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I am currently a PhD candidate at University of Western Ontario, focusing on parasports development in Ghana. I have worked extensively as a sports journalist in Ghana covering major tournaments across the tournament. I also have a background in sports ethics and integrity through the Erasmus Mundus Scholarship program in Europe.
ABSTRACT:
“The Pre- and Post-colonial Legacy of Disability and its impact on Para sport Development in Ghana.”
Dennis Osei-Nimo Annor (presenter), P. David Howe and Carla Filomena Silva School of Kinesiology – Western University, Canada.
People who experience disability and their families have been subjected to stereotypes, prejudice, and stigma which have contributed to their exclusion from various aspects of life. The diffusion of disability sport faces significant economic and cultural barriers in Africa (Novak, 2014). Disability, a western concept, has often been cited as the root of marginalization in most African countries including Ghana (Goffman 1963). It is therefore imperative to understand pre-colonial, colonial, and post-colonial historical experiences of how people experienced disability in Ghana. It is only by understanding the history behind how disability is experienced historically that we can understand the relative underdevelopment in contemporary times. This paper will highlight the first stage of a research project where we adopt a Foucauldian genealogical lens, while exploring the written (and where possible the oral history of disability in Ghana). In doing so we chronical how culturally specific understanding of disability have transformed over time to the point where para sport, while in its infancy, is in the early stages of being accepted as legitimate sporting practice.
