What kind of society lets everyone live well? This study tour explores that question through sport. In February 2027, participants will visit disability sports venues across Germany, observe barrier-free features in the city, and meet local people.
Planned activities include visiting wheelchair basketball clubs, watching or joining practice, attending a Bundesliga first-division game, and interviewing players and club staff. Visits to organizations supporting children with disabilities in wheelchair sports, and walking through the city with wheelchair users to see barrier-free conditions firsthand, are also on the list. Destinations and details are still being arranged and may change.
The tour is open to Waseda University undergraduate and graduate students, who also take part in three pre-departure sessions and one follow-up session. No sports experience, parasports knowledge or German skills are required. Information sessions will be held at lunchtime on Nov 9, 11, 17 and 19, in a hybrid in-person and online format; attendance is optional. Applications are made through the application form.
Key points
- Hands-on learning, from wheelchair basketball club visits to match viewing
- Four themes: sport, diversity, inclusion, and community and support systems
- No sports or German experience needed; information sessions are hybrid
Why we recommend this event
A real strength is seeing firsthand how people with disabilities take part in sport and society, together with the clubs, schools, companies, volunteers and systems that support them. Comparing Japan and Germany can be a chance to look anew at the society we live in.
The tour is not about bringing home a single answer, but about deepening your own questions through experience on site. For students interested in welfare, community building and social contribution, it looks like a good opportunity to broaden their horizons.
Staff comments
Minato AobaResearch
“What stood out was how hands-on it is, from watching wheelchair basketball to interviewing club staff. Walking the city with wheelchair users to see barrier-free conditions must bring many discoveries.”
Sophie HiroseWriting and translation
“I agree with Aoba-san about that hands-on feel. To me, not requiring sports or German skills, and valuing the questions you bring home, makes this a gentle doorway into learning.”
Mako JozenjiProofreading and verification
“Both the on-site experience and the gentle entry you two mention are lovely. Comparing Japan and Germany while thinking about a society open to all seems likely to quietly change how participants see things.”
Interested in this event?
Editor-in-Chief’s comment
Ren DateEditor-in-Chief
“This tour uses sport as a doorway to thinking about social systems and barrier-free living on location. It sounds like a chance to see sides of German communities that tourism rarely shows.
It is open to Waseda University students. If you are curious, why not start by dropping in on an information session?”