As Qatar prepares to celebrate National Sport Day, record-breaking Paralympian Scout Bassett – whose life has taken her from being an orphaned child who lost her leg in a chemical fire to the pinnacle of para-athletics – has told Qatar Foundation’s Education City Speaker Series how sport gave her ‘value, purpose, and meaning.’

The champion athlete, who is also a mentor, author, motivational speaker, and activist for people with disabilities, relived her inspirational journey in a special edition of the dialogue series at Education City Stadium – and emphasized how investing in accessible sporting facilities and pathways is an investment in the whole of society.

“I’ve always wanted to be an athlete, but growing up, I was largely excluded from sport,” said Bassett, who has established a fund that supports young athletes with disabilities to meet the costs of elite competition. “I was the girl who was on the sidelines.

“This had such a huge effect on my self-esteem, feeling I didn’t belong. I thought people with disabilities didn’t have a place in society. And when I found the Paralympics, and ran for the first time at 14 years old, my mindset changed. I developed confidence, and a belief that not only did I belong, but ‘I’m going to be OK in my life, I’m going to do something purposeful and impactful’.

“All of that came through sport. I saw I have worth, I have value, purpose, and meaning; that I can make a valuable contribution to my community and the world. Sport has been the thing that has kept me going. It changed my life.”

The talk – moderated by disability advocate and activist Dr. Ghanimeh El-Taweel, Affiliate Instructor at QF member Hamad Bin Khalifa University’s College of Humanities and Social Sciences – saw Bassett point to QF’s Ability Friendly Program, which provides sport and development opportunities for people with disabilities, as an example of the difference that inclusive sporting platforms make to people’s lives.

“Joy is something we take for granted, but it’s life-changing for people with disabilities, and in every single person involved with this program, I saw the joy and the passion that comes from the purest place,” she said. “I love the focus I’ve seen at QF on people who, across the world, have often largely been forgotten; the intentional thought of creating spaces for people with disabilities. When we think about accessible spaces, we often think about them as being only for those with disabilities, but we forget that they benefit the wider population – the mother with her children, those who have less mobility.

“What sport really teaches you is how to persevere, to be persistent. In track and field, you’re not going to win every race, you’re not going to set a personal best every time. The journey of learning and embracing that is so important. It’s not always about competing at the highest level; what matters is to be active, because that’s vital for your physical, mental, and emotional health, and your quality of life.”

Bassett also spoke of the need to break down perceptions that still exist globally of supporting people with disabilities being ‘like charity work,’ and used her own experience of being unable to get job interviews after graduating until she hid her disability to highlight how ‘employment bias’ remains an issue.

And she told the Education City Speaker Series audience: “I always welcome it when someone comes up to me and says, ‘I want to do better in supporting people with disabilities, but I don’t know how.’ That’s such a good place to start – with the intention.

“It’s never too late to be an ally to people with disabilities. It’s never too late to be curious and inquisitive.”

Following the talk, those who gathered at the Education City Stadium to hear Bassett’s story had the opportunity to run with her on the pitch of the iconic arena, which will host an array of inclusive sporting activities on 10 February as part of QF’s National Sport Day celebrations.

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