Albinism is a rare disease that causes a lack of pigmentation, both in skin and hair, which is usually coupled with photosensitivity (which usually forces them to stay at home and makes them unable to participate equally in leisure activities ) and mid to high visual impairments that are great obstacles especially regarding sports activities. Despite these barriers for sports activities, these are essential to achieve the full inclusion of youth with albinism. Due to the pale appearance of a person with albinism and their visual and skin problems, they can be isolated from their surroundings, adding serious socialization problems to their physical and medical ones. Sport improves the physical condition of everyone, but it also provides tools for youth with albinism to socialize, integrate into teams that will become friend groups, and to reinforce their spirit of self-improvement to overcome the obstacle course that is their life. From the project “OBSTACLE RACE: THE INCLUSION OF YOUNG PEOPLE WITH ALBINISM THROUGH SPORTS” we propose the promotion of sports as a non-formal training and inclusion mechanism for youth with Albinism, but we also to promote adapting sports to make it more inclusive. This is why young people from 8 entities of people with albinism from all over Europe (ALBA - Spain, NOHA - Germany, DFFA - Denmark, NFFA - Norway, ALBINIT - Italy, ALBINIZM DERNEGI, - Turkey, ALBINISM FELLOWSHIP - UK + Ireland, OOGVERENIGING NETHERLAND - Netherland) will work together for 22 months to develop adaptation mechanisms for young people with albinism in the sports environment, and to show society in general and people with albinism the benefits of sports for inclusion. To this end, the AEJEA youth network (created in previous Erasmus+ Programme projects) will be reinforced and, through 4 transnational meetings (GERMANY, DENMARK, SPAIN and ITALY), periodic virtual meetings, work activities and the exchange of experiences, a high quality intellectual result will be created: the METHODOLOGICAL GUIDE FOR THE INCLUSION OF YOUTH WITH ALBINISM THROUGH INCLUSIVE SPORTS. We propose a methodological guide adapted to people with lowered and medium sight, focused on youth workers in various sectors (entities of people with albinism, youth associations, educational centers, sports groups... but also to the families themselves) to generate inclusive spaces for youth with albinism through sports. This guide will have various audiovisual and written contents (videos, documentaries, books, materials): -- Conceptual Framework of the Methodological Guide -- Main obstacles for young people with albinism -- Innovative methodologies for inclusion through sport -- DOCUMENTARY: "OBSTACLE RACE: THE INCLUSION OF YOUNG PEOPLE WITH ALBINISM THROUGH SPORTS" -- Erasmus + program and the project "OBSTACLES RACE: THE INCLUSION OF YOUNG PEOPLE WITH ALBINISM THROUGH SPORTS" There will be a big dissemination stage at the end of the project that will include a large multiplier event in Valencia where a high-quality documentary made by young people with albinism will be broadcasted and spread throughout Europe through the media, cinema, and social networks. This campaign will promote the use of the many materials generated by associations, beneficiaries, educational centers, sports groups, gyms and family members, aimed at promoting the inclusion of young people with albinism through sports. We propose an ambitious project created for and by young people with albinism, to prove to anyone with this disease that we are able to break down the barriers that it creates with effort and dedication, and also that socialization is essential to achieve a full inclusion, and this can come from sports and leisure activities. This is another step in the work of a network such as the Strategic Association of European Youth with Albinism (AEJEA), that is achieving a great sustainability and European impact thanks to projects like this one.
In September 2018, the project “OBSTACLE RACE: THE INCLUSION OF YOUNG PEOPLE WITH ALBINISM THROUGH SPORTS” started with the aim of promoting the inclusion of youth with albinism through adapted sports, enhancing their physical strength, their instinct for self-improvement, their socialization, and to overcome the barriers to which they are subject due to their age and condition. During the 32 months that this project has been active, the eight entities of persons with albinism from all over Europe that have led it (ALBA - Spain, NOHA - Germany, DFFA - Denmark, NFFA - Norway, ALBINIT - Italy, ALBINIZM DERNEGI - Turkey, ALBINISM FELLOWSHIP - UK+Ireland, and OOGVERENIGING NETHERLAND - Netherland) have worked intensively not only to create several impactful results that generate adaptation mechanisms for young persons with albinism in sports settings and to show society in general and the participants with albinism themselves the benefits of sports for inclusion, but also to develop it with the highest quality and the capability to generate a real impact among beneficiaries across Europe during one of the worst moments humanity has suffered in recent centuries, due to the terrible COVID-19 pandemic, which has especially impacted persons with previous pathologies. Despite the confinements, the obstacles to hold in-person meetings, or even the difficulty of carrying out any type of on-site activity, this partnership -and especially the young persons with albinism that promoted it- has managed to carry out all the activities and proposed results (intellectual, tangible, and structural), achieving a significant impact among young persons with albinism and sports entities throughout Europe and the European society in general. Particularly noteworthy is the creation of the "METHODOLOGICAL GUIDE FOR THE INCLUSION OF YOUNG PEOPLE WITH ALBINISM THROUGH INCLUSIVE SPORTS", in which one can find the answer to how people with albinism practice sports and how to promote their inclusive practice, as well as to many more questions related to the practice of sports by persons with this genetic condition that will help athletes with albinism to practice sports correctly and in an individualized way, because not every person with albinism is the same or has the same obstacles. In addition to the methodological guide, the VIDEO-DOCUMENTARY "OBSTACLE RACE: THE INCLUSION OF YOUNG PEOPLE WITH ALBINISM THROUGH SPORTS" has also been created: a tangible result that complements the methodological guide allowing it to raise the awareness of the European society and showing a practical application of the contents of the guide. This is a documentary directed, designed, and created by young persons with albinism in the audiovisual field, so it has a high professional quality. In order to develop all these results and achieve a great impact on the European scale, many activities were also carried out despite the pandemic, such as 3 in-person Transnational Meetings (Como - Italy, Oslo - Norway, and Valencia - Spain), sporting events where young persons with albinism have tested the validity of the methodology generated and recorded the documentary, training activities, and exchanges of good practices among many others. At the end of the project, a strong dissemination phase was carried out, adapted to these turbulent times we have lived, including two large Multiplier Events: - The first of them was a massive virtual event where policy makers, heads of social entities, athletes, and young persons with albinism from Valencia participated. In it, the "METHODOLOGICAL GUIDE FOR THE INCLUSION OF YOUNG PEOPLE WITH ALBINISM THROUGH INCLUSIVE SPORTS" and the DOCUMENTARY: "OBSTACLE RACE: THE INCLUSION OF YOUNG PERSONS WITH ALBINISM THROUGH SPORTS" were presented to the public throughout Europe through the media and social networks. - The second of them was an in-person event held at the Faculty of Education from University of Valencia, where students and teachers from the school environment, of physical education, and from the department of special educational needs participated, learning how to work with students with low vision in their classrooms. And a large dissemination campaign that has allowed to promote the use of the various materials generated by the associations, beneficiaries, educational centers, sports groups, gyms, and families that promote the inclusion of young persons with albinism through sports. We have carried out a successful project developed for young persons with albinism, created by these same young persons who suffer from this rare condition, to show any person with albinism that with effort and dedication they are capable of breaking down all the barriers that our disease puts before us, and that socialization is essential to achieve full inclusion, and it can come from sports and leisure.