The four-part series started today, with each webinar being open to 20 participants, including powerlifters who competed in previous Paralympics and those who aim to make their Paralympic debut at Tokyo 2020.

A total of 18 nations are due to be represented across the four seminars.

First of these is on the theme "Working with the Media", delivered by Proud Paralympian educator Daniela Luchina.

Luchina is a former Paralympic swimmer and wheelchair rugby athlete with Argentina.

Luchina will also deliver the third session on July 10 on the topic of "Your Place in the Movement", which looks to show Paralympians how they can use their platform to voice opinions on sport.

"Coaches train you to be the best in the field of play, and, to enhance that, what you practice outside the field of play is as important," said Luchina.

"There is so much you can achieve through sport, but to make it even more impactful, you need to learn about many other topics.

"We had a year to learn how to meet virtually and realised that we can do so much even if we can’t meet in person. 

"We may be restricted to stay at home to take care of our health, so let’s use the time to meet, learn and have fun even from distance."

The partnership follows on from the 2020 World Para Powerlifting Webinar Series, for which also 500 participants from 88 countries tuned in.

"It’s amazing to be able to provide continued professional development opportunities to a community that’s keen to learn," said Dillon Richardson, World Para Powerlifting performance and development manager.

"The pandemic really provoked positive change. 

"The webinars do not limit us or education to a single classroom or conference space.

"It’s important to engage and support our community beyond competitions and high performance, ensuring members from the grassroots through to the highest levels have access to education and are learning."

The other two webinars are scheduled to be held on June 12 and August 7 on the topics "Ethics, Fair Play and Sportsmanship" and "Understanding Athlete Representation" respectively.

Para badminton player and Proud Paralympian educator Richard Perot of France will be leading these two sessions.

Confirmed participants on the Proud Paralympian and World Para Powerlifting webinars will be from nine National Paralympic Committees in Africa, four in Europe, three in the Americas and two in Asia.