Global Observatory Board
The Board is the association’s governing body. Its aim is to provide the credibility, independence, stature, networks, and functional expertise required for the Observatory’s success and continuity.
Members
The Board is made up of members from international and governmental organisations, representatives of international sport governance, personalities linked to politics and sport, public and sporting figures, representatives of philanthropy, and economic and business leaders as well as representatives of the three Funding Members.
Competencies
According to the statutes, the Board is responsible for:
- the general management of the Association and its representation in dealings with third parties. It takes all measures necessary to achieve the objectives set;
- executing and implementing the decisions made by the General Assembly;
- drawing up the budget;
- setting up membership fees;
- recommending a President and Vice-President to the General Assembly;
- convening ordinary and extraordinary General Assemblies;
- appointing a Director or co-Directors;
- making decisions regarding the admission and resignation of Members, as well as their possible exclusion;
- ensuring that the Articles of Association are applied, approving the Association’s organisational regulations and all other regulations necessary for the smooth running of the Association (signatures, indemnities, etc.), and administrating the Association’s assets;
- maintaining close relations with Strategic Partners and donors.
- providing the functional expertise required to develop and sustain the
Association (finance, human resources, legal, international relations, etc.); - making its networks available;
- facilitating fund-raising;
- contributing to the Association’s communications and media outreach;
- validating the strategy developed by the General Management;
- ensuring the supervision of the Director and Co-Directors; the running of business as well as the Associations’ organisation;
- taking any action or decision on behalf of the Association when circumstances prevent the General Assembly from doing so. Such a measure or decision shall be submitted to the General Assembly for ratification without delay.
President
Felicite Rwemarika – picture
Felicite Rwemarika
Founder, Chair and legal representative of the Association of Kigali Women in Sports (AKOWS), IOC Member
Felicite Rwemarika has been a member of the IOC since 2018. She is also a speaker at the American University of Nigeria on unity and reconciliation through sport. Rwemarika organizes workshops and seminars to raise awareness for gender equality in sports and promote sport as a powerful tool for peacebuilding, conflict resolution, and economic empowerment. Rwemarika has dedicated herself to healing women who were victims of the 1994 Tutsi genocide through activities that are held by the Association of Kigali Women in Sports (AKWOS). She is a supporter of gender equality and encourages the wider participation of both women and men in conversations about gender-based violence, women empowerment HIV/AIDS reconciliation and entrepreneurship. She is also an organizer of financial literacy trainings and bespoke competitions for AKWOS members.
Members
Grégoire Junod
Mayor, City of Lausanne
Grégoire Junod was first elected to the City Council in 2011, as Director of Culture and Housing until 2012, then as Director of Housing and Public Safety until 2016. He was a municipal councillor from 1998 to 2007, President of the Lausanne Socialist Party from 2004 to 2008, and a member of the Vaud Grand Council from 2007 to 2012. In 2005, he was appointed Union Secretary at Unia, until his election to the Municipal Council. Since taking office, Grégoire Junod has been committed to improving safety in the city and the quality of public spaces, protecting the city's built and natural heritage, ensuring controlled urban development that meets the challenges of climate change, providing greater support for cultural figures, and access to culture for all.
Bernadette Toti
Deputy Secretary General of the Department of Institutions, Territory and Sport
Bernadette Toti is the Deputy to the Secretary General of the Department of Institutions, Territory, and Sports. She holds a Bachelor's degree in International Relations from the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva, with additional training in land-use planning, project management, and diplomacy.
Her career began at the Federal Office of Public Health in Bern, where she managed international relations on infectious diseases and participated in multilateral negotiations. Since then, she has supported two Vaud State Councilors and worked on public policies in areas such as sports, housing, religious affairs, domestic violence prevention, and land-use planning.
Fabien Ohl
Professor at University of Lausanne
Fabien Ohl is professor of sociology of sport at the Institute of Sports Sciences at the University of Lausanne (Faculty of Social and Political Sciences). His main research topics are on sporting careers, organizations and doping. He has published or edited several books on sociology of sport, the last one with B. Fincoeur and J. Gleaves (Doping in Cycling: Interdisciplinary Perspectives, Routledge, 2019). He has also published articles among others in Actes de la Recherche en Sciences Sociales, Aggressive Behavior, Cultural Sociology, Frontiers in Psychology, International Journal of Drug Policy, International Review for the Sociology of Sport, Journalism Studies, Sociologie du travail, Sociology of sport journal, Travail, Genre et Sociétés.
James Carr
Executive Director of ASOIF
James Carr is a qualified solicitor from London, UK and an experienced sports administrator having worked as Deputy Executive Director at the Association of Summer Olympic International Federations (2016 - present), Head of International Relations at the Union Cycliste Internationale (2013-2016) and Legal Counsel at British Cycling (2010-2013). James has led ASOIF’s pioneering governance work since 2016 and has overall responsibility for member relations, management of ASOIF’s statutory meetings and eight consultative groups, including the Diversity & Gender Equality Consultative Group.
Observer Members
Observer Board Members offer valuable expertise and strategic advice that’s critical to the Observatory’s direction. While they do not hold voting rights or decision making authority, their support helps to shape the organisation’s success, ensuring informed management and effective strategy.
Philipp Müller-Wirth
Chief of the Sport Section, Sector for Social and Human Sciences, UNESCO
Philipp Müller-Wirth serves as the Chief of the Sport Section at United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) and Secretary of UNESCO’s Intergovernmental Committee for Physical Education and Sport (CIGEPS). He has
coordinated UNESCO’s last three World Conferences of Sport Ministers. He is one of the
driving forces behind UNESCO #Fit4Life sport initiative, which aims to promote smart
investments in sports to support education, empowerment, equality, and health outcomes.
Philipp is dedicated to creating coalitions for sustainable development in sports based on
values, evidence and results.
Jayathma Wickramanayake
Policy Advisory, Sports Partnerships – UN Women
Recognized by TIME 100 Next and Forbes 30 under 30 as a global leader in international development, Jayathma Wickramanayake worked as United Nations Secretary-General's Envoy on Youth from 2017 to 2023 and led the creation and implementation of Youth2030. She conceptualized and executed numerous multi-stakeholder special initiatives in areas such as climate action, gender equality, innovation, peace and security. She was also instrumental in establishing the UN’s first dedicated Youth Office. She co-founded Hashtag Generation, a movement dedicated to strengthening civic and political engagement among young people, especially young women, in Sri Lanka. In 2023, she joined UN Women, where she has led initiatives to engage the G7 and G20 and played a key role in mainstreaming gender equality. Most recently she assumed the role of UN Women’s Senior Policy Advisor on Sports.
Hannah Wu
Chief of Women’s Rights and Gender Section - OHCHR
Hannah Wu is the Chief of Women’s Rights and Gender Section at the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in Geneva. She has worked with OHCHR since 1994 in different duty stations - in Geneva, in Bangkok, and in New York. She has served, among others, as Coordinator of the Independent Commission of Inquiry on Syria; Secretary of the Coordination Committee of the Special Procedures; Coordinator of the Equality, Non-discrimination and Participation Unit in Special Procedures Branch; and Secretary of the Working Group on Discrimination against Women and Girls. Prior to joining OHCHR, she had worked in the UN peacekeeping mission in Cambodia; at the UN High Commissioner for Refugees; with Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom; and as a public high school teacher.
We invite academic institutions, sport associations, governmental agencies, NGOs, and corporate entities around the world to join the Advisory Council and to contribute to enriching the strategy, advising on key initiatives and developing GO activities around the world.