll continue to work in partnership with colleagues and advocate and drive inclusivity across the sport & leisure sector.