agitus foundation

The Agitos Foundation was formally established in 2012 and has become the leading global organisation for developing Para sport as a tool for changing lives and contributing to an inclusive society for all. It is the charity and the development arm of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) and the foundation takes its name from the Paralympic Symbol (the Agitos) which is derived from the Latin verb “to move”.

 

It works on a global basis to attract funding – philanthropic donations and grants – as well as a wide range of non-financial strategic support. The key focus is to distribute these resources and expertise to the parts of the world where they are most needed. Para sport is all too often expensive to provide, unavailable or not well-promoted, especially in developing nations.

 

The IPC is the global governing body of the Paralympic Movement. Its purpose is to organise the summer and winter Paralympic Games and act as the International Federation for ten sports, supervising and coordinating World Championships and other competitions.

 

The Paralympic Movement has an established relevance to refugees and displaced people. At the Rio2016 Paralympic Games a small team of refugee athletes, known as the Independent Paralympic Athletes team (IPA), participated for the first time having received a range of practical and financial support from the IPC. That support has continued at several World Championships in 2017, including the London 2017 World Para Athletics Championships, and preparations are being made to have a team at Tokyo2020.