5th IOC World Conference on Women and Sport held in Los Angeles, California
Participants in the 5th IOC World Conference on Women and Sport called on sports leaders to take a more proactive role in advancing the cause of women in and through sport as the event came to a close in Los Angeles, California, on Saturday.
The IWF was represented by Ms. Celsa Alvarez Suarez (ESP), Member of the IWF Technical Committee, and Ms. Aniko Nemeth-Mora (HUN), IWF Director. Ms. Moira Lassen (CAN), Member of the IWF Technical Committee was also present, representing Canada but also the sport of weightlifting.
The three-day conference, whose theme was “Together Stronger: the Future of Sport,” ended with over 800 delegates from 135 countries unanimously approving “The Los Angeles Declaration”, a series of recommendations aimed at promoting gender equality in sport and using sport as a tool to improve the lives of women around the world.
The declaration focused on two main themes:
– The need to bring more women into management and leadership roles
– The need to increase collaboration and partnerships, especially with UN organisations, to promote gender equality.
IOC President Jacques Rogge assured the conference delegates that the Olympic Movement would act on the recommendations.
“I can pledge and I can promise that we will do what is needed”, he said in his closing remarks.
Read the Los Angeles Declaration here
The organisers, the IOC, the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) and the Southern California Committee for the Olympic Games, must be commended on having hosted an excellent event. Mr. Dragomir Cioroslan, IWF Vice President, in his role as Director of the USOC, played a significant part in the resounding success of the Conference.
The record number of delegates at this year’s conference included well-known figures from the world of sport, as well as representatives of civil society, government and academia. Other high-profile speakers at the conference included IOC Women and Sport Commission Chairperson Anita DeFrantz; Chairman of the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games Sebastian Coe; HE Marjon V. Kamara, Chair of the UN’s Commission on the Status of Women; and Geena Davis, Academy Award-winning actress and founder of the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media.
Held every four years, the aim of the World Conference on Women and Sport is to assess the progress made in advancing the cause of gender equality within the Olympic Movement and to define future priority actions to improve and increase the involvement of girls and women in this framework.
