NEWS

NSA ADAPTED BASKETBALL NOTES THE INTERNATIONAL DAY OF PEOPLE WITH DOWN SYNDROME

21.03.2022

Every year on March 21st we celebrate the International Day of People with Down Syndrome, and in 2022 the adapted basketball team of the NSA "Vasil Levski" joined the initiative. Adapted Basketball at NSA "Vasil Levski" for two years now conducts regular activities for young people with intellectual disabilities thanks to the excellent cooperation and work in the name of the common goal of the Department of Water Sports, Sector "Adapted Physical Activity and Sports" and Department of Basketball, with the support of the Bulgarian Sports Development Association and many volunteers. The special athletes on the team, as well as their partners, took part in the celebration by wearing colorful socks, which show that the world is colorful and different, as we all are.

The day was first celebrated during the VI World Symposium on Down Syndrome, held in Palma de Mallorca in 2006, at the initiative of the European and International Associations for the Prevention and Assistance of People with Down Syndrome. The day of March 21st was not chosen by chance, but to show that Down syndrome is associated with trisomy (three copies) of the 21st chromosome pair. Currently, the team also conducts training activities through sports, within the initiative "Working to Approach Youth Workers as Agents of a Response to Disability" (WAYWARD), co-funded by the European Union's Erasmus + program and involving 7 partner organizations from Greece, Ireland, Italy, Bulgaria, Vietnam, Mexico and the Philippines with the overarching aim of empowering personal development, overcoming of stereotypes and social inclusion of young people (age 18-25) with intellectual disability.