'Sport and inclusion as antidotes against wars'

In your opinion, what does this Paralympics represent for Italia?

Over the past 25 years, the Italian Committee has made an exceptional run, so much so that Italia was sixth in the medals table at Paris 2024. And your athletes, from Bebe Vio to Simone Barlaam, are also able with their exploits and their voice to change society. With winter sports, the movement can grow further and the legacy of the Games is already visible: the five metro lines in Milan are accessible, as are many railway stations. The mountain resorts - which I hope will become a model for the country - are able to offer accessible tourism to people with disabilities, who are customers, active members of society. These legacies are not just sports, but are for everyone and change society from within.

You travel around the world: is there a country that has worked on inclusion more than others?

There is no country that has fully embraced the world of disability but there are good examples, such as Japan. Tokyo, despite the pandemic, took the opportunity of an eight-year journey and changed the mentality of the Japanese towards people with disabilities through sport. It has happened at government level and also in private companies: before 2021, there was a pietistic view, it was impossible to see disabled people on the streets. Now people with disabilities are offered opportunities to travel, study, work, that is, to be full citizens.

There are more than 50 wars going on, which will create deaths and disabled people. It is tragic to think that wars create Paralympic athletes...

It is frustrating to think that in the 21st century human beings do not know how to solve problems through dialogue, not least because I believed that the experience of the pandemic, everyone's global enemy, would trigger a different mentality. Wars create thousands of disabled people, military and civilian, and sport - without necessarily aiming at professionalism - is a way for them to fit back into society, to find a new life. The aim of the Paralympic movement, which was born after World War II to help rehabilitate the military, is not just high-level sport but, through competitions and athletes, to show that sport gives mental and physical benefits to everyone, every day.

In recent years, many sponsors have linked up with the Ipc. Why?

The Ipc sponsorship programme is linked to that of the IOC, the International Olympic Committee: it is the power of sport. In general, it is true that many companies share our values, the change our athletes inspire, their ability to speak to everyone on a playing field, but also in homes, schools, workplaces. The hope we offer catalyses attention: because who wouldn't want a better world for everyone?

At the Arena the closing ceremony of the Games and the opening of the Paralympics. Are the Olympic and Paralympic worlds ready to organise the Games together?

The current model is the best possible, we complement each other. The more we can, in terms of infrastructure and logistics, support each other, the more the two worlds benefit. I think this is the best option. The ceremonies at the Arena are a good example of how to maximise opportunities.

The Paralympic Movement's next dream?

We must make sport as accessible as possible to every person with disabilities, in every corner of the world, from Italia to the Pacific Islands, all year round, not just every two years. The Games are always more spectacular and are the best platform we have to change everyone's mindset and push every country, even the developing ones, to build spaces for every child with disabilities to play and have fun.