Welcome to Inclusion Bites, your sanctuary for bold conversations that spark change. I'm Joanne Lockwood, your guide on this journey of exploration into the heart of inclusion, belonging, and societal transformation. Ever wondered what it truly takes to create a world where everyone not only belongs but thrives? You're not alone. Join me as we uncover the unseen, challenge the status quo, and share stories that resonate deep within. Ready to dive in. Whether you're sipping your morning coffee or winding down after a long day, let's connect, reflect, and inspire action together. Don't forget, you can be part of the conversation too. Reach out to jo.lockwood@seechangehappen.co.uk to share your insights or to join me on the show.

So adjust your earbuds and settle in. It's time to ignite the spark of inclusion with Inclusion Bites. Today is episode 146 with the title, championing inclusion through sport. And I have the absolute honor and privilege to welcome Dominique Dehaene. Dominique is the national director of Special Olympics Belgium and a devoted father, and he is on a special mission to promote the social inclusion of people with intellectual disabilities. And when I asked Dominique to describe his superpower, he said, turning passion into purpose by driving inclusion, awareness, and opportunity for people with intellectual disabilities. Hello, Dominique. Welcome to the show.

Thank you. Thank you for having me.

How did I get on with your name? Did I did I get it close?

Correct. Correct. Yeah. Absolutely. Thank you for that.

Bit nervous there. It's, it's the Flemish pronunciation because you're based in Belgium if obviously, as the national director of Special Olympics. You're based in Belgium? Correct.

Office is based in Brussels, but I myself live on the French border. I always say I live in the last house in Belgium, so my my neighbor is French, so, very peculiar way of of living. We live on the countryside, so it's a commute every day from 160 kilometers single way, but, it's worth it. I like my job and I like, where I live, so, best of both worlds.

Best of both worlds. Yeah. So I guess you're also the first house as well as the last house.

Correct. Yeah. I didn't didn't quite think of that. So, yeah, it it is. It is.

Fantastic. So you champion inclusion through sport, with a special focus on intellectual disabilities. Do you want to tell us a bit more about what do you mean by the term intellectual disabilities?

Well, it's it's, you know, we all know someone with, with an intellectual disability if we start thinking about it. We all know someone with with an intellectual disability. Within Special Olympics, it's, you know, defined as someone with an IQ not higher than 75, but, you know, it could have been 76, 74, but you know, that's the definition we use, you know, and there's a whole range of people with intellectual disabilities, like there's a whole range of people without intellectual disabilities. You know, we have people with autism, people with Down syndrome, you know, the, I would say the classic people with intellectual disability. And so what we do is, well, our aim is to, to convince people not to look at their disability, but look beyond their disability and look at their talents. And we strive indeed for an inclusive society where people with intellectual disabilities, anyone else can, can play a full role in, regarding their talents and, disregarding, I would say their disabilities. And for us, the means to get there is sports because sports, it unifies people, we have what we call unified sports as well, where people with intellectual disabilities play together with people without intellectual disabilities. But we try to convince people with intellectual disabilities to do sports and through sports, they work on their health, also on mental health.