HRH Prince Feisal underlines importance of safeguarding at 8th IWG World Conference on Women and Sport

Jordan Olympic Committee (JOC) President, International Olympic Committee (IOC) Executive Board Member and Chair of the IOC Prevention of Harassment and Abuse in Sport Working Group HRH Prince Feisal delivered a TED talk presentation on gender equality and safe sport on the opening of the 8th International Working Group (IWG) World Conference on Women and Sport in Auckland, New Zealand.

The four-day conference from 14-17 November, opened by Deputy Prime Minister of New Zealand Grant Robertson, welcomed 1,200 attendees in person and 500 online, representing 300 organisations from more than 60 countries. Other headline speakers included former Executive Director of UN Women Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, President of the Commonwealth Games Federation Dame Louise Martin DBE, FIFA Chief Women's Football Officer Sarai Bareman and Co-Founder & CEO of Sports Innovation Lab Angela Ruggiero.

While delivering a TED talk presentation on behalf of the IOC, HRH Prince Feisal highlighted the significant development of women’s sport on and off the field of play in recent years. Moreover, he reiterated that the international sports community has a responsibility to safeguard women and girls in sport, highlighting that harassment and abuse still occurs in sport around the world.

“From the grassroots to the elite level, sport has always levelled the playing field for all. Sport can promote social inclusion, cohesion and interaction, helping us to foster more peaceful, equal and inclusive societies,” said HRH Prince Feisal.

“We have to ensure that, as National Olympic Committees (NOCs), International Federations and clubs, our environment is safe for our children. We know it is a tough fight, we know it is a long fight, but it is a worthwhile fight,” he added.

“Safe sport means the ability to train and compete in a sporting environment that is fair, equitable and free from all forms of harassment and abuse. Despite this, we all know that harassment and abuse does occur in sport, in all disciplines, at all levels, worldwide."

“The time for a siloed approach is over. If we are truly to create a paradigm shift, we must come together to address all inequalities across participation, leadership, portrayal and resource allocation.”

During the conference, HRH Prince Feisal met with Deputy Prime Minister of New Zealand Grant Robertson, President of the New Zealand Olympic Committee Liz Dawson, President of World Rugby Bill Beaumont, Chair of UK Sport Dame Katherine Grainger, female leaders from New Zealand Rugby and many other senior sports industry experts.