Inspire Project

03/01/2026

🌟 INSPIRE Project – Final Online Meeting Successfully Held 🌟

On 17 December 2025, the partners of the INSPIRE project came together for the final online meeting, marking an important milestone in our shared journey toward inclusive sport.

We reflected on all key activities:
✅ Three international trainings held in each partner country
✅ The International Inclusive Summer Sports Camp in Nessebar, Bulgaria
✅ The creation of the INSPIRE Toolkit for working with children with Special Educational Needs (SEN) in an aquatic environment

Partners shared how inspiring and impactful the summer camp experience was for the children, as well as the positive changes achieved through the training of swimming coaches. Feedback confirmed increased confidence and readiness among coaches to include children with SEN in their regular swimming groups.

📘 Project information and practical resources remain available at:
👉 https://project-inspire.eu

👉 www.bgsportsforall.com

Together, we proved that sport can be inclusive, empowering, and accessible for all children 💙



Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.

14/11/2025

🌟 INSPIRE Toolkit – Now Available!

We are excited to announce the official release of the INSPIRE Toolkit, created during the three international training mobilities of the INSPIRE project.
You can now access and download the full Toolkit here:
👉 https://project-inspire.eu/

Available in English, Bulgarian, Turkish, and Greek, the Toolkit brings together the shared experience, expertise, and best practices developed by coaches and specialists working to make swimming truly inclusive for children with intellectual disabilities.

💧 What’s inside the INSPIRE Toolkit?

Clear and accessible descriptions of the most common intellectual disabilities and their characteristics.

Key challenges coaches face when working with children in an aquatic environment.

Practical strategies, communication approaches, and behaviour-support techniques for inclusive swimming lessons.

Step-by-step exercise ideas, safety considerations, and creative ways to adapt training sessions.

Insights and recommendations gathered directly from the three international INSPIRE trainings held in Turkey, Bulgaria, and Greece.

🌈 Why this matters
The Toolkit is designed to empower coaches, educators, and sports professionals to create safe, supportive, and truly inclusive aquatic experiences. By equipping practitioners with practical tools and real-life solutions, INSPIRE helps open the door for more children to enjoy the benefits of sport—confidence, joy, connection, and personal growth.

We invite all partners, professionals, and community members to share the Toolkit widely, helping us spread inclusion, awareness, and inspiration across Europe and beyond.

Together, we INSPIRE change. 💙
BG & sports for all / БГ и спорт за всички
Κινητικό Εργαστήρι Ilioupolis
Kargenc Kulubu


Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.

The INSPIRE project aims to trained minimum 18 swimming coaches from the partner countries how to work and include kids with intellectual disabilities in their work. The training will give practical knowledge and share good practices from adapted sports coaches with experience working with special k...

12/09/2025

🌊✨ INSPIRE Project – Final Activity in Nessebar, Bulgaria! ✨🌊

From 31 August to 5 September 2025, the final activity of the INSPIRE Project brought together our amazing partners from Bulgaria, Turkey, and Greece for an Adapted Sea Camp in Nessebar.
BG & sports for all / БГ и спорт за всички
Kargenc Kulubu
Κινητικό Εργαστήρι Ilioupolis
💙 27 participants – including 15 children and 12 coaches – joined an unforgettable week filled with:
🏊 Swimming
🚣 Rowing
⚽ Outdoor sports games
🌅 Coastal walks
🎉 Fun, teamwork & new friendships

This inspiring program showed once again that sport is a universal language – one that unites us all, including children with intellectual disabilities.

Coaches from all three countries exchanged good practices, shared new ideas, and learned different approaches to creating more inclusive sport environments. All of this knowledge will be summarized in a Toolkit for swimming coaches, helping them include children with intellectual disabilities in their training sessions.

🤝 Together we proved that through sport, we can build bridges across borders, foster inclusion, and create opportunities for every child to thrive!

📌 The project is co-funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.

15/07/2025

Athens Hosts Third Training Session Under the INSPIRE Project
April 28, 2025 – Athens, Greece

From April 25 to 27, 2025, the third training session of the INSPIRE project took place in Athens, Greece. The event, funded by the European Union, brought together swimming coaches from Bulgaria, Greece, and Türkiye to enhance their skills in working with children with intellectual disabilities in aquatic environments.

During the three-day training, participants explored specific methodologies and practical approaches for adapting swimming sessions to meet the individual needs of children with intellectual disabilities. The program combined theoretical discussions with practical application, aiming to strengthen inclusive coaching practices across the participating countries.

The practical component of the training was held at the municipal swimming pool in the Ilioupoli district of Athens. There, coaches had the opportunity to apply the knowledge gained in a real-life aquatic setting, under the guidance of experienced professionals in adaptive physical activity.

The INSPIRE project is dedicated to promoting inclusive sports by training a minimum of 18 swimming coaches from partner countries and equipping them with tools to effectively support children with intellectual disabilities. The initiative will culminate in an adapted swimming camp on the Bulgarian Black Sea coast, where the newly acquired skills will be showcased and shared.

The project continues to foster cross-border cooperation, knowledge exchange, and long-term impact in the field of inclusive sports.

Contact:
INSPIRE Project Coordination Team
📧 [email protected]
🌐 www.project-inspire.eu

Funded by the European Union

30/11/2024

We are almost in the middle of Inspire Project and we happy that until now held two succesfull international trainings of swimming coasches and increase thier knowlege and practical skills about working with kids with intelecual dissabilities and include them in their groups lessons.

We have wonderfull partnership with profesionals from:
BG & sports for all / БГ и спорт за всички 🇧🇬
Kargenc Kulubu 🇹🇷
Κινητικό Εργαστήρι Ilioupolis 🇬🇷

The project is co-funded by the European Union.

30/09/2024

📢 INSPIRE Project Update!
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61555925401548
We’ve just concluded an amazing Transnational Project Meeting in Sofia, Bulgaria 🇧🇬 (22–25 September 2024) where partners from Greece, Bulgaria, and Turkey came together to continue our mission of fostering inclusive sports! ⚽🤸‍♂️Project is Co funded by the European Union🇪🇺
Key takeaways:
💧 Training swimming coaches to work with kids with intellectual disabilities like autism and Down syndrome, focusing on behavior management, communication challenges, and safety in the water.
🌊 Preparing for the International Sports Camp in Nessebar, Bulgaria, where 15 children from our partner countries will come together for an unforgettable sports experience in September 2025.
🧠 Sharing best practices for handling hypersensitivity, communication difficulties, and repetitive behaviors, ensuring an inclusive, safe, and fun swimming environment for all.
The project is coordinated by https://www.facebook.com/BGandsportsforall
BG AND SPORTS FOR ALL (Bulgaria 🇧🇬) https://bgsportsforall.com,
with partner organizations
KARGENC CLUB (Turkey 🇹🇷) https://kargenc.org/ https://www.facebook.com/kargenckulubu
and KINITIKO ERGASTIRI (Greece 🇬🇷) https://www.kinitikoergastiri.gr/.
https://www.facebook.com/kinitikoergastiri
Together, we’re making a difference by empowering coaches and creating spaces where all children can thrive in sports! 💙 Stay tuned for more updates!

02/09/2024

🔈On 1.09.2024 during the opening of an adapted sports swimming camp for children and young people with intellectual disabilities in Nessebar, Bulgaria Inspire Project was presented as well as the coaches from the first training in May in Sakarya, Turkey. They shared their experiences and application of what they learned during the project.
More than 120 children and parents of children with intellectual disabilities attended the presentation. The INSPIRE project aims to train at least 18 swimming coaches on how to work with children with intellectual disabilities.
The partners involved in the project are:
🇧🇬BG & sports for all / БГ и спорт за всички
🇹🇷Kargenc Kulubu
🇬🇷Κινητικό Εργαστήρι Ilioupolis
🇪🇺Project is co-funded by the European Union!

28/05/2024

And more form the first training in Sakarya, Turkey 24 - 25 may 2024.
Kargenc Kulubu
BG & sports for all / БГ и спорт за всички
Κινητικό Εργαστήρι Ilioupolis

27/05/2024

📣 On 24 and 25 May 2024 in Sakarya, Turkey the first training of swimming coaches of the Inspire Project was held. The aim of the project is to train at least 18 swimming coaches from Bulgaria, Greece and Turkey how to work with children with intellectual disabilities in an aquatic environment. Also to encourage coaches to include children with intellectual disabilities in their practice.
Kargenc Kulubu hosted the training in Sakarya, Turkey.
Κινητικό Εργαστήρι Ilioupolis and BG & sports for all / БГ и спорт за всички are other partners in the project.
🇪🇺The project is co-funded by the European Union.

25/04/2024

🔔Кандидатстствай за обучение на треньори по плуване за работа с деца с интелектуални затруднения по проект .

За обучението ще бъдат селектирани двама треньори.

Обучението ще се проведе на 24 и 25 Май, 2024г. в Турция, Сакаря. Посрещаща институция Kargenc Kulubu
Дни за път 23 и 26 май.

ЛИНК ЗА КАНДИДАТСТВАНЕ 👇
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScYhdXGL2rP0X_50jJk-I3th5KFqqtEimvi_ifj8vPYguhRRw/viewform?usp=sf_link

📯Проектът INSPIRE има за цел да обучи минимум 18 треньори по плуване от страните партньори как да работят и да включват деца с интелектуални затруднения в работата си. Обучението ще даде практически знания и ще сподели добри практики от треньори по адаптирани спортове с опит в работата със специални деца. След обученията ще бъде организиран спортен лагер по адаптирано плуване на българското Черноморие, за да се демонстрират новите компетенции и знания.

🇪🇺 Проекта е финансиран от Европейският съюз.

27/03/2024

📯The INSPIRE project aims to trained minimum 18 swimming coaches from the partner countries how to work and include kids with intellectual disabilities in their work. The training will give practical knowledge and share good practices from adapted sports coaches with experience working with special kids.
To create the best training practices for the coaches we need your opinion, so if you are swimming coach and would like to share it in our survey please follow the link below:

https://forms.gle/bjLvDgkdgVqdFTsJ9

💡🇪🇺 The is co-funded by the European Union