Sport

Bebe Vio's non-profit organisation promoting inclusion through sport

The story of the non-profit organisation art4sport is one of hope and altruism. The organisation draws inspiration to build its cultural and social legacy from the life of its promoter and central figure, Bebe Vio. Supported by her family, Bebe founded art4sport in 2009, putting into action her desire to transform our society for the better.

A paralympic athlete, star of Italian sport and public figure with tremendous narrative power, Bebe needs no introduction whatsoever. The reputation she has built over the years through her extraordinary sporting achievements and admirable social activism has laid the foundations for a successful non-profit organisation with the power to change the status quo.

Sport as therapy

The core principle at the heart of art4sport is the promotion of sport as an active tool to help children and young people with prostheses recover physically and mentally. An objective that the organisation has committed itself to time and again, both in its intentions and practices, continuing to invest in creating a positive environment in which sport is fully established as a vital tool for collective well-being.

The actual experience of sharing sport has allowed hundreds of children and young athletes to improve their quality of life, becoming leaders in their activities and pioneers of change. An innovative and wide-ranging vision that is both open to new cultural insights and, over time, has achieved remarkable results within the Italian sports system.

This all-encompassing way of experiencing sport is perfectly in keeping with the values of Intesa Sanpaolo, which are expressed through our manifesto and a series of practical initiatives and projects aimed at raising awareness and broader active engagement with issues such as inclusion and sustainable social growth. Examples include both the promotion of elite sports, as demonstrated by the athletes supported by the non-profit organisation who have participated or are about to participate in major Paralympic events, and the support for grassroots sports through the WEmbrace Games event on 13 June in Rome.

WEmbrace Games held in Rome

On Monday 13 June 2022, the Stadio dei Marmi in Rome hosted, with great joy and excitement, the latest edition of the WEmbrace Games, formerly known as Games Without Barriers.

It was a special occasion celebrating the tenth year of this wonderful event, which has made inclusion, fun and highlighting individual excellence both a strength and mark of pride since its very inception.

A beautiful and powerful way, in the name of sport and friendship, to say to those listening intently that participation and integration among human beings, with or without disabilities, are the only ways to give meaning to our existence as individuals and a sense of citizenship to society.

The evening saw a major media-driven showcase aimed at promoting Paralympic sport and its core values, the most important of which is teaching others that competition in its purest and most beautiful sense is competition with ourselves and not with others.