WEBVTT - Equal Too: The Change We Made 0:00:00.160 --> 0:00:02.960 There's a young boy woman. Dastick was cut up from 0:00:02.960 --> 0:00:07.280 a surgery prosthetic picks purgery, telling me I'm normal, but normal. 0:00:07.400 --> 0:00:11.320 They never really make see they are always painting, discriminated 0:00:11.360 --> 0:00:15.680 but livitated. I think the Paralympic Games can and Paralympic 0:00:15.720 --> 0:00:20.360 athletes can show the potential for people with disabilities, you know, 0:00:20.400 --> 0:00:23.960 and just how incredible they can be in what they 0:00:24.000 --> 0:00:27.160 can do. He gets a good one is achsaros pro 0:00:27.400 --> 0:00:30.680 sids go wo. Then we talks intense Passaurus started to 0:00:30.800 --> 0:00:34.240 each other, but just gotta brea talk. We don't take 0:00:34.400 --> 0:00:39.720 the doss. Brown takes the sales off in the unted stays. 0:00:39.920 --> 0:00:44.000 I remember going into the Paralympic Athletics Day one morning session. 0:00:44.640 --> 0:00:48.680 I'm walking out and just go this is amazing, And 0:00:48.800 --> 0:00:54.200 there it is the coach jumpstairs feet. Their celebrations are 0:00:54.400 --> 0:00:58.880 just incredible, as incredible as that performance. The nineteen year 0:00:58.920 --> 0:01:03.040 old France nis in Italy. Just doesn't know what to 0:01:03.080 --> 0:01:33.400 do with ourselves h M. The Writing Phoenix project began 0:01:33.440 --> 0:01:36.760 when the documentary Rising Phoenix was released on Netflix in 0:01:36.760 --> 0:01:41.120 August of This was the date the Paralympics were originally 0:01:41.200 --> 0:01:44.399 due to start. The documentary tells the history of the 0:01:44.400 --> 0:01:47.319 Paralympic Games, which has grown to become one of the 0:01:47.360 --> 0:01:51.240 world's largest sporting events. Do you use don't you believe? 0:01:51.640 --> 0:01:55.600 We'll try to gain the outside is done it again. 0:01:56.440 --> 0:02:00.880 We are nice quite quite news tonight. It was one 0:02:00.960 --> 0:02:03.680 of the most popular films released on Netflix in its 0:02:03.720 --> 0:02:08.239 opening weekend, and it triggered an incredible discussion about disability 0:02:08.560 --> 0:02:14.560 all around the world. Paralympic sport is a catalyst for change. 0:02:15.360 --> 0:02:19.040 It challenges how we perceive disabled people and provide a 0:02:19.120 --> 0:02:23.519 global stage to build a community. But what happens after 0:02:23.639 --> 0:02:28.760 the games when athletes return home to truly create an 0:02:28.800 --> 0:02:32.720 accessible and equitable world, a place where everyone feels safe 0:02:32.800 --> 0:02:36.079 and is encouraged to be themselves. We have work to do. 0:02:36.880 --> 0:02:41.880 We have to change the law, transformed culture, rebuild our cities, 0:02:42.040 --> 0:02:46.640 increased visibility, and to do so, we must empower everyone 0:02:46.800 --> 0:02:50.560 to be involved. Over the next five episodes, you're going 0:02:50.600 --> 0:02:54.760 to hear from activists and policy makers, athletes and allies 0:02:54.880 --> 0:02:57.720 from around the world as we listen to what they 0:02:57.840 --> 0:03:01.200 think of where this movement and where the story of 0:03:01.280 --> 0:03:05.959 this movement needs to go next. I'm Sophie Morgan. This 0:03:06.400 --> 0:03:14.960 is equal to episode one, the change we made. If 0:03:15.000 --> 0:03:17.880 you want to follow the equal two story and join 0:03:17.960 --> 0:03:22.079 the conversation hashtag equal to, go to our website ht 0:03:22.280 --> 0:03:25.480 Whitey dot world, where you will also find the transcript 0:03:25.520 --> 0:03:28.639 and video versions of the podcast, along with subtitles and 0:03:28.720 --> 0:03:36.960 a b Sell signed version in the coming days. The 0:03:37.040 --> 0:03:41.040 Paralympics is a phenomenal sporting event. It has the power 0:03:41.240 --> 0:03:45.160 to change lives. As a wheelchair user myself, for example, 0:03:45.440 --> 0:03:48.200 the twelve Games in London opened the door to me 0:03:48.320 --> 0:03:51.120 becoming one of the first female disabled television hosts in 0:03:51.160 --> 0:03:55.640 the world. The games showcase disabled athletes at an elite 0:03:55.720 --> 0:03:59.400 level and allows spectators to see what disabled sports people 0:03:59.480 --> 0:04:02.880 can achieve. Eve But the rise of the Paralympic Games 0:04:03.080 --> 0:04:08.040 has not been straightforward. Some games have been incredible, so 0:04:08.680 --> 0:04:12.600 finally the sun was setting on London's glorious summer of 0:04:12.720 --> 0:04:15.440 sport that they were going to go out with a bang. 0:04:15.600 --> 0:04:19.600 We have already espoished by the triumphs and drama the Paralympics. 0:04:20.320 --> 0:04:25.560 Some not so good Riaralympic Games are getting underway for 0:04:25.680 --> 0:04:28.520 many of the athletes involved, though the road tario has 0:04:28.680 --> 0:04:32.520 involved more than just hard work and determination. Questions have 0:04:32.640 --> 0:04:35.760 again been raised over whether the host city is ready. 0:04:36.080 --> 0:04:40.560 It's an extraordinary story with many twists and turns, and 0:04:40.680 --> 0:04:43.720 it all began with a vision from one man, the 0:04:43.839 --> 0:04:47.119 founder of the Games, Sir Ludwig Gutman. He's the doctor 0:04:47.160 --> 0:04:51.839 who has forced paralyzed people to walk, laugh, argue, earn wagers, 0:04:51.920 --> 0:04:55.320 run up debts. So how did the Games evolved from 0:04:55.360 --> 0:04:59.440 Gutman's artery competition to the event we now know? Dame 0:04:59.560 --> 0:05:02.880 Tanny A. Thompson is one of the most celebrated Paralympians 0:05:02.920 --> 0:05:05.920 and politicians in the UK. I asked her to give 0:05:05.960 --> 0:05:08.760 me a quick overview of the progression of the Paralympics. 0:05:09.080 --> 0:05:11.799 Arm and Bright Thompson of Bright Brittany, the running parall 0:05:11.880 --> 0:05:14.080 A brit when world read World Harder, there's going to 0:05:14.160 --> 0:05:16.440 really have red three years in a row or pretty 0:05:16.440 --> 0:05:21.080 Paralympics in a lively tossed Arnod stride Segon so in 0:05:21.920 --> 0:05:27.480 uh the first Games in Rome in n six kind 0:05:27.480 --> 0:05:30.039 of sat alongside the Olympics, and then there were games 0:05:30.120 --> 0:05:33.160 that then happened in the same country but not in 0:05:33.200 --> 0:05:36.479 the same city. H and then you know what should 0:05:36.520 --> 0:05:41.400 have been the Games in Moscow? The governments that they 0:05:41.400 --> 0:05:43.800 didn't have any disabled people, So the Paralympics went to 0:05:43.960 --> 0:05:46.160 Arnam and then it was kind of quite interesting. So 0:05:47.520 --> 0:05:51.160 four the game split, so the wheelchair users went to Stoke, 0:05:51.200 --> 0:05:55.280 Mandible and everything else went to New York because l 0:05:55.320 --> 0:05:57.560 A that was meant to host the Paralympics then decided 0:05:57.600 --> 0:06:00.560 not to so a t A which you know, I 0:06:00.640 --> 0:06:02.880 don't think, you know, I was sort of right on 0:06:02.920 --> 0:06:06.280 the edges of the politics support. Then it was a 0:06:06.360 --> 0:06:08.920 massive step forward because even in Korea, you know, there's 0:06:08.920 --> 0:06:14.600 a lot of discrimination against disabled people indoor thought you're 0:06:14.640 --> 0:06:19.440 the only done kind of doubt. So my first games 0:06:19.480 --> 0:06:24.440 were sold and it was interesting. I mean, it was 0:06:24.480 --> 0:06:28.040 the first time that we'd had a Paralympics that sat 0:06:28.040 --> 0:06:32.200 alongside the Olympics. We had the same kit, although not 0:06:32.320 --> 0:06:36.680 the same amount of kit, and the Olympians um and 0:06:37.440 --> 0:06:39.880 it felt like it was a massive step forward and 0:06:40.160 --> 0:06:46.240 a real turning point, which it was quite exciting. Yeah, 0:06:49.760 --> 0:06:53.320 Barcelona Games took the baton from Seoul and they created 0:06:53.400 --> 0:06:56.360 a dramatic shift in how the games were produced and 0:06:56.480 --> 0:06:59.920 how they were communicated. Many say the beginnings of the 0:07:00.120 --> 0:07:08.880 modern Paralympic Games were born in Barcelona. It felt like 0:07:08.960 --> 0:07:11.280 it was just massive step forward in terms of the 0:07:11.320 --> 0:07:14.200 games and where it was going to sit alongside the Olympics. 0:07:14.720 --> 0:07:18.200 We have really big crowds um at the Paralympics, and 0:07:18.560 --> 0:07:20.200 I think one of the sad things is people sort 0:07:20.200 --> 0:07:23.320 of forget Barcelona and what a sort of a watershed 0:07:23.400 --> 0:07:26.920 moment it was, because then Atlanta, Sydnely, Athens beyond, you know, 0:07:28.120 --> 0:07:31.840 there weren't massive crowds. But actually for Barcelona there was 0:07:32.080 --> 0:07:35.200 a really really good atmosphere in the city, uh and 0:07:35.440 --> 0:07:38.240 around Olympic Park, you know, swimming pools packed, the athletics 0:07:38.360 --> 0:07:43.440 was really full evening sessions UM and that that was 0:07:44.440 --> 0:07:48.760 quite exciting sort of step forward again. Those crowds helped 0:07:48.920 --> 0:07:52.280 propelled Tanny to a massive five metal performance that summer 0:07:52.360 --> 0:07:55.840 in Spain. But long before Tanny had touched down in Barcelona, 0:07:56.320 --> 0:07:59.760 countless hours of planning and preparation had gone into in 0:08:00.000 --> 0:08:02.640 shuring that the event would be ready for the world stage. 0:08:03.400 --> 0:08:06.960 The International Paralympic Committee or i p C, has been 0:08:07.000 --> 0:08:10.240 in charge of ensuring the successful delivery and organization of 0:08:10.280 --> 0:08:14.280 the Paralympic Games since it was founded in nine. Zavie 0:08:14.320 --> 0:08:17.120 Gonzalez of Spain was CEO at the i p C 0:08:17.400 --> 0:08:19.760 from two thousand and four until he retired in two 0:08:19.840 --> 0:08:22.840 thousand and nineteen. He was a pivotal figure in the 0:08:22.880 --> 0:08:27.120 Barcelona Games. Zavy tells me about what happened when I 0:08:27.960 --> 0:08:32.000 was called to see if I was interested in enjoined 0:08:32.000 --> 0:08:35.640 the Paralympic Games. My reaction was, Bara, what one think 0:08:35.720 --> 0:08:38.120 that we did in Barcelona? I think that's what really 0:08:38.360 --> 0:08:42.079 was there. The foundation of the success is that we 0:08:42.559 --> 0:08:47.199 from the beginning created the alleleads and treated the event 0:08:47.520 --> 0:08:52.480 as as an event, and we didn't really looking through 0:08:52.600 --> 0:08:58.080 so much the disability. We needed to organize a very 0:08:58.120 --> 0:09:01.440 good event, needed to be similar to the Olympics as 0:09:01.520 --> 0:09:05.160 much as we could, and we knew that the Allies 0:09:05.200 --> 0:09:08.079 were going to come. The Allies will will require that 0:09:08.280 --> 0:09:12.400 level of sophistication and preparations. Gordi Eta. If they will 0:09:12.440 --> 0:09:16.080 see Baiqual and shall pat with the should see Plin 0:09:16.720 --> 0:09:20.120 Shendicho joined the cartoon one. Then the Games went to 0:09:20.280 --> 0:09:23.400 China for the first time, and the Beijing Games in 0:09:23.480 --> 0:09:26.319 two thousand and eight was yet another milestone for the event, 0:09:26.800 --> 0:09:30.559 impacting the lives of China's eighty three million disabled people 0:09:30.679 --> 0:09:34.680 for the better before the Games, the country was comparatively inaccessible, 0:09:34.920 --> 0:09:38.520 but as Zavvy remembers, that soon changed. I think what 0:09:39.320 --> 0:09:43.839 the real change happened or become visible. That's probably more 0:09:44.000 --> 0:09:48.559 more fair to say it became visible was one the 0:09:48.679 --> 0:09:51.360 President of China. I think it was called hug Intao 0:09:51.520 --> 0:09:55.040 at the time, the declare that the Olympics and the 0:09:55.120 --> 0:09:59.040 Paralympics are going to be games of equalis splendor. And 0:09:59.160 --> 0:10:02.320 this time the games even managed to change the law. 0:10:03.000 --> 0:10:06.640 Just weeks before the Paralympics began in Beijing, the revised 0:10:06.800 --> 0:10:09.360 Law of the People's Republic of China on the Protection 0:10:09.400 --> 0:10:12.840 of People with the Disability came into force to protect 0:10:12.920 --> 0:10:15.839 the rights of disabled people. The law meant that the 0:10:15.960 --> 0:10:20.480 state and society had to improve accessible facilities and promote 0:10:20.559 --> 0:10:34.439 accessible information. History was made. I guess that, in a 0:10:34.600 --> 0:10:38.040 nutshell is the power of sport, the power of the 0:10:38.080 --> 0:10:42.120 Paralympic Games, not just to move us, but to change us. 0:10:42.640 --> 0:10:47.520 The movement was growing, and then in the Games arrived 0:10:47.640 --> 0:11:07.520 in London. Yeah, I remember going into the Paralympic Athletics 0:11:07.640 --> 0:11:11.000 day one morning session. I'm walking out and just going 0:11:12.880 --> 0:11:16.400 this is amazing. Investment in the Games was key to 0:11:16.520 --> 0:11:20.480 their success. But this investment wasn't just to improve infrastructure 0:11:20.520 --> 0:11:26.120 and access, but to amplify and ignite conversations too. For 0:11:26.200 --> 0:11:29.640 the London Twelve Games, one stakeholder who rose to the 0:11:29.760 --> 0:11:32.880 challenge was the UK's most progressive and some might say 0:11:33.000 --> 0:11:37.320 disruptive broadcaster, Channel Four. For any of us, I think 0:11:37.559 --> 0:11:42.160 that we're lucky enough to be involved in London and 0:11:42.600 --> 0:11:45.640 just to be involved with the Paralympic movement. It's been 0:11:46.320 --> 0:11:48.960 that's the best thing that's happened in our working lives. 0:11:49.280 --> 0:11:54.800 Yes I can, suddenly, yes I can, Gee, I'm afraid 0:11:54.880 --> 0:11:59.199 to go on has turned into yes I can. Take 0:12:00.480 --> 0:12:02.959 That was Dan Brook, who was the chief marketing and 0:12:03.040 --> 0:12:05.480 Communications officer of Channel four at the time of the 0:12:05.520 --> 0:12:09.120 Twelve Games. TV coverage of the Paralympics had always been 0:12:09.160 --> 0:12:13.199 done by the world renowned BBC, who also broadcast the Olympics. 0:12:13.760 --> 0:12:16.920 But spotting an opportunity to give the Paralympics its own 0:12:17.080 --> 0:12:20.960 stage and to center the narratives of athletes themselves, Channel 0:12:21.000 --> 0:12:24.599 four won the television rights to broadcast for the Paralympics. 0:12:25.160 --> 0:12:29.040 That was an incredibly brave decision because saying no to 0:12:29.160 --> 0:12:33.880 the BBC is like saying no to the Queen. Channel 0:12:33.920 --> 0:12:37.000 four sought to do something that nobody had ever achieved 0:12:37.120 --> 0:12:40.439 before in the history of the Paralympics, to present it 0:12:40.640 --> 0:12:43.319 to the world on a stage as big as and 0:12:43.640 --> 0:12:48.160 equal to the Olympics. That was exactly what founder Ludwig 0:12:48.200 --> 0:12:51.199 Gutman had always wanted, which is why he named the 0:12:51.280 --> 0:12:55.719 games the para Olympics, which means parallel or equal to. 0:12:56.880 --> 0:13:01.160 Channel four were finally going to realize Gutman's dream. Dan 0:13:01.280 --> 0:13:04.160 and his team came up with a revolutionary idea. We 0:13:04.240 --> 0:13:08.360 were talking and saying to ourselves that the portrayal of 0:13:08.480 --> 0:13:13.360 people disabilities in popular culture. The biggest thing that we 0:13:13.440 --> 0:13:16.680 could think of where disability was portrayed in a positive 0:13:16.720 --> 0:13:19.680 way was the X men um you know, and probably 0:13:19.679 --> 0:13:21.480 should be called the X Men and the X Women. 0:13:21.880 --> 0:13:27.079 Their disability is at the center of what their superpower is. 0:13:27.760 --> 0:13:40.079 That was the basis for for Superhumans. Then on top 0:13:40.120 --> 0:13:43.840 of that, we wanted to give Paralympians the Hollywood treatment, 0:13:43.880 --> 0:13:46.440 the Nike treatment in a way that we felt they'd 0:13:46.480 --> 0:13:50.120 never been given before. So, you know, in the Superhumans 0:13:50.160 --> 0:13:52.640 advert there's amazing production values, and you know, we spent 0:13:52.720 --> 0:13:56.520 a lot of money making sure that athletes looked amazing 0:14:00.320 --> 0:14:03.400 should be on that plane. If you're a Paralympian, your 0:14:03.640 --> 0:14:07.160 your disability is an integral part of your identity and 0:14:07.280 --> 0:14:10.000 indeed of your presence at the Games. So we didn't 0:14:10.000 --> 0:14:12.040 want to shy away from that in a way that 0:14:12.360 --> 0:14:15.599 you know, we felt perhaps before people had m So 0:14:16.160 --> 0:14:20.240 you know, stumps and scars and other aspects of disability 0:14:20.400 --> 0:14:26.480 are presented very proudly in the advert. You know, there's 0:14:26.520 --> 0:14:29.000 this handover period of two and a half weeks between 0:14:29.040 --> 0:14:31.840 the Olympics ending and the Paralympics beginning, and that was 0:14:31.920 --> 0:14:36.760 where marketing got crammed, and we decided, no, we want 0:14:36.800 --> 0:14:40.480 to get this on people's agenda, on their radar, right 0:14:40.640 --> 0:14:43.520 from the start, before the Olympics even begin. So when 0:14:43.560 --> 0:14:49.200 the Olympics ends, there's not people already prepared for the 0:14:49.280 --> 0:14:51.880 fact that there's a second party that's about to occur. 0:14:52.320 --> 0:14:56.200 And that was that was really successful. The other thing 0:14:56.280 --> 0:15:00.840 that we did, which which I loved, were when as 0:15:00.880 --> 0:15:06.280 the Olympics were ended ending, all these massive billboards went 0:15:06.640 --> 0:15:10.280 up all over the country with the Paralympics logo on 0:15:10.400 --> 0:15:12.120 it and the Channel four logo on it, and it 0:15:12.240 --> 0:15:16.600 simply said thanks for the warm up. Channel four broke 0:15:16.720 --> 0:15:19.280 the mold and turned the Games into an event that 0:15:19.440 --> 0:15:23.560 was watched and loved by millions of people. British athletes 0:15:23.640 --> 0:15:27.760 like Johnny Peacock, Ellie Simmons and David Weir became household 0:15:27.880 --> 0:15:34.800 names across the UK began is she going to do it? Then? 0:15:46.320 --> 0:15:50.480 And the twelve Paralympics was also successful in shifting short 0:15:50.600 --> 0:15:54.520 term perceptions on disability, withough the half of people asked 0:15:54.880 --> 0:15:58.480 stating that their view of disability had changed for the better. 0:15:59.400 --> 0:16:01.920 Dan says that one of the really important components of 0:16:02.000 --> 0:16:05.520 the success was the backing of the games by commercial sponsors, 0:16:05.960 --> 0:16:10.760 including one of the UK's largest supermarkets, Sainsbury's. Change occurs 0:16:10.840 --> 0:16:13.800 in two different ways. There's a change that occurs to 0:16:13.920 --> 0:16:17.160 the games and the way that the Games is held 0:16:17.240 --> 0:16:20.000 and put on then by successive cities because you know, 0:16:20.080 --> 0:16:23.080 everyone's this is sport, everyone's competitive, right, you want to 0:16:23.520 --> 0:16:26.040 put on the games that was better than the ones before, 0:16:26.240 --> 0:16:30.120 So you know, London has now become the new benchmark 0:16:30.800 --> 0:16:34.920 for for the Paralympics. And what it definitely did was 0:16:35.000 --> 0:16:40.120 it it put the subject of disability sort of front 0:16:40.160 --> 0:16:43.840 and center in society in a way that that that 0:16:44.200 --> 0:16:47.200 that it had never that had never happened before. I 0:16:47.240 --> 0:16:50.400 remember lieving the stadium one night in London and there 0:16:50.480 --> 0:16:54.880 was a a mom with her daughter, quite young daughter 0:16:54.960 --> 0:16:59.640 with double emputy, and she was walking very slowly out 0:16:59.680 --> 0:17:03.400 of the park and the man was just pootling along alongside, 0:17:03.640 --> 0:17:05.840 and you could see the mom just wanted to pick 0:17:05.880 --> 0:17:08.320 her up and stick her in her wheelchair and push her, 0:17:08.520 --> 0:17:10.680 and the mom wasn't doing that. And I talked to everyone, 0:17:10.760 --> 0:17:12.640 so I stopped and said, have you had a nice time? 0:17:12.720 --> 0:17:15.840 And a mom was just like yeah, And I said, 0:17:16.000 --> 0:17:18.359 what happened to? We've been here every day, We've watched 0:17:18.400 --> 0:17:20.760 like loads of stuff and said the start of the game, 0:17:20.840 --> 0:17:23.920 said my daughter covered her legs. She did, and she 0:17:24.080 --> 0:17:25.960 preferred to be in a pram as opposed to a 0:17:25.960 --> 0:17:28.800 wheelchair because she knew as a wheel chat, although she 0:17:28.880 --> 0:17:31.360 knew she'd get treated differently being sort of a young 0:17:31.480 --> 0:17:34.720 child in a pram, she felt she was treated worse 0:17:34.920 --> 0:17:38.320 if she was in a wheelchair. And she'd watch loads 0:17:38.320 --> 0:17:41.840 of stuff, and she'd watch Johnny Peacock and she was 0:17:41.920 --> 0:17:45.600 now walking in a pair of shorts and showing off 0:17:45.640 --> 0:17:49.280 her legs and I was like, right. So I said 0:17:49.320 --> 0:17:50.920 to this this young girl, I said, so, you know, 0:17:51.000 --> 0:17:52.320 what do you think of Johnny? And she liked to 0:17:52.359 --> 0:17:54.280 know and I said, sid, you want to be like 0:17:54.359 --> 0:17:56.919 Johnny Peacock when you grew up? And she looked at 0:17:56.960 --> 0:17:58.439 me as kind of only a seven eight year old 0:17:58.480 --> 0:18:00.800 card and went, well, that's stupid, because Johnny's a boy 0:18:00.800 --> 0:18:03.040 and I'm a girl. Okay. So it's clear that the 0:18:03.160 --> 0:18:07.119 London Games made the UK and perhaps even the world 0:18:07.600 --> 0:18:10.760 sit up and take note. So what next. By the 0:18:10.840 --> 0:18:15.119 time the Rio Games came around, even TV stars were 0:18:15.200 --> 0:18:18.280 keen to get involved. Here's R. J. Mitty of the 0:18:18.440 --> 0:18:33.800 US hit drama Breaking Bad. I really wanted to get 0:18:33.840 --> 0:18:37.800 involved because you know, um, the the Olympics and the 0:18:37.880 --> 0:18:41.320 Paralympics to me are such a pivotal part of our 0:18:41.440 --> 0:18:45.159 society when it comes to what we can do, the 0:18:45.320 --> 0:18:48.800 mentality of the human condition, of how far we can 0:18:48.920 --> 0:18:52.000 push ourselves and um, and I was trying to get 0:18:52.040 --> 0:18:54.480 involved with them. And in the in the US we 0:18:54.520 --> 0:18:59.520 weren't really I wasn't really making making the cut and uh. 0:18:59.720 --> 0:19:03.639 And in the United Kingdom forwards more than happy to 0:19:03.960 --> 0:19:07.399 to pick me up. But what many people don't know 0:19:07.800 --> 0:19:12.040 is that the Paralympic Games were very nearly canceled and 0:19:12.119 --> 0:19:14.960 it's only thanks to the determination and the resilience of 0:19:15.000 --> 0:19:18.720 the Paralympic movement that they happened. They actually had the 0:19:18.840 --> 0:19:22.760 furthest reach of any games in history. More than four 0:19:22.960 --> 0:19:26.800 billion people watched from over a hundred and fifty countries. 0:19:27.160 --> 0:19:32.440 Ladies and gentlemen the Paralympic flag handle and ceremonial saying 0:19:32.480 --> 0:19:42.960 mardis is his loradies A ceremonial Paralympica. What a roller 0:19:43.040 --> 0:19:46.000 coaster these past few years have been. But here we are, 0:19:46.440 --> 0:19:49.200 through all of the delays and hardships of a pandemic. 0:19:49.680 --> 0:19:54.440 The sixteenth Paralympic Games are underway. So what can we 0:19:54.560 --> 0:19:57.560 expect from the games this summer? I knew just the 0:19:57.640 --> 0:20:03.040 person to ask, Juan Pablos Alaza. For fourteen years, Juan Pablo, 0:20:03.320 --> 0:20:05.920 who is the President of the National Disability Council in 0:20:06.040 --> 0:20:09.480 Colombia as well as president of the Inter American Committee 0:20:09.480 --> 0:20:12.359 for the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Persons 0:20:12.440 --> 0:20:16.280 with Disabilities, has been a global and passionate activist for 0:20:16.359 --> 0:20:20.119 the Paralympic movement and for rights of persons with disabilities. Well, 0:20:20.200 --> 0:20:25.159 the Tokyo Games at an unusual games because well, of 0:20:25.280 --> 0:20:28.800 course we were dealing with this meteorite that kill Earth 0:20:28.920 --> 0:20:33.520 called COVID. That right now, it's it's more like that's 0:20:33.520 --> 0:20:36.600 our vival mode. We we need the games to happen 0:20:37.880 --> 0:20:41.720 for our for our system, and mostly because of our athletes. 0:20:42.119 --> 0:20:45.280 And I think it's also like such of hope for 0:20:45.640 --> 0:20:47.520 for the world. You know, we are a little bit 0:20:47.600 --> 0:20:55.600 of that light at the end of the tunnel. Die 0:20:55.680 --> 0:20:59.399 Tammaso is a legend in Japan. He represented Japan in 0:20:59.480 --> 0:21:03.480 the Sydney, Athens and Beijing Olympics, and since retiring, has 0:21:03.520 --> 0:21:06.600 taken a particular interest in athlete development and has a 0:21:06.640 --> 0:21:10.400 passion for the Paralympic movement. I asked him about Japan's 0:21:10.440 --> 0:21:15.960 intended legacy for the Paralympic Games. The most fundamental impact 0:21:16.040 --> 0:21:19.800 on Japanese society, in my opinion, is about labeling. In Japan, 0:21:20.119 --> 0:21:23.359 we offer support to people with disabilities, but conversely that 0:21:23.520 --> 0:21:27.119 results in people with disabilities being grouped together. People with 0:21:27.160 --> 0:21:30.000 disabilities are on one side and healthy people on the other, 0:21:30.440 --> 0:21:33.719 clearly separating them into different groups. In the same way, 0:21:33.720 --> 0:21:35.680 if we raised the question of labeling and the Paralympic 0:21:35.800 --> 0:21:38.920 Games were not merely talking about people with disabilities, but 0:21:39.040 --> 0:21:42.520 also those people who are not Paralympians. I believe that 0:21:42.560 --> 0:21:44.719 the biggest legacy of the Paralympics is to free us 0:21:44.720 --> 0:21:48.399 from the stigma of those labels like being Japanese or 0:21:48.520 --> 0:21:51.400 male or female. Since we tend to confine ourselves into 0:21:51.440 --> 0:21:57.439 certain frames, the Paralympics invites us to question the power 0:21:57.680 --> 0:22:02.840 or importance of labels and categorization. Are they signposts for 0:22:02.960 --> 0:22:07.399 community pride and self identification or are they used to 0:22:07.560 --> 0:22:10.840 other and distance those who have always been on the margins. 0:22:11.640 --> 0:22:14.440 Language is personal and shaped by who we are and 0:22:14.600 --> 0:22:17.840 how we live, which is why this global lens on 0:22:17.960 --> 0:22:22.440 disability and inclusion has never been more important, and, according 0:22:22.480 --> 0:22:25.760 to Juan Pablo, Tokyo is taking up the charge to 0:22:25.880 --> 0:22:29.920 forge a lasting impact that reaches far beyond their borders. 0:22:30.400 --> 0:22:33.480 Never before in the history of the Paralympic movement had 0:22:33.600 --> 0:22:39.119 inclusion been explicitly in the in the strategic plan. So 0:22:39.440 --> 0:22:45.720 they started with um with this administration three years ago, 0:22:46.400 --> 0:22:50.880 where we designed the like the first like the first 0:22:50.960 --> 0:22:55.800 drawing of the first blueprint of inclusion being spoken about 0:22:55.920 --> 0:23:01.520 explicity in explicitly in our in our our work. So yes, 0:23:01.680 --> 0:23:08.680 it's fascinating times. We are indeed pioneering this with all 0:23:08.800 --> 0:23:12.159 the additional challenges that that means, because you know this 0:23:12.400 --> 0:23:16.399 is unchartered territories. I think that if in London we 0:23:16.560 --> 0:23:21.680 matured us an elite uh competition of mass consumption and 0:23:21.840 --> 0:23:26.320 in real we kind of consolidated that in in Tokyo 0:23:26.600 --> 0:23:29.159 we are launching now that we know that we're a 0:23:29.200 --> 0:23:32.160 big movement. Yeah, and now that we have that very 0:23:32.240 --> 0:23:36.440 much well consolidated, we can start to focus on our 0:23:36.960 --> 0:23:40.440 broader purpose. So of course we will always be about 0:23:40.520 --> 0:23:45.280 sports and that's not going to change ever, but sports 0:23:45.480 --> 0:23:48.280 for the service of inclusion of people with these abilities. 0:23:48.720 --> 0:23:51.960 Now that we're like adults and grownups, we can say, okay, 0:23:52.280 --> 0:23:56.639 we can use this massive platform and this uh so 0:23:56.880 --> 0:24:00.040 wide and global reach to actually get some in s 0:24:01.040 --> 0:24:04.480 done through the weed the fifteen campaign that it's a 0:24:04.840 --> 0:24:09.320 ten year initiative to see how we can link we 0:24:09.440 --> 0:24:12.879 can find that philosopher. So we're talking about before linking, 0:24:13.000 --> 0:24:17.320 how para sports positively and truly and measurably and objectively 0:24:17.840 --> 0:24:21.000 impact the implementation of the inn Convention of rights of 0:24:21.040 --> 0:24:26.280 people with disabilities. Bringing you through this timeline of the Paralympics, 0:24:26.440 --> 0:24:31.200 albeit quickly, is important because with a shared understanding of 0:24:31.280 --> 0:24:34.400 how far we've come, we can start to map out 0:24:34.800 --> 0:24:38.200 what's next. It's time for us to stop looking back 0:24:38.480 --> 0:24:41.119 and to start looking forward. It's time for us to 0:24:41.200 --> 0:24:44.680 think about what is next. In Episode two, will be 0:24:44.840 --> 0:24:49.040 exploring the law, the limitations and opportunities of the policies 0:24:49.119 --> 0:24:53.920 we work and live within, and how paralympians, advocates, activists 0:24:54.000 --> 0:24:57.320 and allies are creating the change that we need. This 0:24:57.480 --> 0:25:00.680 podcast has been made by disabled and non disabled people, 0:25:01.119 --> 0:25:07.600 and this story is for everyone. Join us. These podcasts 0:25:07.680 --> 0:25:10.399 have been made possible by the supporter Procter and Gamble. 0:25:11.000 --> 0:25:13.480 P and G share our ambition to create a more 0:25:13.600 --> 0:25:16.960 equal world, a world where everyone can have equal access 0:25:17.200 --> 0:25:20.240 and the opportunity to thrive. We are very grateful for 0:25:20.320 --> 0:25:25.480 the partnership in making these conversations a reality. Of people 0:25:25.560 --> 0:25:28.200 with the direct involvement in the production of this podcast, 0:25:28.520 --> 0:25:33.639 including guests, identify as disabled. This podcast was created by 0:25:33.680 --> 0:25:37.320 Greg Nugent, co founder of Harder Than You Think. I'm 0:25:37.359 --> 0:25:42.879 Sophia Morgan, your host and executive producer. Fellow executive producers 0:25:43.280 --> 0:25:50.200 are Chanaid Burke, Greg Nugent, Barnaby Spurrier, Laura I'ms, Mark Pritchard, 0:25:50.720 --> 0:25:53.840 and Kimberly Dobrunner. Thank you to the I p C 0:25:54.080 --> 0:25:56.880 and Channel four for their support and use of archive material. 0:25:57.760 --> 0:26:01.560 Thanks to our podcast production Partner Media, and also to 0:26:01.640 --> 0:26:06.399 Seneca Women for their assistance with distributing this show. If 0:26:06.440 --> 0:26:09.360 you want to follow the equal to story and join 0:26:09.440 --> 0:26:13.560 the conversation hashtag equal to, go to our website ht 0:26:13.760 --> 0:26:16.919 Whitey dot world, where you will also find the transcript 0:26:17.000 --> 0:26:20.119 and video versions of the podcast, along with subtitles and 0:26:20.200 --> 0:26:22.440 a BSL signed version in the coming days.