Gender Equality & Sport+ Conference 2024
From Research to Action!
Tuesday, 8 October, 2024

Olympic Museum, Lausanne – Switzerland

The Annual Conference of the Global Observatory for Gender Equality & Sport will provide a collaborative platform for academics, associations, UN Agencies, International Sports Federations, partners and potential supporters to engage all the different stakeholders in meaningful discussions, share experiences, bring in various perspectives, and develop actionable strategies to promote gender equality in sports.

From governance to sport event and sport participation, different topics will be addressed to dive into data, analyses, studies, and experiences in order to:

– take stock of the existing data or the lack of such data on targeted topics
– elaborate strategies and design potential partnership to collect such data
– share concrete examples on how to move from research to action

By offering this international platform, the Global Observatory aims to foster a collaborative environment where all participants can contribute to creating a more inclusive and equitable sporting world.

Alongside the conference, the Board, Expert Group, Academic Partners, and General Assembly of the Global Observatory will convene for their respective meetings. 

conference programme

Welcome & Opening Remarks

The welcome address will welcome partners, guests and speakers to the Ville de Lausanne and the conference. The GO will remark on the Global Observatory’s role in facilitateing knowledge translation and the coordination of evidence and practice to advance gender equality in sport. A brief snapshot of the Global Observatory’s history of development will be highlighted to provide additional context to guests. Guest speaker, Esther Eghobamien-Mshelia, the Vice Chair of the CEDAW committee, will also make remarks to centralize the urgent need to address the prevalence of violence against women and girls and gender-based violence to continue to advance gender equity in society and in sport.

Session 1: Advancing women in governance and leadership: practices and policies

Leadership, coaching and governance in sport, physical activity and physical education set-tings is a key challenge. Representing sporting organizations, clubs, inter-governmental organizations and research centers, panellists will offer insights from around the world, present cutting-edge insights into the sporing landscape and highlight innovative approaches to improving outcomes for women and girls within these settings. Discussions will include the role of male allies in equity. How to develop an understanding of the role of data in monitoring and advancing gender equality for women and girls’ leadership, coaching and governance will be central to the session which will call on novel insights from industry experts, case-studies and research.

Session 2: What is Gender-Based Violence in Sport?

Safeguarding, gender-based violence and violence against women and girls are facing new trends in sport + environment. How do forms of violence present themselves in sport settings? What are the implications for all women and girls, coaches, families and sporting federations, and society? How to understand physical activity and physical education spaces? How to encourage discussion in informal leisure activities beyond formalized and elite sporting contexts? These are among the questions to address through an intersectional lens. Panelists will be prompted to consider and. And to go concretely from research to action, panelists will discuss issues of responsibility and accountability, encourage discussion in informal leisure activities beyond formalized and elite sporting contexts the building of effective partnerships, as well as the transition from research to practice.

Networking Lunch

Session 3: Health and Wellbeing across Life Stages

Adolescence, motherhood, menopause, are all stages in the lives of women that make them rethink, consciously or not, their relationship with sport and physical activity. Menstruation, and its impact on the practice of sport, are another of the determining factors in the relationship between women and sport. Awareness on these topics remains low in many sporting contexts. sport federations, NGOs, coaches, participants, researchers and policy makers need all to be equipped with specific information and strategies on how best to create more inclusive environments across life stages.

Session 4: Inclusion and Participation

This session will highlight forms of inequality and marginalization in sport and physical activity contexts and will offer insights in how to build capacity and work with communities to develop more inclusive sport, physical activity and leisure opportunities.
Most sport and physical activity participation falls outside of the competitive and elite domains, where participation is often in social, community and informal and recreational settings. How does identity markers (such as gender, sexuality, ethnicity, race, disability) impact sport participation? How can practitioners overcome obstacles and draw from community design principles to meet community needs and preferences? 

Session 5: Mega Sporting Events

Mega-sporting events such as the Olympics 2024, FIFA 2023 World Cup and the Euros 2025, offer host cities an exciting opportunity to not only to showcase sporting achievements but also to use sports events as catalysts for change. There are many factors that impact gender equal-ity outcomes before, during and after such events. Media and sponsorship, legacy plans, financing models and economic costs, human rights practices and geopolitical relationships all have implications for women and girls not only competing in such events but trickle into all areas of sport, physical activity and physical education engagement. Mega sporting events can be an opportunity to advance gender equality, and an occasion for host cities to address challenges that emerge from the field.

Wrap up and Networking

The closing remarks of the conference will summarize the significant talking points from the day, focusing on the role of delegates attending the conference to move research to action.  The call to action will invite researchers, policy makers, governments, practitioners and the sport sector to work together to advance gender equality in sport contexts.

Speakers

Aya Noguchi
Deputy Director at International Research Center for Sport and Gender Equality, Seiji University
Elsa Arapi
Senior Sports Rights Manager & Women's Sport Lead at European Broadcasting Union
Emma Kavanagh, PhD
Associate Professor in Sport Psychology and Safe Sport at HCPC
Jaclyn Hadfield
Assistant Professor at Louisiana State University
John Nauright, PhD
Director at School of Kinesiology at Louisiana State University
Kari Fasting, PhD
Professor at Norges Idrettshøgskole
Lucy Piggott
Associate Professor in Sport Science at Norwegian University of Science and Technology
Marielle Schweickart
Learn Director at Women Win
Nancy McLennan
Programme Specialist and QPE Project Coordinator at UNESCO
Nick Sore
Senior Refugee Sport Coordinator at UNHCR
Olivia Conrad
Senior Project Officer at Council of Europe
Pedro Dias
Gender Equality & Inclusion Manager at IOC
Rachel Mait
Project Impact Manager at TAFISA
Sara Massini
General Secretary at ENGSO
Sarah Zipp, PhD
Associate Professor at Mount St. Mary’s University
Sergey Lyzhin
Project Manager at ASOIF
Sungsik Cho
Senior Programme Specialist at ICM-UNESCO

logistical information

Visa

It is the responsibility of the participants to obtain a visa if needed. Please check the visa requirements for your nationality. Overviews of ID and visa provisions vary according to nationality.
Schengen visas are valid for Switzerland and for all other Schengen member states (providing nothing to the contrary is noted on the visa).
If you have any questions, contact the Swiss Embassy responsible for the area in which you reside: Swiss representations.
If the visa is not granted on time, the cancellation policy will be applied.

Weather

October temperatures range from 5°C (41°F) at night (minimum night temperature) and around 13°C in the daytime (max day temperature of 48°F). For the current weather forecast, please click here.

Electricity

Type C, E and F plugs which support 220 to 240 volts 

time zone

Central European Time (CET) 

(GMT+1:00 from 29 October 2024) 

Venues

Olympic Museum

The Olympic Museum is the official home of the world’s largest and most complete collection of Olympic heritage, including artefacts, archives, images, books and film. Located in the Olympic Capital of Lausanne, Switzerland, its international exhibitions and programmes connect people of all ages with the diverse stories, art, history and culture of the global phenomenon that is the Olympic Games. Through educational initiatives inspired by the Olympic values of respect, friendship and excellence, the Olympic Museum brings together athletes, visitors, students, artists and an affiliated network of museums across the world.

For more information click here

Alpha Palmier

Located in the center of Lausanne, five minutes walking from the train and metro station, the Alpha Palmier will be a convenient starting point to access the Olympic Museum and to discover the city.

Guest will receive a transport card for free use of public transport in the greater Lausanne area available during their stay at the hotel.

 

For more information, click here

register now!

Gender Equality & Sport+ Conference 2024 seeks to facilitate exploration of developments in data and research, explore emerging challenges and innovations in gender equality work, and highlight opportunities for collaboration to sustain collective efforts towards more inclusive Physical Education, Physical Activity, and Sport policy and practice around the world.

Join us!

Regular participant
Delegates
    • GO Annual Conference on Tuesday 8 October
    • Including lunch & cocktail
    • EventApp & Networking
    • Post Event Report

Interested in joining the GO network? Contact us info@genderequalitysport.org


    CHF 250.–
    GO partners & experts
    Guests
    • Experts Meetings on Monday 7 October
    • GO Annual Conference on Tuesday 8 October
    • Including lunch & cocktail
    • EventApp & networking
    • Post Event Report

     

     


      CHF 0.–

      This event is organised with the support of