The Beijing Winter Olympics will be held from February 4 to 20, 2022. After that, many people will complete their Phased Missions, but as director of the Paralympic Department of the Beijing Winter Olympic Organizing Committee, Yang Jinkui increasingly feels the weight of the burden on his shoulders. On March 4, the Beijing winter Paralympic Games will take over. In order to achieve the goal of “two Olympics are equally wonderful” and take the preparation as an opportunity to promote the comprehensive improvement of barrier free environment, he and his colleagues are making the final sprint.
the two Olympics are equally wonderful
“The full name of the Beijing Winter Olympic Organizing Committee is\’ the Organizing Committee of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games and the winter Paralympic Games\’.” In an exclusive interview with Xinhua News Agency reporters, Yang Jinkui said that at the beginning of its establishment, the organizing committee established the working principle of “simultaneous preparation and one post and two responsibilities” 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 services, publicity and culture, market development and personnel management training.
According to Yang Jinkui, after the Paralympic Games department was established at the end of 2018, it actively fulfilled its responsibilities of Paralympic coordination, supervision and technical support, established a docking mechanism between each department of the Paralympic Games department and other business areas of the organizing committee, and actively promoted the work docking, information sharing and integrated implementation of preparatory tasks with relevant business areas and venue teams.
Not long ago, Yang Jinkui and his colleagues explored all competition venues and non competition venues. The Beijing winter Paralympic Games will use a total of 30 venues, including 5 competition venues and 25 non competition venues. Five competition venues have been completed, passed the venue certification and fully qualified for 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 put into use.
Yang Jinkui said that at present, facilities and equipment testing and service drills in the Winter Olympic Village / winter Paralympic Village are being carried out. He will adhere to “taking athletes as the center” and provide high-quality catering, accommodation, logistics support and other services for athletes and team officials. The special service needs of the winter Paralympic Village have been considered simultaneously, so as to achieve synchronous planning and implementation. For example, all entrances in the Beijing Paralympic Winter Games Village will use flat slope entrances, and barrier free battery car streamline will be set in the village. Yanqing winter Paralympic Village, with a height difference of 46 meters, overcame adverse conditions in design and construction and built a pedestrian warm corridor road connecting north and south. The sinking square of Zhangjiakou winter Paralympic village has designed and built a multi fold wooden ramp meeting the slope requirements to facilitate the passage of the disabled. The winter Paralympic villages in Beijing, Yanqing and Zhangjiakou will be opened in advance on February 23 and officially on February 25. The conversion period between the Winter Olympic Village and the winter Paralympic village is from 12:00 on February 23 to 8:00 on February 25, which takes only 44 hours to complete the conversion in various fields.
Chinese disabled winter sports 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 winter sports for the disabled.” Yang Jinkui said, “the national mobilization for the winter Paralympic Games has grown from less than 50 to 974, the number of technical officials has grown from scratch to 135, and the winter Paralympic Games have expanded from two major events to six major events, realizing the full coverage of the major events of the winter Paralympic Games.”
In addition, since 2016, “ice and snow sports season for the disabled” has been held for five consecutive years to build a platform for the disabled to participate in ice and snow sports. From the first 14 provincial units to the current 31 provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities), it has basically covered the whole country. The majority of disabled people participated in it in individuals, families and institutions, and the number of direct participants increased from about 10000 in the beginning to more than 300000 in a single quarter.
Yang Jinkui said that holding the winter Paralympic Games can let the society understand the winter sports of the disabled. On August 6, 2020, the organizing committee released six “knowledge introduction films of competition items of the winter Paralympic Games” to introduce the winter Paralympic Games to the public, and achieved positive results.
“We have a lot of disabled friends who constantly strive to improve themselves and strive to be the first. They watered the last medal with sweat, tears and even blood during the whole training process. Some of our disabled friends solved some difficulties in their lives through training and got great spiritual comfort.” Yang Jinkui said, “Through the winter Paralympic Games, we can change our understanding of the disabled. The disabled’s participation in Paralympic sports is a physical and psychological challenge. The disabled’s spirit of overcoming difficulties and working hard shows their love for life and the challenge to their own difficulties. The outstanding achievements made by disabled athletes are not only honor, but also reflect their indomitable will and character. Paralympic athletes The spirit shown will promote the society to pay more attention to and understand the disabled groups, promote the formation of a more equal and inclusive outlook on the disabled, support and help the disabled fully participate in social life and share the fruits of economic and social development. “
take the preparation as an opportunity to promote the comprehensive improvement of barrier free environment
An important condition for the full and equal participation of persons with disabilities in social life is the construction of an accessible environment.
“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 in social life, but also provides access safety and convenience for members of the whole society.” Yang Jinkui said that the barrier free construction of venues has always been the focus of work. In 2018, the barrier free guide for Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games and winter Paralympic Games was released, and the technical index atlas supporting the guide was released in 2020. At present, all competition venues and major customer groups of the Winter Olympic Village / winter Paralympic Village have clear and smooth barrier free operation flow lines, standardized and standard barrier free facilities construction, and clear objectives of sustainable and humanized construction. The competition venues of the winter Paralympic Games can meet the requirements of event operation after operation test and drill.
In addition to the venue construction, 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. Promoting the comprehensive improvement of the barrier free environment of the host city from the aspects of urban roads, public transport, public services and information exchange can not only realize the high-level 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, 289000 barrier free facilities have been renovated and rectified in Beijing, creating 100 barrier free high-quality demonstration blocks and more than 900 barrier free demonstration projects. Zhangjiakou has promoted the transformation of 358.58 kilometers of blind roads, 680 barrier free toilets, 101 barrier free elevators and lifting platforms, 38 barrier free public service websites, etc.
Yang Jinkui introduced that the Organizing Committee actively planned the sustainability and heritage work of the winter Paralympic Games, deeply publicized and promoted the concept of inclusive society in the preparation work according to the work plan, paid attention to the improvement of barrier free awareness and the construction of barrier free environment, and had a positive impact on government decision-making and public ideas through the preparation of the winter Paralympic Games. “Taking the preparation as an opportunity to promote the construction of an accessible environment of \’equality, dignity and applicability\’ is of great significance to promote social civilization and progress and better meet the people’s growing needs for a better life.”
“Participating in the preparation is not only our arduous task and challenge, but also our luck and honor. Working 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, sharing, openness and integrity\’ through our work, implement the requirements of ‘simplicity, safety and excellence\’, and realize \’the same brilliance of the two Olympics\’.”
“We are all ready in Beijing and Zhangjiakou. We welcome athletes from all over the world to show your style and competitive demeanor at that time. At the same time, I wish you excellent results in advance, show the dynamic charm of the winter Paralympic Games, promote social equality and tolerance, and \’look forward to the future together\’!” He said.
(source: Xinhua News Agency)
