It is not only about repeating the recipe to deliver the world’s two biggest sporting events with the same skillfulness, spirit and, especially, the same service standard. In 2016, Rio de Janeiro will be proud to organise the 31st edition of the Olympic Games and the 15th edition of the Paralympic Summer Games.

To reach the same level of excellence in the competitions, the Rio 2016™ Organising Committee has a sector exclusively dedicated to ensuring that all its areas have an integrated planning for the staging of the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

“The Paralympic Integration area is responsible for ensuring that all other areas meet their deliverables to meet the expectations of the Paralympic clients. This area also provides support by giving specific information and increasing internal and external awareness on the Paralympic Movement and Games”, said the Rio 2016™ Paralympic Integration manager Mariana Mello.

According to Mariana, in order to succeed in this area, professionals must have not only expertise and knowledge, but also be capable of overcoming obstacles. “In addition to general knowledge on Paralympic Games, the staff members must have excellent interpersonal skills and be challenge-oriented”, she explained.

The infrastructure required to organise the Paralympic Games is impressive, as it directly involves more than 100 thousand people, including 30 thousand volunteers. More than 4,200 Paralympic athletes from approximately 170 nations are expected to participate, beside thousands of press professionals, support staff, sport fans and tourists from all around the globe.

The Paralympic Integration Area counts on the support of the Sustainability, Accessibility and Legacy area, which provides help and follow-up to the other sectors for the entire planning period; however, each functional area is responsible for ensuring that all accessibility guidelines of both the International Paralympic Committee and the Brazilian legislation are complied with.

“This integrated planning should mitigate the efforts and optimize the budget for the staging of the Paralympic Games. The two events have a lot in common, but there are significant differences that need be observed and planned”, said Mariana.

As a former professional judoka and Paralympic women’s judo Brazilian team coach, Master in Human Mobility Sciences, the manager talked about her main goal and the Paralympic integration area for 2016.

“The Rio 2016 Paralympic Games will certainly be a landmark in the lives of millions of people with disabilities in Brazil. Our area strives for a change of mentality with regards to people with disabilities, besides the documental legacy for the Paralympic movement, which may help future organising committees in the competitions’ organisation”, she pointed out.