Yes we can!” Paralympic Athletes Beyond Stereotype: how media can change and promote no-discriminatory sports

Recent data from Eurostat show that one in four people (25.4%) in the EU has a disability ranging from mild to severe (EUROSTAT, 2021). In Italy, there are approximately 3.1 million disabled people (5.2% of the population) (ISTAT, 2019). However, people with disabilities are scarcely visible in Italian mass media. News with a focus on disability when it rarely happens, is often misguided, and tends to perpetuate negative stereotypes. One of the opportunities that exist for the mass media to portray disabled people in an empowering and positive way is through the Paralympic Games. Based on an Italian National project, in this paper, we explore the views and perceptions of Paralympic athletes themselves on how certain representations make them feel, think or react and ask how sport and disability should be better represented at the Paralympic Games to provide a more positive representation of disability. The core overarching aim of our study is in line with the European Disability Strategy and its key term "self-determination", which reflects the right of disabled people to have a say in how they would like to be represented. The research project provides valuable educational and training resources on the promotion of non-discriminatory, inclusive, and empowering portrayal of disability aimed at: a) media professionals/journalists; b) Paralympic athletes; c) members of the disability community. Through an interdisciplinarity approach between the sociology of sport, media history and disability studies, the project is designed to have a sustainable legacy for future sports editions (such as the PG in Milano-Cortina 2026).