In a first for South Africa, the Western Cape MEC for Cultural Affairs and Sport, Chris Stali will on Monday 18 July 2005 sign a Memorandum of Agreement with the University of Stellenbosch on campus marking the establishment of a sports institute for the disabled in the province. The signing ceremony will be the highlight of many months of behind the scenes planning and intense lobbying of international partners by the department.

The Western Cape Disability Sport Institute as it will be called, is the initiative of the Department of Cultural Affairs and Sport and Africa- American Alliance for Disability Sport Development borne out of the need to promote and develop competitive sport for the disability sector in Southern Africa. The University of Stellenbosch has been chosen to be a host of the disability institute because of its pioneering work on facilities and resources for people with disabilities. The programme for the day includes a welcoming by the Marimba band, tour of the facilities and football match between Team Western Cape and invitational team (of the intellectually challenged). Team Western Cape is the provincial squad recently selected for the SA Games taking place in Durban in two months.

All the media is invited to attend as follows:

Date: 18 July 2005
Venue: Sport Science Building, University of Stellenbosch
Time: 11h00 - 13h30

For further media enquiries please contact Mandla Yeki at 082 553 3477.