The vast majority of Beijing
residents are aware of the Paralympic Games and want to become volunteers, a
survey has revealed.
Logo of Beijing
Olympics Volunteer Recruitment.[filephoto] |
More than 99 per cent of residents polled in the capital knew about the event
and nearly 80 per cent of them are willing to work as volunteers for the Games,
according to the survey conducted by the Beijing Organizing Committee for the
Games of the XXIX Olympiad (BOCOG) and the Beijing Disabled Persons Federation.
BOCOG is the first Olympic organization to simultaneously organize a summer
Olympic Games and a Paralympic Games.
The survey from April to July covered a sample of more than 2,000 Beijing
residents aged between 18 and 60 from all walks of life, and 24 of the
respondents were persons with a disability.
Television is the leading way for people to get to know about the
Paralympics, with more than 33 per cent of the respondents saying they mainly
relied on the source to get related information, followed by 21.9 per cent who
listed newspapers and 21.1 per cent who cited the Internet.
Although nearly all Beijing residents know about the Paralympic Games, only
about 56 per cent are interested in it, according to the survey. Among those who
are interested, 58 per cent said they follow it because of the inspiration that
athletes with a disability can bring to them; 22 per cent said because they
enjoyed watching sports matches; and 18 per cent said because of their concern
and compassion towards people with a disability.
About 78.8 per cent of the respondents expressed their willingness to become
Paralympic volunteers. However, half of them are worried that they do not have
basic knowledge and necessary skills of how to support athletes with a
disability, such as how to communicate with people who cannot hear, how to guide
the visually impaired, or how to help push a wheelchair.
Just over 44 per cent said, however, they would find difficulty in finding
the time to help.
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