Parasport pioneer receives honorary doctorate

“It feels great for someone who felt excluded as a child to be able to stand here today and be awarded an honorary doctorate,” says Nilsson.

It is important that the target group should be able to study and work on equal terms with others to live a full life.

Peter Nilsson

FIFH Malmö Parasport has around 900 members, 15 employees – it is one of Europe's largest parasport organisations. The association has its own sports centre with twelve sports on its roster with activities for all ages.

Sport is the core activity, but the association also takes great social responsibility based on the ‘three arenas’ approach. The first emphasises the importance of the family and home for individual functioning; the second emphasises the importance of work, education, and employment for people with disabilities; the third is the importance of the sports club as both a place for physical activity and a social meeting place.

“All three are prerequisites for mental and physical well-being,” says Nilsson.

He notes the importance of work and education; unemployment is close to 50 per cent among people with disabilities and the path to higher education is often difficult. FIFH cooperates with, among others, the City of Malmö and its leisure, functional support, and labour market administrative department. There are also collaborations with various courses at Malmö University.

“We use sport as a tool to get our members into various training programmes and jobs. It is important that the target group should be able to study and work on equal terms with others to live a full life," says Nilsson.

He was born with cerebral palsy and describes a great personal journey since he came into contact with FIFH at the age of 13, almost 37 years ago, when he started playing table tennis. As a young boy, he was the only one in his class with a disability – he felt excluded when the others played sport.

“FIFH has played a huge role in my life. For the first time, I joined a sports club seriously, where there was a different way of thinking that made me feel included and accepted. Here I could also find a place to talk to about certain issues - for example, can I get a driving licence with my disability?"

Since 1977, FIFH has organised the Malmö Open every year, with around 2,000 participants from some 30 countries. The event is one of the world's largest parasport competitions and a platform that has created the conditions for the organisation's international commitment and work.

For the past ten years, Nilsson and FIFH have collaborated with Malmö University on various programmes and courses. Among other things, he has been a mentor and lecturer on social pedagogical work in the field of disability, and a lecturer and organiser of internships on the sport management programme.

“We would like to continue our collaboration with Malmö University and spread knowledge about our target groups and strengthen the conditions for them to pursue higher education and work,” adds Nilsson.