The first Americas Paralympic Committee (APC) Summit began with the Conference of Paralympic Sport Development for America.

The conference aimed to harmonise knowledge, plans, programmes and other tools to strengthen sport for people with disabilities in the Americas.

The APC event was staged with the help of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) and endorsed by the IPC Academy.

The IPC chief executive Xavier Gonzalez was in attendance, as were governing board members Miguel Sagarra of Spain and Brazil's Andrew Parsons.

At the conference, the evolution and progress of the global Paralympic Movement was discussed, with a forum on the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games also held.

The United Nations Convention on Rights for People with Disabilities, the development of Paralympic sport, classification and other issues were also addressed.

The three-day conference featured participants from 41 countries, and a number of panel discussions, speeches and workshops.

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