Australia is a very diverse and inclusive country. We have 23 million people, gathered from over 200 countries with 50% of us born overseas or with parents that were born overseas. We speak over 260 languages! We also like to be active. We love to participate in sport. 65% of Australians participate in physical activities for recreation, exercise and sport. It’s simply what many of us do. We invest in

it. We talk about it. It’s part of our personal and national identity. We walk (24%), we cycle (7.6%) and we run (7.5%).

 

Sport is also a great way to show how diverse and inclusive we are. Inclusion and Sport go hand-­‐in-­ hand. We want to see sport reflecting our communities. Inclusive community = Inclusive sport. BUT We are not quite there yet. Indigenous participation is 30% and people with disability only 23.7%.

 

So what can you do? The good news is you can do something. You can do a lot. Introducing The 7 Pillars of Inclusion 

 

ACCESS – How to get there and get in?

ATTITUDE – How willing you are to make it happen?

CHOICE – What can you do?

PARTNERSHIPS – Who will you work with?

COMMUNICATION – Who will you tell?

POLICY – How are you responsible?

OPPORTUNITIES – What do you want to do?

 

The 7 Pillars of Inclusion are the key ingredients that make inclusion happen. They are the common elements that contribute to making sport and physical activity programs reflective of the communities that we live in. They help make our sport safe, fair AND inclusive.

 

For more information go to www.playbytherules.net.au/