Athlete envoys raise awareness of disabilities

To promote inclusion and equal treatment for people with disabilities, the US State Department this week sent two athletes with disabilities to Guangzhou as envoys to discuss sports culture and policy with students and others in the southern Chinese city.

Andrea Woodson-Smith and Becky Clark will participate in various activities with the aim of teaching leadership skills, promoting the value of inclusion and emphasizing the importance of physical activity. They will also teach skills in basketball and volleyball, sports in which the two athlete-diplomats have won medals.

Woodson-Smith, who teaches at North Carolina Central University, is a former member of the US women's wheelchair-basketball team. Clark, a licensed clinical social worker and psychotherapist in New York, has won a gold medal and two silver medals in volleyball at the Deaflympics, an international competition for deaf and hearing-impaired athletes.

"My goal for this trip is to bring about more cultural awareness on disability," Woodson-Smith told China Daily. "I believe the more the world recognizes the need for accessibility due to disability, the more common this will become and the more respect individuals with disabilities will gain.

"By discussing issues that the US has overcome and is still working on, and improvements on other issues and policies, I'm hoping this will allow for more engagement in decision-making to include all individuals, specifically those with disabilities," she said.

According to the China Disabled People's Association, there were 85 million Chinese with disabilities at the end of 2010. That population includes 12.6 million with vision difficulties, 20.5 million with impaired hearing, 24.7 million with disabilities of the arms and legs, and others. China sent a delegation of 417 athletes, coaches and officials to the 2012 London Paralympics, winning the most medals of any country for the fourth consecutive staging of the quadrennial event.

The trip by Woodson-Smith and Clark is the first time the State Department has sent envoys with disabilities to China, and is the product of discussions between leaders of both countries at last year's US-China Consultation on People-to-People Exchange, according to a department official.

"The United States is committed to protecting and promoting the rights of disabled persons," the official said. "While disability discrimination leads to both visible and invisible costs (economic, societal, democratic, etc) inclusion promotes social stability and economic development. Focusing on empowering young women and girls, the duo will stress the importance of participation in all aspects of community life."

SportsUnited, a "sports diplomacy" initiative of the State Department, chose Woodson-Smith and Clark for their strong attributes, Clark said. As female scholars with disabilities, and each possessing a PhD, the two are in a unique position.

"We make for a great team, serving as role models for persons with disabilities, especially women and girls," Clark said.

Although the trip will focus on promoting awareness and discussion, Woodson-Smith believes such exchanges can shape public policy over time.

"I believe the more policies that are developed for individuals with disabilities across the world, the easier the development of programs and greater opportunities for individuals with disabilities will become," she said. "With more policies that effect change for the better, there will be a modernization of how the world is in terms of a diverse culture."