Case Study: Making Noise Malawi

What is it?

A tool for co-creating action plans for community engagement with disability sport for social change in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Who is it for?

It is intended for use by a wide range of disability sports organisations, including National Paralympic Committees (NPCs), as well as Disabled Persons Organisations (DPOs) and their partners and allies.

How does it work?

  • The aim of this kit is to help you generate an ‘action plan’. For each part of the action plan there are some tools and ideas you can use to inform your decisions.
  • Everyone needs to have a shared understanding of the ‘context’, which will help pick and choose ‘ideas’ to adapt them into the context and further assess how to ‘monitor, evaluate and learn' from the activities.

Why was it developed?

Making Noise is a practical tool developed from action research in Malawi that experimented with community engagement approaches for the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games.

Action research

Collaborative action research is a cyclical process that involves stakeholders and policymakers in advocating for disability sports through media narratives, legitimizing Para driving social change. 

Research insights

  • The Paralympics can be  powerful platform for addressing local forms of disability stigma.
  • Local stories and community engagement is critical to its success.
  • Para athletes are powerful role models for people with disabilities, and importantly their families.

Pilot with African Union Region 5 Youth Games (2022)

The African Union Region 5 Youth Games, involving neighbouring countries such as Mozambique, Lesotho and Namibia, hosted by Malawi in 2022 included sanctioned Para sports competitions for the first time. Making Noise was piloted as an approach to increase conversations and exposure. It saw community based activities, including theatre and Para sports demonstrations and Para athlete stories in the media. The media's role in covering Para sports events became more mainstream and commercially valuable. The increasing coverage led to calls from the public, parents, and companies wanting to support Para sports. The government's involvement in promoting Para sports was initiated.

The strategies had the following social change and stigma reduction impacts:

Higher quality media coverage

Leap forward in quality, relevance and quantity of reporting on Para sport.

Journalists learn about appropriate language to report on disability.

Elevated public interest

Approximately 300 calls from the public supporting NPC work, 63 parents signed up children for Para sport.

More partnership engagement

Partnership signed between NPC and an OPD to provide employment support for Para athletes.

Expanded partnership scope with Parents of Disabled Children Association Malawi.

Additional investment

The Malawi NPC has signed new sponsorship deals valued at over Mk45 million /£30,000.

The Malawian government has increased financial and other support at national and district levels.

Fulfilment of basic rights

Scholarship for Para athletes agreement signed.

AT discussions on wheelchairs provision for athletes.

What's next?

Making Noise, currently in its prototype phase, has been tested at two sport events in Malawi. The next step is to use the process to amplify Malawi’s participation in the Paris2024 Paralympic Games. We aim to trial the process in other countries and develop scalable, sustainable approaches.