Rijeka, 31  October 2018 – the initial meeting of representatives of the ‘POKRET – AKTIVAN I ZDRAV’ (Movement – Active and Healthy) was held in Rijeka, together with representatives from the judo club ‘RIJEKA,’ where the project ‘JUDO INclusion – ACTIVE AND HEALTHY – RIJEKA’ is being implemented. The project is financed by the European Social Fund (UP.02.1.1.08.0010.) 

Together with the representatives of the JC ‘Rijeka’ –  Slaviša Bradić, club president,  judo coaches Sandra Uršičić and Aleksandro Obrovac – the strategy for the implementation of the ‘JUDO INclusion’ project was adopted. This is an inclusiveness project of physical activity which includes children with mental disabilities and social impairments (autism, ADHD etc.), with sensory impairments of hearing and sight, children with movement disabilities and with the Down syndrome. One of principal tasks of this European project is the education of general population of children to learn to accept and support their peers with developmental issues to become equal members of the community.

The European Social Fund are financing the project “JUDO INclusion“ – AKTIVAN I ZDRAV – RIJEKA. The association ‘POKRET – AKTIVAN I ZDRAV’ are implementing the project in Rijeka within the judo club and the activities are supervised by a professional team of physical education teachers.

Through joint training sessions in the judo club “Rijeka,“ we realise the inclusion of children and youth with developmental difficulties (TUR)  into general population of children from regular sport programmes. Just like any child, a child with developmental difficulties as well struggles daily for self-respect and self-confidence; it is merely a fact the struggle is greater in case of children with disabilities, unless we encourage them, and include and integrate them into the community. If they train exclusively within clubs for children with TUR, they are still excluded from the environment where they live.

JUDO IN is JUDO FOR EVERYBODY: judo is a sport with a wide range of inclusion for adults and children of varying physical possibilities. In Japan, people say judo is being practiced by everybody from the ages between 5 and 105. Judo proved an excellent sport for social inclusion, and is exceptionally useful for children with special needs, because a wide spectrum of adjusted exercises enable them to be physically and socially active.