Berlin 2022: Deen advances mentorship, inclusion and the Accra 2023 vision
AfPC’s Berlin visit brought African mentorship, the #WalkInMyShoe campaign and announced Korean transport support into preparations for the first African Para Games.
The mentorship panel at the IPC Membership Gathering, Berlin, 17 November 2022.
Photo credit: AfPC-supplied archive photograph
African Paralympic Committee President Samson Deen brought Africa’s priorities for mentorship, inclusion and the inaugural African Para Games to the IPC meetings in Berlin in November 2022. The engagement connected preparations for Accra 2023 with dialogue across the international Paralympic community.
African experience on the global stage
AfPC records Deen’s visit as 16–19 November 2022. The IPC’s official programme placed the Extraordinary General Assembly on 16 November and the Membership Gathering on 17–18 November. This distinction preserves both the visit period and the dates of the formal meetings.
On 17 November, Deen joined a mentorship panel with Oceania Paralympic Committee President Paul Bird and NPC Colombia Secretary General Veronica Velasquez. The IPC’s retrospective confirms their exchange on mentoring approaches and outcomes, followed by questions from members. The supplied photographs also document Deen’s presentation on the contribution of regional organisations.
#WalkInMyShoe: participation as a route to inclusion
Ghana News Agency reported that Deen announced the African regional body’s endorsement of #WalkInMyShoe as a digital campaign for Accra 2023. The initiative invited influential figures in government, business and public life to experience Para sport alongside athletes.
Its stated goals were to challenge stigma, strengthen awareness, encourage participation and attract support for athlete development. These were the campaign’s ambitions at the time, rather than a claim of measured outcomes.
Korean support for accessible transport
At a meeting alongside the Berlin gathering, the Korean National Paralympic Committee announced a 40-seater accessible VIP bus donation to support the Accra 2023 African Para Games. AfPC’s Instagram post of 26 November recorded the announcement and published eight photographs of the delegation meeting and the vehicle.
Deen welcomed the support and outlined its intended use by athletes and officials. The post named AfPC Vice President Dr Hayat Khattab and Henry Larbi among the African delegation. The historical record here concerns the announcement; it does not establish when the bus was delivered or put into service.
The road to the first African Para Games
AfPC’s account of the visit records Deen’s presentation of preparations for hosting the inaugural African Para Games in Ghana. Contemporary GNA coverage had previewed his Accra 2023 roadmap and an update to African members on his first year in office.
The Berlin engagement forms part of that preparatory history: sharing African experience, building partnerships and promoting a continental competition centred on athletes. The accompanying gallery preserves the conference photographs and every image in the linked AfPC Instagram carousel.