Inspiring Minds seeks to broaden awareness and impact of graduate student research, while enhancing transferable skills. Students were challenged to describe their research, scholarship or creative activity in 150 or fewer words to share with our community.

Development of Parasports: A case of Ghana

As a native of Ghana, I have witnessed firsthand the challenges faced by persons who experience disability (PWED) often caused by social, cultural, and religious factors making participation in sports a superfluous activity. Despite Ghana being signatory to disability laws and policies at international, regional, and national levels, PWED continue to be disadvantage in Ghanaian society. There is a significant gap between the rhetoric of laws and policies in Ghana and their practice. Research indicates the influence of Global north in the formulation of disability policies and laws at the expense of local knowledge in policy formulation. The purpose of my research is to examine the ways in which sport can be used as a toolkit to address physical and sociocultural challenges faced PWEDs. By addressing this gap, we hope to use sports as a tool for social inclusion to address harmful cultural stereotypes and perceptions about disability.

Dennis Osei-Nimo Annor
PhD candidate, Kinesiology
Faculty of Health Sciences - Western University

Supervisor
P. David Howe (https://www.uwo.ca/fhs/kin/about/faculty/howe_d.html)

Born in Ghana, Dennis worked as a sports journalist for over 5 years, largely covering football (soccer) events. He gained interest in parasports and its development when pursuing his master's degree in sports ethics and integrity. Dennis is currently a PhD candidate at Western University, and his research is centred around the development of parasports in Ghana. Dennis has served as a volunteer for the city of London, the Faculty of Health Sciences, the School of Graduate Studies' anti-racism task force, and as a coach for kids at LFC.  Additionally, Dennis has worked with a research team at Western University and the Commonwealth Games Federation on participation in Commonwealth games in developing countries. Currently, Dennis is aiming to complete his doctoral research, which aims to use sports as a developmental tool for people who experience disability in Ghana. During his leisure time, Dennis enjoys travelling, playing soccer, and nature.

You can connect with Dennis on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/dennis-osei-nimo-annor/?originalSubdomain=ca or on the web at https://uwo.ca/fhs/hpscj/team/phd.html.

View Dennis's work as it appears in the Inspiring Minds Digital Collection:https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/inspiringminds/654/.