26/08/2024 Secretary General of the Assembly
PACE Secretary General Despina Chatzivassiliou-Tsovilis has hailed the athletes who will “simply be wowing us” at the forthcoming Paralympic Games, helping to create societal change, during a ceremony to welcome the passage of the Paralympic Torch through the Council of Europe on its way to Paris.
“Persons with disabilities – or, as I prefer to say, those who are simply ‘differently-abled’ – should be given every opportunity to take part in sport and join sporting communities in an environment that is warm, welcoming and affirming of the rights of each and every one,” she pointed out at the ceremony, attended by leading representatives of the Council of Europe and the French authorities.
“We in the Council of Europe feel particularly honoured to welcome the Torch in our premises. For me personally, it also brings with it a special emotion, not only because I come from the country where the Olympic Games were born – Greece – but most importantly because I am the mother of a child who lost his leg when he was four years old, alongside his father, and found his strength and courage in sport,” she said.
“From my personal experience, I know how important it is for people with disabilities and their families to know success and to feel seen, recognised and admired as full members of our societies and participants in shared events.”
“The Paralympic Games and the athletes who take part in them have already proved their worth. In recent years, they have made a massive contribution to changing attitudes and views on people with disabilities. In the coming days, the athletes at these Paris 2024 Games will simply be wowing us, as the athletes at the classic Games have just done, creating societal change.”
The Secretary General also recalled the valuable work being undertaken by the Council of Europe and the Assembly to ensure sport for all and counter discrimination – including the European Sports Charter and the Enlarged Partial Agreement on Sport.
The Paralympic Torch, passing through France for the first time ever, was divided into a number of Torches which were welcomed simultaneously in twelve locations across the country, including Strasbourg, before continuing its journey to the opening ceremony of the Paralympic Games in Paris on 28 August.
In an unprecedented event three months ago, the main 2024 Olympic Torch passed through the premises of the Assembly, where it was welcomed by PACE President Theodoros Rousopoulos and parliamentarians from across Europe.
