February 4-20, 2022, is the time for the Beijing Winter Olympics. After that, many people will complete their staged missions, but as the director of the Paralympic Department of the Beijing Winter Olympic Organizing Committee, Yang Jinkui feels the weight of the burden on his shoulders. On March 4, the Beijing Winter Paralympic Games will take over the baton, in order to achieve the goal of "two Olympic Games are equally wonderful", to prepare for the opportunity to promote the overall improvement of accessibility, he and his colleagues are making the final sprint.
Both Olympics are equally exciting
"The full name of the Beijing Winter Olympic Organizing Committee is the 'Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games Organizing Committee'." In an exclusive interview with a Xinhua reporter, Yang Jinkui said that at the beginning of its establishment, the organizing committee established the working principle of 'synchronous preparation, one post and double responsibility' for the two Olympic Games, and simultaneously promoted the preparations for the Beijing Winter Paralympic Games in terms of venue planning and construction, competition organization, event service, publicity culture, market development and personnel management training.
Yang Jinkui introduced that after the establishment of the Paralympic Department at the end of 2018, it actively performed the work responsibilities of Coordination, Supervision and Technical Support of the Paralympic Games, established a docking mechanism between the various departments of the Paralympic Department and other business areas of the Organizing Committee, and actively promoted the docking, information sharing and integration and implementation of the work docking, information sharing and preparation tasks with relevant business fields and venue teams.
Not long ago, Yang Jinkui and his colleagues went to all the competition venues and non-competition venues to investigate. The Beijing Winter Paralympic Games uses a total of 30 venues, including 5 competition venues and 25 non-competitive venues. All 5 competition venues have been completed, passed the venue certification, and fully meet the conditions for running the competition. Non-competition venues such as Beijing Winter Paralympic Village, Yanqing Winter Paralympic Village, Zhangjiakou Winter Paralympic Village, and Main Operation Center have been delivered for use.
Yang Jinkui said that the testing and service drills of facilities and equipment in the Winter Olympic Village/Winter Paralympic Village are currently being carried out, and will adhere to the "athlete-centered" approach to providing high-quality catering, accommodation and logistics support services for athletes and team officials. The special service needs of the Winter Paralympic Village have been considered synchronously, so that they can be planned and implemented synchronously. For example, all entrances to the Beijing Winter Paralympic Village will use a flat-slope entrance, and there will be barrier-free battery car flow lines in the village. The Yanqing Winter Paralympic Village, with a height difference of 46 meters, overcame unfavorable conditions in the design and construction work and built a pedestrian corridor road connecting north and south. The sunken square of Zhangjiakou Winter Paralympic Village was designed and built with a multi-fold wooden ramp that meets the slope requirements to facilitate the passage of the disabled. Beijing, Yanqing and Zhangjiakou Winter Paralympic Villages will pre-open the village on February 23 and officially open on the 25th, and the transition period between the Winter Olympic Village and the Winter Paralympic Village will be from 12:00 on February 23 to 8:00 on february 25, and it takes only 44 hours to complete the conversion of various fields.
Barrier-free facilities installed in the indoor toilet of the Winter Olympic Village in Beijing's Yanqing Competition Area, photographed on July 15, 2021. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Li Xin
China's winter sports for the disabled usher in an important opportunity for development
"The preparation of the Winter Paralympic Games has directly promoted the development of sports for the disabled, especially the winter sports for the disabled." Yang Jinkui introduced, "The number of winter Paralympic athletes in the country has grown from less than 50 to 974, the number of technical officials has grown from scratch to 135, and the winter Paralympic events have expanded from 2 major events to 6 major events, achieving full coverage of major winter Paralympic participation." ”
In addition, since 2016, the "Ice and Snow Sports Season for the Disabled" has been held for five consecutive years, building a platform for the disabled to participate in ice and snow sports. From the 14 provincial-level units carried out in the first session to the current 31 provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities), it has basically covered the whole country. The majority of disabled people participate in it as individuals, families and institutions, and the number of direct participants has grown from about 10,000 at the beginning to more than 300,000 in a single quarter.
On December 24, 2021, members of the Chinese Paralympic Ice Hockey Team prepared for the Beijing Winter Paralympic Games at the National Paralympic Ice Sports Training Hall for the Disabled. Photo by Peng Ziyang, Xinhua News Agency
Yang Jinkui said that holding the Winter Paralympic Games can let the society understand the winter sports for the disabled, and on August 6, 2020, the organizing committee released six "Winter Paralympic Games Competition Project Knowledge Introduction Film" to introduce the winter Paralympic projects to the public and achieved positive results.
"We have a lot of disabled friends, self-improvement, fighting for the first. Throughout the training process, they used sweat and tears to pour out the last medal. Some of our disabled friends have solved some difficulties in their lives through training, and have also been greatly soothed mentally. "Through the Winter Paralympic Movement, the understanding of people with disabilities can be changed." The participation of the disabled in Paralympic sports is a physical and psychological challenge, and the spirit of the disabled overcoming difficulties and working hard shows the love of life and the challenge to their own predicament. The outstanding results achieved by disabled athletes are not only honors, but also reflect the indomitable will and character. The spiritual outlook displayed by Paralympic athletes will promote society to pay more attention to and understand the disabled groups, promote the formation of a more equal and inclusive view of disabled people, support and help disabled people to fully participate in social life, and share the fruits of economic and social development. ”
Take the preparation as an opportunity to promote the overall improvement of the barrier-free environment
An important condition for the full and equal participation of persons with disabilities in social life is the construction of a barrier-free environment.
"The barrier-free environment is not only an important condition for ensuring the equal participation of social groups such as the disabled, the elderly, and the injured and the sick in social life, but also provides access safety and convenience for members of the whole society." Yang Jinkui said that the construction of barrier-free venues has always been the focus of work, in 2018, the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Winter Olympics Accessibility Guidelines were released, and in 2020, the technical indicators catalogue supporting the guidelines was released. At present, all competition venues and major customer groups in the Winter Olympic Village/Winter Paralympic Village have clear and smooth barrier-free operation streamlines, barrier-free facilities construction standards, sustainable and humanized construction goals are clear, and the Winter Paralympic games competition venues have undergone operational test drills to meet the requirements of event operation.
On July 15, 2021, Yang Jinkui inspected and experienced indoor barrier-free facilities at the Winter Olympic Village in Beijing's Yanqing Competition Area. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Li Xin
In addition to the construction of venues, the preparation of the Winter Olympics is an important opportunity to promote the barrier-free construction of the host city and even the whole country, and to promote the comprehensive improvement of the barrier-free environment of the host city from the aspects of urban roads, public transportation, public services and information exchange, which can not only achieve a high level of barrier-free environment for the operation of the Winter Olympics city, but also leave a rich barrier-free heritage for the host city. At present, Beijing has accumulated 289,000 barrier-free facility points for rectification and rectification, and has created 100 barrier-free boutique demonstration blocks and more than 900 barrier-free demonstration projects. Zhangjiakou City has promoted the transformation of 358.58 kilometers of blind lanes, 680 barrier-free toilets, 101 barrier-free elevators and lifting platforms, and 38 barrier-free public service websites.
Yang Jinkui introduced that the organizing committee actively plans to do a good job in the sustainable and heritage work of the Winter Paralympic Games, in accordance with the work plan, in-depth publicity and promotion of inclusive social concepts in the preparatory work, pay attention to the improvement of barrier-free awareness and the construction of barrier-free environment, and have a positive impact on government decision-making and public perception through the preparation of the Winter Paralympic Games. "Taking the preparation as an opportunity to promote the construction of a barrier-free environment of 'equality, dignity and applicability' is of great significance to promoting the progress of social civilization and better meeting the people's growing needs for a better life."
"Participating in the preparations is our arduous task and challenge, but also our luck and honor, and the work in the Winter Olympic Organizing Committee will be an unforgettable life experience for everyone." Yang Jinkui sighed, "The biggest expectation now is to practice the Olympic concept of 'green, shared, open and clean' through our work, implement the requirements of 'simple, safe and wonderful', and realize the 'two Olympic Games are equally wonderful'." ”
"Beijing, Zhangjiakou, we are all ready, welcome athletes from all over the world to show your style, show your competitive demeanor, and at the same time wish you excellent results in advance, show the charm of the winter Paralympic games, promote social equality and inclusiveness, and 'go to the future together'!" He said.
Reporters Zheng Zhi, Zhao Jiantong, and Zhan Peng