Abu Dhabi, Nov 3 (IANS): The Asian Paralympic Committee (APC) has announced the first confirmed speakers for the inaugural Athletes' Forum for Asian para-athletes which takes place at the start of December.

Korean Paralympian Jung Jin-Owan will deliver the keynote speech entitled 'The role of the para-athlete as a driver for social change', APC stated in a media release. This will kick off a two-day program of events which will be delivered to athlete representatives from the 44 Asian NPCs, IFs and IOSDs.

Jin-Owan was selected by the APC's Athletes' Committee based on his vast experience of the paralympic movement spanning several decades. He competed at the Sydney 2000 and Athens 2004 Paralympic Games in shooting, winning one gold and one bronze medal.

He is currently the head of the Korea Paralympic Committee's Icheon Training Centre with whom the APC signed an MoU in 2019.

"Personally, it is a great honour for me to take part in this great project. As someone who has been at the forefront of the paralympic movement in Korea and stood up for what he believes in, it is wonderful to share my thoughts with fellow para athletes, just around the corner of a turning point for Asia to pioneer a new trend in the paralympic movement. I hope we all can learn and communicate actively through this ground breaking initiative and envision a better future, where people of all abilities flourish together."