On 9 November 2023, the International Blind Football Foundation conducted a hands-on workshop using blind football at Politecnico di Milano, a university renowned for excellence in education in the fields of architecture, design and engineering. The aim was to experience and learn about communication and team building by using eye masks and blind footballs, for postgraduate students in the Department of Design and the University’s faculty.
The aim of the morning workshop for about 30 students was to reflect on the experience and how diverse perspectives can be incorporated into design thinking and learning. The afternoon session, which was coordinated by Prof. Pierangelo Metrangolo, Rector’s Delegate for Sport Activities, for about 20 teaching staff was aimed at experiencing the importance of communication, the team-building process and understanding disability, with Paul Iyobo and Francesco Cavallotto,members of Italy’s national team at the IBSA Blind Football World Championships in August 2023, also on the instructor side.
©Ken Anzai
The main instructor was sent from Japan and the workshops were delivered in English. The university conducts all its classes in English. The voices of amazement and lively dialogue were heard during the workshop. Associate Professor Alessandro Biamonti, who observed the workshop on site, said: “This workshop represents an important experience on two levels: in general, to explore limits and the possibilities of our body. To learn how the relation with “others” in general could be fruitful. To enhance the sense of a community, going over age, gender, language, etc., for Interior Design students, in addition to the first point, to explore how space can be perceived and experienced not just in a visual way.”
©Ken Anzai
This event was sponsored by knots associates Inc., a system design firm in Japan. They expressed their expectations for collaboration with Politecnico di Milano, which has an international reputation in the field of design and engineering, and for the development of a new design approach through a physical sports experience.
The workshops incorporating elements of blind football were developed by the Foundation’s National Collaborator, the Japan Blind Football Association, and this use of sport for the disabled is rare in the world. The IBF Foundation is committed to “bringing together diverse people and knowledge by mobilising the power of blind football to create answers for challenges surrounding visual impairment.” as our mission. Through workshops such as these, our foundation promotes greater understanding of visual impairment among people with various specialisations through blind football, and works in partnership with organisations interested in finding solutions to the challenges.
©Ken Anzai
