Paris 2024: 'Nothing about us without us' reflected in IPC Comms team

Throughout the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games fans, friends, family and supporters of the Paralympic movement from around the world have been kept up to date by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) Comms team: a team proudly made up of all abilities, including about 30 per cent persons with disability.

For IPC President Andrew Parsons this representation is a 'practical example' of all that the IPC and the Paralympic Movement stands for.

"I think we showed that by removing the barriers, again, persons with disability can excel in every area, not only in the field of play of a sport event. They can do whatever they want. We have talented people here, writing, taking pictures, interviewing, producing putting onto the world, incredible stories."

"They are super talented. But again, the talent needs to be developed, cultivated and we can only do that by removing the barriers and believing in them. I think it’s what we did here at the IPC," Parsons said. 

A call they'll never forget

When Elizabeth Rajchart found out in January 2024 that she was joining the IPC Paris 2024 Comms team as a photographer for IPC President Andrew Parsons, it felt like 'a dream come true'.

"This is my biggest goal that I've ever had for my career," Rajchart explained. "My photography is centered around disability. So I love all things disability. I teach about disability, about the models of disability, and about how and why to make corporate settings more accessible, and about the importance of self advocacy."

For George Doman, Content Distribution Co-ordinator, the job offer was almost too good to believe.

"I'm not saying Craig (Spence, Chief Brand and Communications Offer) is trying to tell a joke on me or anything, but I thought maybe something would happen, or something would be misunderstood. I'm like, Okay, I'm not going to believe it. 

"Then when I saw the plane ticket, I'm like, 'Oh, I'm going to Paris'."

For Doman, this was his first trip outside of the USA, adding to the moment.

"I think my mom was a little nervous, because this is my first time flying out. I'm her only son, and I have a disability. I have CP, cerebral palsy. At first, I didn't believe it, it was a dream come true, and still is actually."

Harry De Cosemo, Reporter, felt a similar disbelief when one day he got a call from a number with a Germany area code. "Initially I didn't answer, but then Craig asked me to call him back."

"It took a while to sink in. Once it did, there was a mix of excitement and nerves. I had no reference for what was coming. Now I desperately want to do it again," he said.

While these roles are dreams, they are also crucially jobs, supporting with essential employment, as Jack Booth, Upload Producer, shared.

"If I'm completely honest, it was, oh, 'at least I've got a job now', because at that time I didn't. But you know, things have changed for the better and to be able to come along to something like this is a special experience.

"People from all corners of the world come to Paris for two weeks for this one event and I think that's like quite a special, magical thing to be a part of."

Doman has worked with the IPC previously, as a musician on Netflix's 'Rising Phoenix' documentary, and was eager to get to Paris.

"I was asking 'Please, let me go to Paris because I need work'. In the States, it's hard to get a job with a disability, so the IPC is perfect. They can't, they won't, discriminate against me because that's literally what they're about. And I needed a job."

Truly inclusive experience

De Cosemo has been a UK sports writer for numerous publications, so his role as a Reporter was a familiar one, but working with the IPC still offered a new experience.

"It took me a long time to accept my disability and the confidence to do so came through journalism, but this is the first time I’ve felt it be celebrated and truly accommodated rather than just positively acknowledged," he said.

"It has helped me feel true equity; I’ve been treated how I need to be treated to get the most from the experience, offered the right help and treated with respect. It’s great to be part of a team that does that."

For Rajchart, the inclusivity of Paris 2024 Paralympic Games felt when she visited the Paralympic Village, on her first day of work.

"Craig (Spence) says that I had this expression on my face that he's he's never going to forget. I was seeing not only so much disability just surrounding me, my community surrounding me, but the most diverse representation of disability I've ever seen in my entire life," said Rajchart.

"It was magical."

De Cosemo and Rajchart had some unique experiences during the Games. De Cosemo interviewed his hero and former Liverpool football manager Jurgen Klopp, who was supporting Para badminton player Wojtek Czyz.

Rajchart visited the Elysee Palace to take photographs of Parsons and French President Emmanuel Macron.

Nothing about us without us

Matija Grebenic has been a Brand Manager with the IPC since 2020, based out of the headquarters in Bonn, Germany. He believes that the representation in the IPC team is part of what makes the work so successful.

"It is extremely important to have representation everywhere, in the media, in the streets but also in companies. The fact that our team is so diverse really helps everyone in the long run.

"We come from different backgrounds, we have different disabilities, and our perspectives can help us all achieve more and do better," Grebenic said.

For Rajchart, this representation is at the core of the movement.

"You know, disability has a saying, 'Nothing about us without us'. And actually having it be about us on the IPC team side as well as not just the athlete side, I think is, is a wonderful thing, and can only bring good things," she said.

A place where you're wanted

One of the special moments Doman experienced while working at Paris 2024 was meeting his compatriot Matt Stutzman, 'the armless archer'. Doman had previously used Stutzman as an inspiration for writing a verse for the title track of Rising Phoenix, which won an Emmy for Outstanding Music Direction alongside lyricists Toni Hickman and Keith Jones. 

"He (Stutzman) describes being at the table, and I believe his family was at the table, and he felt like nobody really wanted him. And I don't want to cry again, but he felt like nobody really wanted him, said Doman.

"That's kind of how I felt, like nobody really wanted me to work for them, but then the IPC wanted me to work for them."