Determine the future, be part of the change: The IWG Conference on Women and Sport
The International Working Group on Women and Sport (IWG) was founded in 1994, with its first conference held in Brighton, UK. From its inception, the group’s mission has been to act “as a catalyst, engaging governmental and non-governmental organisations and individuals for the advancement and empowerment of women and sport globally”. Since 1994, there have been six conferences, held every four years at alternating locations. The seventh will take place at the Gaborone International Convention Centre in Botswana.
In addition to athletes, academics and government officials, the conference gathers international actors in sport and development, including members of the United Nations, international sports federations and the International Olympic Committee (IOC)—and participation continues to increase. This year’s event is expected to reach 1200 attendees, compared to just 280 at the first in 1994.
Past events have led to historic agreements outlining specific goals and plans for the future. One such conference legacy is the Brighton Declaration, which became the Brighton Plus Helsinki Declaration in 2014. Its aim is to “develop a sporting culture that enables and values the full involvement of women in every aspect of sport." The declaration focuses not only on implementing policy, but also on the role of the community in ensuring the framework is carried out.
Another significant outcome is the Sydney Scoreboard, created during the 2006-2010 quadrennial and formally launched at the 2010 conference. This document tracks the number of women executive members, presidents and chief executives represented in national and international sport organisations. The data, collected in 2009-2012 and 2013-2014, not only tracks progress of women in leadership positions, but it also encourages more of these positions to be created in the future.
The theme of the current quadrennial (2014-2018) is “Determine the future, be part of the change”. This will break down into six plenary sessions with sub-themes. In the weeks leading up to the conference, sportanddev.org will explore each sub-theme in depth. We will also provide article coverage during the event, and we also encourage you to share your stories.
To stay up-to-date on conference news, visit our Highlighted Initiative section, and be sure to follow #IWGGaborone2018 on social media.
Activity