INTERNATIONAL UPDATE – JAN/FEB 2021

19th Quadrennial IAPESGW World Congress
International Association of Physical Education and Sport for Girls and Women
Promoting Leadership, Empowerment and Sustainability through Sport and Physical Activity

The International Association of Physical Education and Sport for Girls and Women will hold its Quadrennial World Congress from 8^th until 10^th September, 2021 in Tianjin at Tianjin University of Sport, China.

IMPORTANT DATES

Conference Announcement and Abstract Submission & Registration Open – 4^th February 2021Deadline for abstract submission – 1st April 2021
Notification of acceptance – 15^th May 2021
End of Early Bird Registration – 30^th May 2021
End of Registration – late June 2021
Congress sessions – 8^th – 10^th September 2021

SESSION TYPES

Keynote and parallel sessions
Oral presentations
Poster presentation
Workshops
Special dance session

TOPICS

Authors are free to choose between oral presentation or poster submitting in one of the following topics:

Traditional Sport, Culture and Dance in Education
Sport Management
Physical Education
Exercise and Sport Training
Social Science and Sport
Health through Physical Activity, Physical Education, Sport and Dance

THEMES

Women and leadership in sports
Innovative technologies and sports.
Improve and increase respect for ethics in sport and preserve the health of athletes
Women and Olympism – Trajectories in Time and Space
Physical activity/sport and health
Sport management – status quo of the women in different countries
Physical Education – the challenge of inclusion for all
Exercise and Sport Training – gender differences?
Traditional Sport, dance, leisure and Olympic sport? Socio-cultural perspectives
Dance for all
Sport and games: from the past to the future
Programs to promote a more active life
The Future of Health and Physical Activity: How to Create More Active Children?
Psychology of sport
Aging and Physical Activity

All proposals must include the following structure:

Authors
Aﬃliation
Introduction
Method
Results
Conclusion
References (Max 5 References)

Maximum 300 words (authors, aﬃliation and references not included).

Scientific Committee will evaluate the oral communications and all authors will receive confirmation of acceptance or rejection. Abstract submissions are only being accepted electronically to iapesgw2021@gmail.com

The required dimensions of the poster areas follows:
Width 70 (90cm)
Height 110m (130cm)

LANGUAGE OF ABSTRACT: ENGLISH OR MANDARIN

Further Considerations

All submissions will be evaluated through a blind review process.
All accepted abstracts would be published in the IAPESGW Congress abstracts book with ISBN.
The proper papers submitted could be published a book in a book.

Contact Tianjin 2021 IAPESGW International Conference Scientific Committee Chair:
Dra. María Dolores González Rivera
iapesgw2021@gmail.com

Announcement 11 February 2021

The International Association for Physical Education and Sport for Girls and Women (IWG), The International Working Group (IWG) on Women & Sport, and Womensport International (WSI) are shocked, angered and deeply frustrated by the sexist comments made in relation to women in sport leadership, and effectively women in sport as a whole, by Mr. Yoshiro Mori, President of the Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee (TOCOG).

IWG, WSI and IAPESGW wish to condemn Mr. Mori’s comments, deeply out-of-touch with the values of the Olympic and Paralympic movements and the UN agenda and Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 5 – Gender Equality, which have offended the Japanese people and all those working for sport and the advancement of gender equality in and through sport globally.

Here is the full statement: https://iwgwomenandsport.org/statement-iwg-wsi-iapesgw-respond-to-sexist-comments/

Call for Presentations: 8th IWG World Conference on Women & Sport—we are seeking interactive workshops, lightning talks and poster presentations for the upcoming 8th IWG World Conference on Women & Sport, taking place between 5-8 May 2022 in Auckland, New Zealand and also Online. Deadline to Submit: 6 April 2021, 11.59pm New Zealand time. (IWG Women & Sport)

Administration, Strategy & Governance

Mary Harvey on Becoming a FIFA World Cup Champion & Global Sports Leader [audio; 54mins]—Mary Harvey is an accomplished and innovative sports governance and sustainability executive with 15+ years leading worldwide initiatives to achieve societal change and gender equity through sports. (Abid Imam)
Kate Palmer AM to lead the unification of Athletics as Chief Executive—the Boards of Coles Little Athletics Australia and Athletics Australia are pleased to announce that former Sport Australia CEO, Kate Palmer has accepted the role of Chief Executive of OneAthletics for the next 12 months. Kate will play a central role in driving the merger of the sport to become Australian Athletics and in the lead up to the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games. (Athletics Australia/Little Athletics Australia)

Athlete Wellbeing

Health Consequences of an Elite Sporting Career: Long-Term Detriment or Long-Term Gain? A Meta-Analysis of 165,000 Former Athletes—overall, athletes live longer and have a reduced incidence of both CVD and cancer mortality compared to the general population, refuting the ‘J’ shape hypothesis. However, different health risks may be apparent according to sports classification, and between sexes, warranting further investigation. (Adam Runacres, Sports Medicine)
The Ripple Effect of the Pandemic: Supporting Athletes With a Holistic Approach—at the best of times, balancing the demands of being a high performance athlete with the rest of one’s life is a meticulous, difficult task that requires time and energy. With the postponement of the 2020 Tokyo Games, the game plan for Olympic and Paralympic team athletes went off the rails – not just in Canada, but around the world. (Sophie Brassard, Game Plan/SIRC Blog)

Athletics

South African Government confirm Semenya appeal to European Court of Human Rights—South Africa’s Government has confirmed that it is planning to file an appeal to the European Court of Human Rights in a last-ditch attempt to clear Caster Semenya to be allowed to compete in this year’s Olympic Games in Tokyo. (Duncan Mackay, Inside the Games)

Australia

World-Leading Daughters and Dads Program Returns to Orange—Central West girls and their dads have the opportunity to participate in a world-leading program that aims to give them the skills and confidence to play sport. The award-winning Daughters and Dads Active and Empowered program, delivered by the University of Newcastle in partnership with the NSW Government and Orange City Council, targets fathers as the agents of change to improve girls’ sports skills and wellbeing. (NSW Office of Sport).

Brazil

From Beatriz Ferreira, Vice President IAPESGW: I am pleased to send you this link to an interesting book to be released [Portuguese and English] on Technology, Innovation and Startups in Sport. Olympic Agenda 2020 in Practice.

Coaching and Leadership

Coaching Kids: Expectations versus reality—many enter the world of coaching kids expecting that things will be neat and orderly; that well-planned sessions will progress in an orderly fashion. In reality, coaching kids is often messy and chaotic. Things usually don’t just fall into place. Surprises and the unexpected will happen. It’s a harder gig than many anticipate. (Darren Wensor, Coaching Young Athletes)
Facilitating and Supporting the Elite Athlete-to-Coach Transition: Lessons Learned from Norwegian Coaches and Federations—based on recent research advances, we build on a range of resources to be developed in supporting athletes during the transition and in the coaching profession. (Stiliani “Ani” Chroni & Kristen Dieffenbach, Journal of Sport Psychology in Action)
Helping athletes convert their success to coaching—two-time Olympic gold medallist Katrina Powell says high performance athletes have a great “head-start” when it comes to coaching and she welcomes the AIS focus on helping athletes convert that “apprenticeship” into successful coaching careers. (Australian Institute of Sport)

Concussion & Head Trauma

The association of concussion history and symptom presentation in combat sport athletes—the purpose of this study was to describe the concussion-related symptoms reported among combat sport athletes with and without a history of concussion, and a history of neck injury. (Daniel Brown, Gary Grant, Kerrie Evans, et.al, Physical Therapy in Sport)

Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19)

Reopening elite sport during the COVID‐19 pandemic: Experiences from a controlled return to elite football in Denmark—in this study, we report the consequences of resumption of competitive play in the two best football (soccer) leagues for men in Denmark measured by number of SARS‐CoV‐2 positive players. (Lars Pedersen, et.al., Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports)
Study reveals COVID could be final whistle for fifth of sport for development sector—a report released today has revealed that the pandemic has left more than a fifth of those in the Sport for Development sector fearing for their future. The statistics collated paint a worrying picture, as both a lack of funding and ongoing lockdown legislations continue to weigh heavily on what’s in store for the industry. (sportanddev.org)
First Playbook Published Outlining Measures To Deliver Safe And Successful Olympic And Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020—the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) and the Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee (Tokyo 2020) today published the first playbook, a resource which outlines the personal responsibilities key stakeholders must take to play their role in ensuring safe and successful Olympic and Paralympic games this summer. (Olympic.org)
Tokyo Olympics Committee outlines COVID-safe measures to avoid outbreak at delayed Games—the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics will be Games like no other, with athletes required to wear a mask at all times unless they are eating, sleeping or outdoors. (Jake Sturmer, ABC)
COVID-19 vaccine giving people confidence to attend sport events, new poll shows—the development of coronavirus vaccines is changing the attitudes of people towards attending sporting events, a new poll has shown. (Geoff Berkeley, Inside the Games)
Less exercise and more TV in Lockdown 3 is leading to decline in mental health [UK]—approaching half of the UK population (40 per cent) are exercising less during the current lockdown than during the first in early 2020, while one in five is watching television, streaming films and gaming more. (Tom Walker, Sports Management)
New funding to help schools open their sports facilities [UK]—we’re investing £10.1 million of government money to help more schools open their facilities to the public once the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic is over. The funding, which has been provided by the Department for Education, is in addition to the £1.5m awarded as part of the School Sport and Activity Action Plan we announced in July 2019 and will help schools deliver extra-curricular activities and open their facilities outside of the school day during evenings, weekends and school holidays. (Sport England)

E-Sports

The Global Esports Federation Expands Commitment to Health and Wellness in Esports—the Global Esports Federation expands its commitment to encourage active youth, focusing on the overall wellbeing, health, and performance of esports athletes and players, led by the Health and Wellness Commission. (Around the Rings)
The International Olympic Committee Remains Focused on ‘Virtual Sports’ Over Esports—the International Olympic Committee (IOC) executive board has released its “2020+5” agenda, detailing a list of recommendations for the organization’s continued efforts to evolve alongside an ever-changing, increasingly digital global culture. Among these recommendations is the following: “encourage the development of virtual sport and further engage with video gaming communities.” (Trent Murray, The ESports Observer)

Gymnastics

‘We’re sorry’ – Gymnastics New Zealand apologises for abusive practices—Gymnastics New Zealand has formally apologised to those in the community who have experienced abuse, following the release of the “confronting, sobering” independent review into the sport. (Zoe George, stuff.co.nz)

Inclusive Sport

Five Recommendations to Authentically Engage Newcomers in Sport [Canada]—as sport and physical activity stakeholders work towards building back better from COVID-19, we need to think critically about how to address known participation barriers faced by newcomers (e.g., cost, transportation, language barriers, lack of knowledge about Canadian sport and physical activity, bureaucratic registration processes) to make sport more representative of Canada’s rich ethno-racial diversity. (Simon Barrick, Cape Breton University, SIRC)

Iran Honours IAPESGW Board Member

IAPESGW Board Member Maryam Kouskie Jahromi was recently honoured at the 3rd National Festival on Women and Science, which is held in Iran once a year by the Ministry of Science Education and Technology. The Festival introduces and honours eminent women according to their scientific and academic backgrounds.

Twenty five winners were announced across 6 groups of humanities: basic sciences, engineering, agriculture, veterinary, environment, medical sciences, art, and architecture. Maryam Koushkie Jahromi, Professor at Shiraz University was awarded as the 1^st winner in humanities in 2020.

Maryam also was awarded as the eminent researcher in the School of Education and Psychology in Shiraz University in 2021. Congratulations Maryam on these high honours!

India

IAPESGW is supporting the Indian Ministry of Sport, now in the 5th batch of their Community Coaching and Physical Education Course. The following photo is from the closing session– Khelo India PE and Community Coaching Programme – Batch 5 – January 18, 2021 – February 22, 2021

They are already planning an Online PE and Community Coaching Program for Women Teachers for March 8th – 26th. Again we are supporting their initiative and several of IAPESGW members are participating.

International Sport Systems

New strategy puts sport and physical activity at heart of nation’s recovery [UK]—Uniting the Movement is our 10-year vision to transform lives and communities through sport and physical activity. (Sport England)
Children’s activity levels down but many embrace new opportunities [UK]—our latest Active Lives Children and Young People Survey shows teenage boys were hardest hit by the pandemic but girls became more active as they found alternative ways to be active. (Sport England)
We’ve appointed our first director of equality, diversity and inclusion [UK]—Viveen Taylor is stepping up into the role that’ll help more people enjoy the benefits of being physically active. (Sport England)
France releases their 2020 Report Card on Physical Activity for Children & Youth—the evidence presented in this new Report Card showed that French children and youth have alarming levels of physical activity and sedentary behaviors, and that the first lockdown had a deleterious effect on these behaviours. (Active Health Kids Global Alliance)
New laws proposed to overhaul sport in Spain and crack down on doping—Spanish sport is set to be overhauled with new laws aimed at boosting grassroots athletes and cracking down on doping. (Dan Palmer, Inside the Games)
Eight lead figures named in UK Sport initiative to increase female coach representation in time for Paris 2024—eight leaders have been named to start UK Sport’s new initiative to increase female representation in elite coaching within the Olympic and Paralympic field by the time of the Paris 2024 Games. (Mike Rowbottom, Inside the Games)

International Women’s Day

“Show me you LOVE @HANDLES”

A worldwide Twitter campaign in the week leading up to IWD2021 – March 8th to raise the profile of SportsWomen and WomenSPORT by encouraging the use on social media of players’, clubs’, teams’ and athletes ‘Twitter @HANDLES.

So many WomeninSPORT (WiS) organisations and national sports federations work tirelessly to raise the profile of WomenSPORT and SportsWomen and yet rarely do we come together and collaborate. Budget limitations, coordinating diary dates and the lack of a common worldwide communications platform mean we all work in isolation and the message never gets out of the ‘noise level’.

Twitter is the platform.
Twitter provides that platform at no cost so WSNet is coordinating organisations focussed on WiS along with, campaigners, friends, colleagues, researchers, associates, fans, journos, bloggers, publishers, tweeters and fan clubs from around the world asking them to join in and ADD Twitter @HANDLES!

Japan: from JAPEW, the Japanese Association for Physical Education for Women.

This document is JAPEW’s media release commenting on the sexist statements of the President of the Tokyo Olympic Games Organising Committee. READ THE PRESS RELEASE

Managing Climate & the Environment

IOC announces aim of becoming climate positive in 2024—the International Olympic Committee (IOC) says it plans to become climate positive by 2024, with the organisation targeting a reduction of 30 per cent in its emissions. (Michael Pavitt, Inside the Games)

Olympic & Paralympic Games

Faster, higher, stronger? Nations weigh letting athletes jump the vaccine queue for Tokyo Games—with organisers vowing that the Tokyo 2020 Olympics will go ahead this summer despite the ongoing global pandemic that delayed the event by a year, some nations – like Hungary, Serbia and Israel – are moving ahead with inoculating their would-be Olympians to ensure they are free to train, qualify, travel and compete. But some – including elite athletes – question whether fast-tracking young, healthy sportspeople for vaccinations should be a priority and whether it fits with Olympic values. (Tracy McNicoll, France24)
IOC Statement on Gender Equality in the Olympic movement—inclusion, diversity and gender equality are integral components of the work of the International Olympic Committee (IOC). Over the past 25 years, the IOC has played an important role in promoting women in and through sport, and it will continue to do so by setting ambitious targets. In the challenging context we live in, now more than ever, diversity is a fundamental value that we need to respect and draw strength from. (International Olympic Committee)

Physical Activity

Effects of the Active Kids voucher program on children and adolescents’ physical activity: a natural experiment evaluating a state-wide intervention—the NSW Active Kids program significantly increased children’s physical activity levels and these increases continued over a six-month period. The Active Kids voucher program shows promise as a scaled-up intervention to increase children and adolescents’ physical activity participation. (Bridget Foley, et.al., BMC Public Health)
Brand new set of Country Cards are avaliable—after six years and using standardized methods, GoPA! is launching the Second Set of Country Cards based on data up to 2019 from 217 countries. From these 217 countries, 150+ countries have local representatives that are part of the GoPA! Network. Updated Australia card. (Global Observatory for Physical Activity)
Do smartphone applications and activity trackers increase physical activity in adults?—in our review we aimed to determine the effect of the newer trackers and apps currently being used by consumers (with automated and continuous self-monitoring and feedback) in increasing physical activity in healthy adults. (Liliana Laranjo, BJSM Blog)
Everybody Moves Resource Hub [Canada]— a database of resources to help make physical activity more welcoming and inclusive for those who face barriers to participation. (Physical Activity for Health Collaborative)
The Data Behind a Once-a-Week Strength Routine—a new study plots the progression of thousands of people following an ultra-minimalist training plan. The results are impressive—at least initially. (Alex Hutchinson, Outside)
Sensor-based physical activity, sedentary time, and reported cell phone screen time: A hierarchy of correlates in youth—we determined which correlates best predict sensor-based physical activity (PA), sedentary time (ST), and self-reported cell phone screen time (CST) in a large sample of youth, while considering a multiplicity of correlates. (Pedro B.Júdice, et.al., Journal of Sport and Health Science)
Changes in physical activity and sedentary behaviours from before to during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown: a systematic review—sixty-six articles met the inclusion criteria and were included in the review. Changes in physical activity were reported in 64 studies, with the majority of studies reporting decreases in physical activity and increases in sedentary behaviours during their respective lockdowns across several populations, including children and patients with a variety of medical conditions. (Stephanie Stockwell, et.al., BMJ Open Sport & Exercise Medicine)
The more families move, the more children & youth move [CAN]—it’s important to be active as a family and make it a priority – the latest ParticipACTION Report Card on Physical Activity for Children and Youth shows a bad combination of low physical activity levels and high screen use among Canadian children and youth. That’s the bad news. The good news is that the solution doesn’t have to be complicated or expensive! It all starts with the family, no matter its shape or size. (PartcipACTION)

Physical Literacy

KIDDO—developed by the University of Western Australia has a wealth of FREE Physical Literacy & Fundamental Movement Skill resources for educators, coaches and parents to help improve the fundamental movement skills of kids aged 3-8. (KIDDO)
The evidence is in: Physical literacy in childcare benefits children, parents and ECEs [Canada]–activities to improve babies’ and young children’s physical literacy are easy to plan, simple to do, and require no special equipment. And, according to a two-year Canadian study in early child care centres, the benefits of adding more active play time into daily routines are more than just physical. (Active for Life)

Sexuality & Gender Ethics

Gender and sexual identity in girls’ sports: Girls in the Lead—Girls in the Lead kicked off their spring learning series on January 28th with the webinar, Gender and Sexual Identity in Girls’ Sports. With people joining in everywhere from North America to Asia, all with the common goal of learning more about gender and sexual identity within youth girls’ sports. (Sophie Eureka, sportanddev.org)

Sport Injuries & Medical Conditions

The ACL injury journey – a guide for patients—this blog accompanies two infographics – published in British Journal of Sports Medicine – presenting the best available evidence, and designed with input from people who have experienced ACL injury. (Connor P Gleadhill, Christian J Barton, BJSM blog)

Sport Integrity

On Side Highlights ft. Michael Gallagher, Carrie Graf, Eloise Wellings, Madeline Hills & Katrina Fanning[audio: 25mins]—in this highlight edition of our podcast On Side we take a peek at some of the best interviews so far. (Sport Integrity Australia)
Independent report outlines abuse of rhythmic gymnasts at Swiss Gymnastics Federation—an independent report has criticised a “totally dysfunctional high-level sports concept” at the Swiss Gymnastics Federation (STV), following allegations of abuse in rhythmic gymnastics. (Michael Pavitt, Inside the Games)

Sport & Mental Health

How to select mental health program providers for sports clubs—read our evidence-based tips on selecting mental health program providers for sports clubs, leagues and associations. (VicHealth)

Sport Nutrition

Can curcumin supplementation really Improve your workout recovery? [infographic]—this effect of curcumin could improve EIMD and exercise performance. The main objective of this systematic review was to critically evaluate the effectiveness of curcumin supplementation on EIMD and inflammatory and oxidative markers in a physically active population. (Fernandez-Lazaro, D et al, YLM Sports Science)

Sport Technology

‘There are just no mistakes happening’: Hawk-Eye Live gains more support at Australian Open—recent technological advancements have changed sports. Plays can now be reviewed to the nth degree and challenge just about any call by an umpire or referee. (Jake Michaels, ESPN)
Can curcumin supplementation really Improve your workout recovery? [infographic]—this effect of curcumin could improve EIMD and exercise performance. The main objective of this systematic review was to critically evaluate the effectiveness of curcumin supplementation on EIMD and inflammatory and oxidative markers in a physically active population. (Fernandez-Lazaro, D et al, YLM Sports Science)
‘There are just no mistakes happening’: Hawk-Eye Live gains more support at Australian Open—recent technological advancements have changed sports. Plays can now be reviewed to the nth degree and challenge just about any call by an umpire or referee. (Jake Michaels, ESPN)

Vale Ms. Matilda Mwaba

Tribute to Matilda Mwaba: IWG African Representative

One of the most important, powerful and influencial women in Sport, Matilda Mwaba, passed away in January 2021.

It was with enormous sadness that IAPESGW learned of Ms. Matilda Mwaba’s sudden passing on 11 January 2021, aged 63. Matilda was the African Representative in the Global Executive of the International Working Group (IWG) on Women and Sport, where IAPESGW is a permanent member.

A veteran sports administrator in Zambia, Matilda was the first woman to hold the position of Zambia Judo Association president and was the founder of the National Women in Sport and Physical Activity and Recreation Association (NOWSPAR). She was also a former National Olympic Committee of Zambia (NOCZ) board member and was inducted into the African Union Sport Council Region 5’s Sports Hall of Fame December 2020, a follow up on her award from AUSC Region in recognition of her successful efforts on gender within the Region and presented by President Robert Mugabe in 2014. In 2019, she was honoured by Zambia President Edgar Lungu, who presented her with the Insignia of Meritorious Achievement because of her work.

Matilda first came in contact with IAPESGW mainly being involved with the IWG in 2008 as an expert advisor, as a speaker of a joint panel at the UN Commission on the Status of Women (UNCSW) in March 2010 and since 2014 as African Representative in the Global Executive of the IWG in 2014. Throughout this time, she represented African women and girls with grace and great skill, advocating for and giving them a voice around the global table.

In 2018, Matilda was involved when the continent-wide ‘Women Sport Africa Network’ was founded. This network was the first of its kind in Africa, dedicated to connecting, promoting and supporting ongoing work to increase participation of women and girls in sport and physical activity. This network is as strong as ever today and is testament to Matilda’s hard work.

Matilda has been an outstanding advocate for gender equality in sport and physical activity in Africa and globally. She was a friend of everyone and made a connection to people no matter from which organisation and where they came from. She was the sunshine in the Global Executive Board and a great inspiration for IAPESGW as well. She will be deeply missed by all who knew and worked with her over her many years of dedicated service to positive change for women and girls.

IWG Annual Meeting, 2016 Sweden

IWG Global Executive Board 2018, Botswana with Matilda Mwaba und Rosa Lopez de D’Amico in the middle.

– Rosa Diketmüller

Sport Science

Does ankle tape improve proprioception acuity immediately after application and following a netball session? A randomised controlled trial—this study will contribute to the evidence by examining whether ankle taping changes proprioceptive acuity and whether it is maintained during a netball session. We will also assess whether athlete self-taping is less effective than if the tape was applied by trained personnel. This research gives us the opportunity to test whether the different taping techniques result in different proprioceptive acuity. (Erin Smyth, Gordon Waddington, Jeremy Witchalls, et.al, Physical Therapy in Sport)
A Simple Calculation Method to Classify and Individualize Sports Training: Ranking and Classification—coaches must be familiar with analyzing their athlete’s data sets for multiple reasons, such as monitoring, predicting performance, and individualizing training; the latter has become crucial in recent times. This note will present a method for ranking the athletes’ data set and classifying them into smaller groups. (Pablo Merin-Munoz, Jorge Perez-Contreras, et.al. Sport Performance & Science Reports)
How Your Body Does (and Doesn’t) Adapt to Cold—on any given group run in sub-freezing temperatures, it’s amazing to see the variety of hand protection on display. Some people have thin gardening gloves; others (and I count myself among them) have what look like boxing gloves lined with fleece and stuffed with down. (Alex Hutchinson, Outside Online)
Influential figures on the contribution of women to science in athletics—according to data for 2014 to 2016 produced by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), only about 30% of all female students select fields related to science, technology, engineering and mathematics in higher education. (World Athletics)

Women in Sport

Snow Australia launches Women in Snowsports initiative—Snow Australia is excited to launch a new initiative in 2021 with the specific purpose of championing and empowering women working in paid and volunteer roles within the snow industry. (Snow Australia)
UK Sport names 27 coaches as part of plan to increase female representation in Olympic & Paralympic sport[UK]—today officially marks the start of UK Sport’s new female coaches leadership programme with 27 coaches from 15 sports coming together as part of a plan to more than double representation in the Olympic and Paralympic high-performance community by Paris 2024. (UK Sport)
Elite Athletes and Pregnancy Outcomes: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis [paywall]—the purpose of this systematic review was to evaluate fetal and maternal pregnancy outcomes of elite athletes who had participated in competitive sport immediately before conception. (Jenna Wowdzia, et.al., Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise)
Tanni Grey-Thompson: lockdown hitting women’s health and widening gender gap [UK]— the physical and mental health of women in the UK has been put under unprecedented pressure by the pandemic, according to Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson. (Tom Walker, Sports Management UK)

Press Release – International Women’s DAY 2021
The Women’s Sport Network (@WSNet) launches #IWD2021 Campaign

United Nations

OHCHR | cfi-human-rights-of-older-women

Call for Input: Thematic Report of on the Human Rights of Older Women
Deadline – 22 March 2021
Issued by – Independent Expert on the Human rights of Older Persons
Purpose – To inform Independent Expert’s forthcoming report to the 76^th session of the General Assembly

BACKGROUND

The Independent Expert on the Enjoyment of All Human Rights by Older Persons, Claudia Mahler, is mandated by the United Nations Human Rights Council (HRC/RES/33/5) to report on developments, challenges and protection gaps in the realization of the rights of older persons as well as to assess the implementation of national, regional and international standards and identify best practices relevant to the rights of older persons. Throughout her work, the Independent Expert adopts an intersectional approach so as to address multiple and aggravated forms of discrimination faced by older persons.

Older persons represent a large, and the fastest growing, segment of the global population. Women form the majority of older persons with global demographic data consistently showing that women tend to live longer than men, especially at advanced ages. Older women also make substantial contributions to our societies and economies, including as informal caregivers, volunteers and community leaders. Ageing, however, is not gender-neutral and inequality and discrimination experienced by women during their lifespan is often exacerbated in older age. For example, older women are at a higher risk of living in poverty and of facing barriers in accessing basic rights such as health, adequate housing, and protection from violence, abuse and neglect. Yet, the specific challenges created by the intersection between age and gender often remain invisible and understudied.

UNESCO supported Photo and Caption Competition – enter your photos of active girls and women!

You are warmly invited to the launch of a free online photo & caption competition being coordinated by the UNESCO Chair in partnership with TRUST Ireland as part of MTU Innovation and Enterprise Month.

What is the Photo & Caption Competition?
This competition aims to visually capture, and exhibit, positive images of diversity and inclusion in sport with view to inspiring sport entrepreneurs, leaders and other stakeholders to safeguard, promote and advance human rights in and through sport across their communities.
Entries can be original or curated photos or videos.

The Details
Entrants will have from March 1st-19th to capture or curate and submit their photo/video and accompanying caption (up to 500 characters).

Launch Event
Join us to find out more about this competition on March 1st at 7pm Irish Time. Check your local time here: https://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/meeting.html
Launch Webinar Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89172930476

United Nations, CSW 65, Commission on the Status for Women

IAPESGW is involved in this very important UN work. You can register through their website to particípate.

Themes are:

Priority theme: Women’s full and effective participation and decision-making in public life, as well as the elimination of violence, for achieving gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls;
Review theme: Women’s empowerment and the link to sustainable development (agreed conclusions of the sixtieth session)