The 7th IWG World Conference on Women and Sport will be held in Gaborone, Botswana from May 17 to 20. The conference is organised by the International Working Group on Women and Sport (IWG), which operates under the mission ‘Empowering women – Advancing sport’.

 

The World Conference on Women and Sport serves as a crucial event for bringing a broad spectrum of individuals together, including women and men in sport, academia and civil society, as well as practitioners and advocates, each working with a common agenda to achieve positive change.

 

 “Individuals and organizations from around the world and many walks of life will convene at this international conference to embrace the common aim of making significant strides in the realisation of a sustainable sporting culture that enables and values the full involvement of girls and women in every aspect of sport and physical activity,” the IWG says of the event.

 

This year’s themes will include ‘Being well to play well’, ‘Let them lead: Changing the leadership landscape of sports’, and ‘Tell their story: Leveraging media to advocate for women’s sport’, ‘Sport without borders: Cross cultural collaboration’ and ‘Safe space: Protecting women in sport.’ Keynote speakers include former President of Finland Tarja Halonen and Commonwealth Games Federation President Louise Martin, among many notable figures in women’s sport.

 

Along with the numerous and varied presentations and panels on the agenda are physical activities and side events focused on related research and development programmes.

 

The World Conference on Women and Sport was first held in 1994 in Brighton, and has taken place every four years since. The 2018 edition comes at the end of the current quadrennial term (2014-2018), during which the independent coordinating body has been based in Gaborone.

 

For more information and to register for the conference visit www.iwg-gti.org.