The vast majority of Beijing residents are aware of the
Paralympic Games and want to become volunteers, a survey has
revealed.
More than 99 percent of residents polled in the capital knew
about the event and nearly 80 percent of them are willing to work
as volunteers for the Games, according to the survey conducted by
the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad
(BOCOG) and the Beijing Disabled Persons Federation. BOCOG is the
first Olympic organization to simultaneously organize a summer
Olympic Games and a Paralympic Games.
The survey from April to July covered a sample of more than
2,000 Beijing residents aged between 18 and 60 from all walks of
life, and 24 of the respondents were persons with a disability.
Television is the leading way for people to get to know about
the Paralympics, with more than 33 per cent of the respondents
saying they mainly relied on the source to get related information,
followed by 21.9 percent who listed newspapers and 21.1 percent who
cited the Internet.
Although nearly all Beijing residents know about the Paralympic
Games, only about 56 percent are interested in it, according to the
survey. Among those who are interested, 58 percent said they follow
it because of the inspiration that athletes with a disability can
bring to them; 22 percent said because they enjoyed watching sports
matches; and 18 percent said because of their concern and
compassion towards people with a disability.
About 78.8 percent of the respondents expressed their
willingness to become Paralympic volunteers. However, half of them
are worried that they do not have basic knowledge and necessary
skills of how to support athletes with a disability, such as how to
communicate with people who cannot hear, how to guide the visually
impaired, or how to help push a wheelchair.
Just over 44 percent said, however, they would find difficulty
in finding the time to help.
Recruiting volunteers
The high percentage of people willing to help the athletes with
a disability is encouraging. However, how to translate it to real
terms when recruiting volunteers is a problem that needs great
attention, according to officials with the Volunteer Department of
BOCOG.
About 51 percent of the respondents who are willing to become
volunteers are company employees, while 22 percent are college
students.
BOCOG officials said they were considering working with
government agencies to draft some favorable policies to encourage
companies and universities to support their employees and students
to serve the Paralympics.
Training of volunteers is another urgent and complicated task.
Most of the respondents believe that knowledge of disabilities, how
best to support them and foreign languages are the top three
attributes needed.
About 80 percent of those polled have studied English, and 4
percent have knowledge of other foreign languages, such as French,
Japanese, German, Russian and Spanish. However, among those who
know a foreign language, only 4 percent have mastered it, and 14
percent can speak and write to a good level. The remainder can only
speak and write some basic words and sentences.
Apart from language training, volunteers also need to get a
deeper understanding of the support needed by athletes with a
disability, and avoid saying or doing anything that could damage
their self-esteem. For instance, volunteers should get their
approval before helping them.
Zhao Jihua, a former member of the executive council of the
China Disabled Persons Federation, who has organized many sports
meetings for the disabled, said respondents' concerns over how best
to support the athletes related to the general lack of
understanding of people with a disability and the world they live
in.
"As long as you treat them as you would your own relatives or
friends, and try not to take pity on them but treat them as equals,
then you will be able to give proper help to them rather than
making them feel uneasy," Zhao said.
"I'm glad to see that so many people are willing to serve for
the Paralympics, and their work will help draw the whole nation's
attention to the difficulties faced by disabled people in
China."
During the Summer Olympics and the Paralympics in 2008, Beijing
needs around 100,000 volunteers, and about 30,000 of them will work
for the Paralympic Games.
BOCOG has worked out a volunteer recruitment program according
to its Strategic Plan and Action Plan for the Beijing 2008 Games,
drawing on the successful experiences of previous Games in these
areas. The volunteer program also offers a chance for persons with
a disability to serve the Games directly.
"About 100 to 200 of the volunteers for the Beijing Paralympic
Games will be persons with a disability," said Ma Dajun, vice board
chairman of the Beijing Disabled Persons Federation. "They may
participate in varied jobs such as interpretation, computer work
and massage."
The Beijing Paralympic Games will be held between September 6
and 17, 2008. With the most sports competitions in its history, it
will feature a total of 20 sports. Of the total, 18 sports will be
held in Beijing, with the sailing events contested in Qingdao in
east China's Shandong Province and the equestrian events in
Hong Kong.
(China Daily August 11, 2006)