Blank Walls’ Post

Paris 2024 Paralympic Medals vs Olympic Medals🏅 What’s the difference between the Olympic and the Paralympic games medals? While the front sides are similar: • Both were designed by Chaumet and minted by Monnaie de Paris. • The middle has a piece of the Eiffel Tower cut into a hexagon, the geometric shape of France. The Paralympic medal’s reverse side differs from the Olympic version: • The traditional symbols of the goddess of victory, Athena and the Acropolis are replaced by the Eiffel Tower. • The design shows a low-angle view of the Tower’s base. • The words “Paris” and “2024” frame the Tower’s pillars. • These words are inscribed in Braille, symbolizing accessibility and honoring Louis Braille, the French inventor of the writing system. . Visually impaired athletes can distinguish the medals by touch - lines are engraved on the medal’s edge: I for gold, II for silver and III for bronze. Why the difference of imagery for the reverse side? (Athena vs base of the Eiffel tower) I’m not sure. What do you think? Which design do you prefer? Reference: https://lnkd.in/eah67BXN

The name of the Paris 2024 mascot is Olympic Phryge, based on the traditional small Phrygian hats that the mascots are shaped after. The name and design were chosen as symbols of freedom and to represent allegorical figures of the French republic. As Paris 2024’s vision is to demonstrate that sport can change lives, the mascots will be playing a major role by leading a revolution through sport. The Olympic Phryge is decked out in blue, white and red - the colours of France’s famed tricolor flag - with the golden Paris 2024 logo emblazoned across its chest. Phrygian caps can be seen sat atop the head of the iconic figure Marianne in every town hall and even feature on everyday objects in France such as coins and stamps. They are also an international symbol of liberty worn by freed slaves in Roman times and appearing on different emblems in North and South America. Also known as the liberty cap, the Phrygian cap has become one of the symbols of the French Republic. The motto of the Olympic Phryge and Paralympic Phryge is: “Alone we go faster, but together we go further,” representing the ways in which the mascots, and the people of the world, can make each other better by working side-by-side. https://lnkd.in/gUgkVGcF

🥇 Alexa Leary's Incredible Journey to Paralympic Gold 🥇 Just over two years ago, against the gritty backdrop of a near-death experience, Alexa Leary's future in sports was a cloudy horizon. Fast forward to the 2024 Paris Paralympics, and she has not only faced adversity but triumphed in the most spectacular way imaginable. Leading Australia to a golden victory in the relay, Leary's story is not just about athleticism; it's about the indomitable human spirit. This victory was more than a medal—it was a personal redemption, a reaffirmation of her unyielding resilience and dedication. 🌟 From the brink to the podium, her journey resonates as a beacon of hope and determination. It’s a vivid reminder that the toughest battles often lead to the greatest triumphs. 💬 Have you ever faced a moment where everything seemed against you, yet you found the strength to overcome it? Share your stories of resilience in the comments below! 📌 Let Alexa Leary's story inspire us all to never give up, no matter how insurmountable the obstacles might seem. #Paralympics #Resilience #OvercomingAdversity #Inspirational #Australia #GoldMedal #Paris2024 🇦🇺✨ Discover more tips, insights, and resources by visiting our site at https://lnkd.in/gE7yw4xw

The second half of the Count Down to Paris doco will be on ABC News Channel at 6.30 tonight. Or you can catch the whole program on ABC iview and on the ABC News YouTube channel. I am so ridiculously proud of having co-produced this show for a number of reasons. Firstly, I am so ridiculously proud of the athletes who let us follow their journey, especially Jamieson Leeson for allowing me to be a part of her life for several months as I interviewed her and came to her training and competitions. Secondly, the documentary follows both Olympic and Paralympic athletes, this is important. A lot of people tend to see the Olympics as the absolute pinnacle of sport for all athletes, but the Paralympics, in terms of being the pinnacle for disabled athletes, holds the same weight and value as the Olympics. Never forget this. Olympians and Paralympians are all talented, motivated, passionate individuals when it comes to their sport— and our documentary shows this. The Olympics start next week and the Paralympics being on August 28th. [Video description: a selection of shots of athletes doing their sports, including cycling, kayaking, Boccia, climbing and diving. All the athletes are sharing what the Paris games will mean to them. Text them alles on the screen explaining we’ve been following these athletes journeys since late 2023 for the count down to Paris documentary.] #Olympics #Paralympics #SportMedia #Documentary #Empowerment #Leadership

A story breaking in the UK, whereby #Paris2024 medalists from Team GB & ParalympicsGB were invited to a royal reception at Buckingham Palace in #London, yet only the medalists from Team GB were invited to an after party at luxury retailer Fortnum & Mason. There is lots to unpick here, but a couple of points I would like to highlight. Clearly balls were dropped in terms of communication & I doubt we will never really know if the separate party for our #Paralympians was always planned or a rushed after thought, following Zac Shaw calling them out. What I do know is that for many years the retailer has its tea packaged by the amazing team of supported workers at the Enham Trust 3PL factory, a social enterprise that employs disabled people. I do not think for one moment that Fortnum & Mason wants to deliberately upset the disabaled community. However, somewhere within the organisation, there has been a serious error of judgement & very poor communication around 'space'. This has caused reputational damage to their brand & hurt to some para-athletes. But as you judge them, I would suggest they do more than most organisations to support our disabled community. I would also like to go on & question why, post-Olympics & post-Paralympics, we always lump celebratory events together with both sets of athletes. Whilst the #Olympics is the largest sporting event in the world, sitting at number 3 is the #Paralympics. To remind ourselves, ParalympicsGB came 2nd in the medals table (124), nestled between China (220) & USA (105). That is a phenomenal achievement, which, in my view, deserves to be celebrated beyond the shadow of the Olympics & not diluted. Of course, disabled people want parity with the rest of society, which is a daily fight for most. But combining celebratory events for our Olympic & Paralympic athletes is not really parity, it's just a cost saving measure for the organisers & sponsors. I have a solution... UK Sport awarded c.£246 Million to various National Governing Bodies for #Paris2024 Summer Olympics. They awarded c.£69 million over a similar period for #Paris2024 Summer Paralympics. The disparity of funding aside, UK Sport's funding comes from Department for Culture, Media and Sport & #TheNationalLottery. For #LosAngeles2028, when DCMS & The National Lottery are making their financial forecasts, I think it would not be unreasonable (& not unaffordable) for them to increase or set aside budget / funding to include 4 post-Olympic / Paralympic celebratory events, rather than 2. We already know the formats; a televised 'Homecoming' & a Royal Reception / After Party. So, let's continue to celebrate & recognise all of our amazing athletes & para-athletes. But let's also budget for this properly & not allow our national elite athletes to ever be compromised by cost or convenience. https://lnkd.in/epAGEEJq #DisabilityInclusion #Disability #Sport #ParaSport #Athletics #ParaAthletics #SupportedEmployment

The Best Design from the 2024 Paris Paralympic Games 🔥 The 2024 Paralympic Games drew to a close last week, after a thrilling continuation of the athletic prowess and achievement on display at the Olympics. These Paralympics encapsulated more than 4,400 global athletes competing in 549 medal events within 22 individual and team sports. In addition to over two million tickets being sold to events, these Paralympic Games marked the first time ever that every Paralympic sport was broadcast in over 160 countries, marking a new level of respect and appreciation for disability sport and for the 1.2 billion people living with disabilities worldwide. Much like at the 2024 Paris Olympics, the Paralympics were rife with savvy design in all forms that thrilled us (almost) as much as the sports themselves. From adaptive design concepts to inclusive fashion, and statement-making equipment, innovative and exciting design at the Paralympics is critical to the Games’ function and to the athletes’ success. A “disability” is socially constructed, after all, and design is one of the keys to addressing deficiencies in society for those with disabilities, which extends into the world of sports. Read the full story on PRINT: https://lnkd.in/e9cb9bfc Words: Charlotte Beach Imagery: courtesy of the author, International Paralympic Committee ⁠ -----⁠ #print #printmag #printmagazine #printisnotdead #creative #identity #inspiration #linkinbio #creativenews #paralympics #design #athletics #paralympicsports #savvydesign #sportdesign #fashiondesign #innovation

Paris 2024: The incredible story behind the Olympic and Paralympic medals The athletes who will compete at the Olympic Games Paris 2024 now have an extra motivation to reach the podium: in addition to bringing home a gold, silver or bronze medal, they will also take a small piece of Paris with them, materialised by a section of the Eiffel Tower integrated in each one. It all began with a rather special brief. Bring creativity and poignancy to a classic yet essential object symbolising the Olympic and Paralympic Games. But how can the medal be even more special? Is it possible to go beyond the traditional with something as classic and long-established as the medals? The answer: yes. By including a piece of France inside – literally. Chaumet, the French jewellery house, used its world-recognised expertise to take the concept to another level in order to magnify the idea, make it shine and give life to something that could have been ridiculous, but turned out to be quite special. This time, the designers didn’t have to deal with a timeless diamond or a ruby, but a material that had aged. They decided to think of it and work with it: the Eiffel Tower, at the centre of an exceptional jewel. Each medal made for Paris 2024, revealed on Thursday 8 February, has an original piece of the Eiffel Tower in it, and it comes with a supporting certificate of authenticity.

Recently I did a video for GK talks about how you can find the FORCE within you to overcome obstacles that you think are blocking your way! Thanks GK Talks for asking me! #GKtalks

Blindly following rules is crippling your organization. How do we start to go past rules and your staff just sticking to the word of the "law"? https://lnkd.in/g3GhpAqH 1. Start with why. If we can put all the rules we have on a whiteboard, do we see any underlying similarities between all of them? If we look at the way leaders run their teams, are there specific values that stand out? Consolidating all these values into a statement allows staff to start seeing the intent of the rules, and not just stop at rigidly executing instructions. 2. Give the staff boundaries. Instead of getting staff to ask for permission, tell them that everything within certain boundaries are allowed. This is challenging on 2 fronts. For staff that are not used to being given freedom to do what they want, it takes time, knowledge and practice for them to get used to this new found power and responsibility. For leaders, it can feel disorientating to delegate control and it is challenging to hold oneself back and letting the team member experiment and practice. 3. Be very clear on expectations. Start small, and set your team up for success. Then work your way up. Your team might just surprise you with the results. Delegating responsibility should come with a delegation of power, resources and the ability to use them. Consistently doing it over time is how you eventually have your team ready to take on greater responsibility and roles. If you could, what would you delegate tomorrow to your team and give them the freedom to execute and deliver?

The closing ceremony of the 2024 Summer Paralympics will be held at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis, France, this Sunday. The Paralympic Games have grown into one of the world’s largest sporting events, attracting over 4,000 athletes from more than 160 nations. Held every four years after the Olympics, these Games celebrate the extraordinary talents of athletes with disabilities. Since their origin in 1948 as a small competition for British World War II veterans, the Paralympics have evolved into a major global event. The Paralympic Games are designed to celebrate the athletic achievements of participants, showcasing their skills and strengths. Today, the Summer Paralympic program includes 22 sports, while the Winter Paralympics feature six sports. A key element of the Paralympics is the classification system, which ensures fair competition by grouping athletes based on the nature of their disabilities. The Paralympic Games continue to grow and play a crucial role in challenging societal perceptions of disability. With each event, the achievements of Paralympic athletes affirm that sport is for everyone. Learn more about the Paralympic Games ➡️ https://w.wiki/3vtA