International Update – MAY/JUNE 2021

Report on European Physical Education Observatory Monitoring project 11.06.21

By Tansin Benn (Past President IAPESGW)  

Guest speakers for IAPESGW on the Global Observatory for Women, Sport and Physical Education – Dr Tansin Benn  & Lila de Soysa

At the invitation of Martin Holzweg, EUPEA, IAPESGW were asked to be guest speakers at the virtual conference on the European Physical Education Observatory Monitoring on June 11th 2021. (More information on the multi-researcher three year project can be found here – EuPEO Presentations – EuPEO – European Physical Education Observatory).

Lila de Soysa (IWG and lead of the Global Observatory for Women, Sport and Physical Education (GO) Feasibility Study group) co-presented with me on the sharing of events related to what we did and what is happening, it was well received. As announced at CIGEPS the Global Observatory for Women, Sport and Physical Education will be supported by the Swiss Government, in Lausanne. No further details are available yet. We hope that the feasibility study reports and recommendations will end up in the hands of the GO Staff and will form a firm foundation from which to springboard their efforts. 

The European researchers have devised two Toolkits for data collection, 1) ‘European Manual for External Monitoring’MEA (EuPEO) and 2) ‘European Toolkit for Internal Monitoring’ TIM (EuPEO). The afternoon involved most associations who had been involved with the previous ICSSPE working group International Committee of Sport Pedagogy (ICSP). Participants included: ICSSPE (Uri Schaefer, President); EUPEA (Claude Scheuer, President, Luxembourg); IAPESGW, ISCPES (Martin Holzweg); Dario Novak (new President FIEP, Croatia); Marc Cloes (AIESEP); all stakeholders for Physical Education with reach across Continents, and many other colleagues.  

From the IAPESGW perspective – we were asked to share developments about the GO, focusing on Physical Education. We gave an overview of the UNESCO / Swiss Government project, the three women’s groups involved, IAPESGW, IWG and WSI, the intensive work of the Feasibility Study Group, and the news that Lausanne, Switzerland, has agreed to host the GO.  

In the course of exchange of presentations and discussions two pieces of information came to light that might be useful for others in the field of Physical Education to know: 

  1. ICSP may be reinstated or revised to exist again. At the request of many people present, and a direct request to Uri Schaefer, there was unanimous support for a cross associations’ collaborative Physical Education group to be re-established. EUPEA might also step forward to do this as the discussion emerged in their event. Uri is taking the proposal to ICSSPE. In support Uri spoke highly of ICSP and credited colleagues within the group with helping in preparing the original ICSSPE Position Statement in PE, QPE materials passed to UNESCO and the bench-marking process. 
  2. The 4th World Survey of Physical Education, sponsored by UNESCO, is in the final data collection phase but is not yet public knowledge. Dario Novak (FIEP, Croatia) spoke about the project and the way they have worked with UNESCO, WHO and others in this process to establish the best approaches and multi-level solutions to a complex data collection challenge. I think it will be much more comprehensive and useful than the last World Survey and is much needed. The 4th World Survey has gathered data from Ministerial to school level, looking at policy and practice. Large amounts of data are now being analysed and this process will take time. This has been a ‘data driven investment’ and includes inclusion, gender and many other dimensions. It is assumed that UNESCO would want to complete and announce findings at the next MINEPS meeting and that the first data we might access might be available Jan – Feb 2022. It will be very helpful in the field, so watch this space.  

Interestingly – the only women speakers in a forum of men for the afternoon were Lila and I. When asked for an example of what the GO might focus on in an Observatory Monitoring process I suggested an example might be closing the gender gap between men and women rising in their careers to top positions in Physical Education, in research and leading positions, as well as in Sport Governance bodies! There remains much work to be done …

Announcements

Women and Sport in Asia was officially released by Routledge last March 31, 2021.

This is the first book to survey the participation of women in sport and physical education across Asia, from the Middle East and South Asia through to the Asia-Pacific region.

Covering sport and physical activity at all levels, from school-based PE and community sport to elite, high-performance sport, the book provides an important overview of developments in policy, theory and research across this complex and dynamic region. It has a strong focus on gender equity but is informed by important intersecting influences that affect the lives of girls and women and their participation in sport. Including contributions from leading scholars from across the region, the book draws on multi-disciplinary perspectives, including sociology, cultural studies, anthropology, and history, and makes an important contribution to global understanding of diversity, challenges, and achievements in the sporting lives of Asian Women.

This book will be a fascinating read for any student, researcher, or policy-maker working in sport studies, gender studies, women’s studies or Asian studies. 

The book has 51 contributors and has chapters on 20 countries of Asia:

Contributors:

Nada Alshaibani, Yousra Al-Sinani. Anfal Al-Wahaibi, Soniha Aslam, Sin Ieng Auieong, Tansin Benn, Marilou Cantancio, Catherine Capio, Milla Cazorla, Shiromi De Alwis, Lilamani de Soysa, Nisha Eapen, Mustika Fitri, Maryam Koushkie, Krystyna Golkowska, María Dolores González-Rivera, Maria Luisa Guinto, Hyun Mi Heu, Walter Ho, Jiaxi Hu, Sophia Kasymova, Mohammed Sayeed Khan, Selina Khoo, Canan Koca, Elise Kossaifi, Klaudia Kukurova, Bona Lee,  Min Liu, Rosa López de D’Amico, Leonardo Mataruna-Dos-Santos, Marianne Meier,  Usha Nair, Emily Ortega, D.L.I.H.K. Peiris, Marta Pérez-Villalba,  Wulandari Putri, Mona Shahab, Mashuda Shefali, Cindy Sit, Nur Suryalestari, Chin Sim Teoh, Yumi Terayama, Dilbar Turakhanova, Gilda Uy, Jian Wang, Tao Wang, Yujie Wang, Arisa Yagi, Kyungock Yi, Siheng Zhou, Nor Zainal.

Countries:

Bangladesh, China, Hong Kong – China, India, Indonesia, Iran, Japan, South Korea, Macau, Malaysia, Oman, Pakistan, Philippine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan, Turkey, United Arab Emirates.

An excellent effort from the editors, all Board Members of IAPESGW:

  • Rosa Lopez de D’Amico is Professor at Universidad Pedagógica Experimental Libertador (UPEL), Venezuela.
  • Maryam Koushkie Jahromi is Professor of Exercise Physiology, and Women’s Health and Sport, at Shiraz University, Iran.
  • Maria Luisa M. Guinto is Associate Professor and Research Director of the College of Human Kinetics at the University of the Philippines, Diliman, Philippines.

Announcing the launch of a new “Women’s Human Rights App” (WHR App):

https://womenshumanrights.ch/

It is downloadable for free all around the world.Marianne Mier (Executive Board member) is the coordinator of this project.Get to know the “WHR App” in a short video (2:44 min.):

Background information:

The WHR App is a pioneering endeavour by the Interdisciplinary Centre for Gender Studies (University of Berne) and the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs. It is a practical tool for easy access to international legal instruments as well as agreed language contained in over 650 documents on women’s human rights adopted by UN bodies such as the General Assembly, Human Rights Council or ECOSOC. The App does also provide key paragraphs based on the annual sessions of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) and the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). In addition, the App comprises regional legal basis documents from e.g. Europe or Africa. The user’s search is facilitated by almost 150 keywords which cover crucial topics ranging from abortion to sexual abuse, rural women or Widows. The App will regularly be updated with new documents and emerging issues. The latest add-ons are keywords featuring legal instruments on COVID-19, women journalists, gender and sport/physical activity as well as digital/cyber violence and harassment. The App offers a user-friendly and intuitive handling.This new innovative tool provides a basis for strong argumentation, allows for more coherent and efficient negotiation processes as well safeguarding achievements.

More information:

https://www.eda.admin.ch/eda/en/fdfa/fdfa/aktuell/newsuebersicht/2021/03/frauenmenschenrechte-app.html


Administration & Governance 

  • The Physical Activity and Sport Participation Framework—A Policy Model Toward Being Physically Active Across the Lifespan—in recognition of the changing patterns of participation in PA and sport across the lifespan, the PASP framework can contribute to coordinated and integrated PA and sport policy development, which, in turn, can lead to strategies that tackle the global physical inactivity crisis. (Hans Westerbeek and Rochelle Eime, Frontiers in Sports & Active Living
  • Congratulations to IAPESGW’s Vice President Beatriz Ferreira (Brazil) who has recently been elected to the Board of ICSSPE. Two of our members (Maria Dinold and Usha Nair) were elected as members of the Development Committee.  Our President Rosa Lopez de D’Amico has just completed eight years on the ICSSPE Board and four years on their Development Committee.

Athlete Wellbeing 

Athlete Career and Education

Athletics 

Basketball 

Coaching & Officiating 

  • Balancing Motherhood And Elite Coaching—mums are the ultimate role models when it comes to courage, resilience, tenacity and strength of spirit. They teach us how to dream bigger, work harder and have faith in ourselves. (Victorian Institute of Sport)

Concussion and Head Trauma

  • Closed shop? Sport needs more voices to reach real consensus on concussion—late in October 2016, Dr Richard Sylvester arrived at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Berlin for the first day of the fifth International Conference on Concussion in Sport. Sylvester is a consultant neurologist at the UK’s Institute of Sport, Exercise and Health, and has worked as a concussion adviser for both the Football Association and World Rugby, but this was the first concussion conference he had attended. (Andy Bull, The Guardian)
  • Science playing catch up in women’s concussion research [Canada]—pro-hockey-player-turned doctor Karolina Urban came upon her interest in concussion diagnosis and recovery the hard way. (Cameron French, CTVNews

Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19)  

Engaging Parents 

Golf 

  • Opportunities both on and off-course for women and girls—there are many different career pathways available for women in golf and a recent webinar series has helped spread that message. Because of the current under-representation of females in the golf industry, the PGA of Australia, WPGA, Golf Australia and Golf Management Australia recently hosted a series of webinars titled “careers in golf” to inform and promote the variety of career opportunities that exist. (Golf Australia)

Grants & Funding  

  • Why investing in community sport is essential—this case study is part of the series highlighting why grassroots sports funding is essential to build and develop communities that encourage participants to increase their physical activity levels. (Confederation of Australian Sport/Moruya Tennis

Gymnastics 

(Editor: well worth reading; this article traces the history of gymnastics, the Russian influence, more male coaches, pre-pubescent body ideal and what needs to change.)

Inclusive Sport 

Indonesia

Thanks to the technical team of the Organising Committee of Virtual 6th ICPESS 2021-Jakarta, you will find the video recording of the 4 days Scientific Program. 

Day 1 – Watch Video:  https://youtu.be/zP_UuHT0tpc

Day 2 – Watch Video:  https://youtu.be/ei7QbKM6hcg

Day 3 – Watch Video:  https://youtu.be/NcJGl5XbtVs

Day 4 – Watch Video:  https://youtu.be/3EifbGWPub4

International Sport Systems 

Mature-aged Sport & Recreation 

Netball 

  • Hidden Heroines: Where are all the women?—launching a campaign on International Women’s Day, Netball Victoria highlighted the huge disparity between male and female representation across public monuments and called for change. (Renae Smyth, Netball Australia)

Physical Activity 

Physical Literacy 

Play 

  • The Health and Wellbeing of Future Generations—Professor Fiona Stanley AC and Dr Kate Lycett are asking a pertinent question, “Should we return to the way life was before COVID-19?”. Our children’s health needs to be our new priority for the benefit of future generations. (Play Australia
  • 6 ways kids should engage in “risky” play [Canada]—your child gets ready to jump from the monkey bars and you get ready for a trip to the hospital. Is this a reasonable reaction? Unless there’s a pit of poisonous serpents or a bed of nails below, probably not. (Jim Grove, Active for Life)

Sexuality and Gender Ethics 

Softball

Social Media 

Sport Integrity 

Sports Injuries and Medical Conditions 

Sport Nutrition 

Tennis

Tennis Canada aiming to serve an ace against the sport’s gender gap— Tennis Canada is unveiling a 10-year program it hopes will help close that gender gap and lead to a comprehensive culture change for the sport. (Simon Houpt, The Globe and Mail)

Turkey

UN Women Turkey launched the Guidelines for Gender-responsive Sports Organizations on June 17, 2021. This resource is a product of a participatory process with substantial contributions from national and international experts in the field of sports and gender equality. It provides a practical step-by-step roadmap to sports organizations interested to increase their performance on gender equality and women’s empowerment. The Guidelines are now available at http://www.sportsforgenderequality.org/ where you can find the long and a short version of this resource in English and in Turkish.

 They have been developed as a trail-blazing e­ffort to translate the UN Women’s Sports for Generation Equality principles into a feasible step-by-step guide.
The Guidelines are structured to help sports organizations in terms of empowerment of women and girls and advancement of gender equality through concrete and quantifiable actions and indicators. The sports community has an important role to play to tear down gender barriers and discrimination and to empower women and girls, both in the world of sport and beyond.

In the launch there were various key organizations involved:

Opening Remarks: Alia El-Yassir, UN Women Regional Director for Europe and Central Asia | Presentation of the Guidelines for Gender-responsive Sports Organizations: Professor Canan Koca, Hacettepe University

Panel I – Guidelines for Gender-responsive Sports Organizations: A tool to implement the principles of Sports for Generation Equality 

Moderator: Zeliha Ünaldı, Head of Programmes, UN Women Turkey

Speakers: Philipp Müller-Wirth, Executive Officer for Sport and Youth Section Sector for Social and Human Sciences, UNESCO |Önder Birgül, Chief Human Resources Officer, Fenerbahçe Sports Club| Jennifer Cooper, Coordinator of Sports for Generation Equality, UN Women | Sarai Bareman, Head of Women’s Football Division, FIFA | Neşe Gündoğan, General Secretary of the Turkish National Olympic Committee, Member of the Olympic Programme Commission of International Olympic Committee

Panel II – How Sports for Generation Equality contribute to gender equality: Reflections from key actors of sports ecosystem 

Moderator: Nihan Cabbaroğlu, Sports Broadcaster

Speakers: Dr. Carole Oglesby, Past President & Current Executive Board Member, Women Sport International (WSI) |Prof. Rosa López de D’Amico, President, International Association of Physical Education and Sport for Girls and Women (IAPESGW) | Rita Van Driel, Governing Board Member, International Paralympic Committee (IPC) | Rachel Froggatt, Secretary General, International Working Group on Women in Sport (IWG) | Marisol Casado, Public Affairs And Social Development Through Sport Commission Board Member, International Olympic Committee (IOC) | Keri McDonald, Business Development and Fundraising Manager, The Association for International Sport for All (TAFISA) | Dr. Uri Schaefer, President, International Council of Sport Science and Physical Education (ICSSPE) 

The complete launch event could be watched in the following link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l9kOzPVfDBo

Congratulations to UN Women Turkey, with this initiative and the work with the national and international sport ecosystem towards making gender equality a reality in and through sports.


United Kingdom News

(with thanks to Jenny Warner for sending)

Inspiring women to be active during midlife and menopause. Women in Sport, May 2021 (20 pages)
This report builds on our previous research, Menopause, Me and Physical Activity, published in 2018, which tells us that women overwhelmingly want to be more active, and that this life stage provides an important opportunity for a reset and to reframe sport and exercise as enjoyable as well as essential to good health and wellbeing. Within this research, we uncover the barriers that women experience to being physically active throughout midlife and menopause and consider how to re-engage women and re-introduce physical activity to them.

We employed an innovative five stage, iterative approach over five months to fully understand midlife women’s experiences of menopause and physical activity. This enabled us to build high levels of trust with the women who took part in the research and explore what is really preventing them from being active. Time period: July-November 2020

We focused specifically on women in lower socioeconomic groups because we know they face additional barriers and are less likely to be active. 

  • Women aged 45-55 who were experiencing a range of menopausal symptoms. 
  • All women were inactive. 
  • Mix of White British, Asian, and Black British, African and Caribbean backgrounds. 
  • All women in lower socioeconomic groups (C2DE). 
  • From Birmingham, Manchester, London and Middlesbrough

Download a copy
https://www.womeninsport.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Research-Report-Inspiring-Women-to-be-Active-During-Midlife-and-Menopause.pdf

View their news item on the release of the report
https://www.womeninsport.org/press-release/women-in-sport-calls-for-action-so-midlife-women-can-get-active/

Note: Women in Sport, in partnership with Getty Images, has launched a #menopossibilities campaign to help share stories and bring to light the challenges, barriers and opportunities that this life stage offers. 

·      


Women in Sport 

  • Women In Sport Reports, Research & Expertise—Victoria University provides a global service to the industry that compiles the latest three months of women in sport industry reports and academic publications. The latest release is now online. (Victoria University)
  • Women In Sport Reports, Research & Expertise—Victoria University provides a global service to the industry that compiles the latest three months of women in sport industry reports and academic publications. The latest release is now online. (Victoria University)

SHARE YOUR NEWS 

The Update is the information and knowledge sharing platform for IAPESGW. It brings together evidence and insights from many sources and agencies.Your contributions are encouraged and appreciated. If you would like to suggest a resource, share your announcements or provide feedback, please email crosswhite@bigpond.com