🌿VERDIS: Enhancing Inclusion and Sustainability through Adapted Sports
VERDIS – Bridging Education, Inclusion, and Sustainability in Adapted Sports is an innovative initiative funded by the Erasmus+ Sport programme. The project was developed in response to two increasingly urgent challenges in the sports field: the limited accessibility of adapted sports for individuals with disabilities, and the lack of environmental awareness in sports practices.
Carried out by a consortium of three European organizations, VERDIS reflects a strong commitment to social inclusion and ecological responsibility:
• 🇵🇹 Salta Fronteiras (Portugal) – The coordinating organization, known for its long-standing experience in non-formal education and inclusive sports.
• 🇱🇻 MIHI (Latvia) – A specialist in inclusive methodologies and adaptive practices in the field of physical activity.
• 🇹🇷 SAREM (Turkey) – An NGO active in youth work, sports education, and local community development.
Why VERDIS?
Despite global progress in rights-based policies for individuals with disabilities, access to sports remains limited for many. Physical, social, and infrastructural barriers still prevent full participation in physical activities. At the same time, the sports sector is often criticized for its unsustainable practices—from excessive use of resources to insufficient consideration of environmental impacts.
VERDIS was designed to bridge these two gaps by developing and promoting inclusive and environmentally sustainable sports practices. The project approached this goal through a blend of research, practical activities, and collaborative learning among partners and stakeholders.
Project Objectives
The VERDIS project aimed to:
• ✅ Empower sports educators, coaches, and volunteers to create adaptive sports environments that are both inclusive and sustainable.
• ✅ Promote positive change by challenging stereotypes and fostering more welcoming attitudes toward athletes with disabilities.
• ✅ Encourage sustainable sports practices, reducing the environmental footprint of activities through conscious design and resource management.
Key Outcome: A Practical Guide for Change
One of the most significant results of the VERDIS project is the creation of the
Guidelines for Inclusive and Sustainable Sports – a comprehensive, practitioner-friendly guide designed to support educators, policymakers, and civil society organizations.
The guide includes:
📖 Step-by-step strategies to make sports accessible for all, especially individuals with physical or cognitive disabilities.
📖 Sustainability tools for planning sports activities with minimal environmental impact.
📖 Case studies and real-life implementations, showcasing how inclusive and eco-conscious practices have been successfully integrated in various contexts.
A Resource for a Better Future
This guide represents more than a project output – it is a call to action for building sports environments that welcome every body and respect the planet. It empowers professionals across Europe and beyond to rethink how sports can become an engine of inclusion, personal development, and environmental awareness.
📥 Download The Guide Now
We invite educators, coaches, policymakers, and changemakers to explore the full potential of inclusive and sustainable sports.
Let’s move forward — together, inclusively, and sustainably. 🌍🤝