Dr. Horst Strohkendl, a specialist in wheelchair sports was invited from Germany to give ① a wheelchair operation skill workshop, and ②a short course on the history of the Paralympics. As for ①, an instructor qualification will be founded in Japan based on German expertise, and will hopefully spread within the country. The techniques will be put to practical use within the support services for people with disabilities in other countries. As for ②, the course was based on the lecturer’s experiences of leadership within the international community of sports for people with disabilities since the 1960’s and focused on the philosophy behind the roots of the Paralympics, along with networking with the officials for 2020 Games.

By mastering the wheelchair operation skills the Quality of Life of wheelchair users will improve, although currently, with regards to operation skills, medical care, education, and welfare, there are no learning opportunities which has become a barrier for the expansion of the scope of activities for the wheelchair users. The International Society of SCI Rehabilitation will create an instructor qualification, train people qualified to teach the aforementioned courses, and undertake a new skills management project to solve these social problems. Furthermore, this training will be open to the general public and not just for disabled people or the professionals who deal with them. This is to enhance the understanding for these social problems and eliminate the psychological barriers towards wheelchair users. From 27 to 29 December, we invited a special lecturer from Germany commemorating the first skill training course. A practical workshop was held on day 1 and 2, and the final day was a lecture for the better understanding of the Paralympics.
In the future, our association is considering assisting developing countries to expand this qualification, and we had students of TIAS participating as the first model project.