Past Events
5th IWG World Conference on Women and Sport
The 5th IWG World Conference on Women and Sport was held at the Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre from 20-23 May, 2010.
Registrations were received from delegates from over 45 different countries.
Ms. Rachel Mayanja, Assistant Secretary-General, United Nations and Special Advisor on Gender Issues and the Advancement of Women, presented a keynote address at the Conference. Her presence highlighted the progress made over the past three years in connecting the women's sport movement with relevant divisions of the United Nations.
Patron-in-Chief of the Conference, The Honourable Quentin Bryce, Governor General spoke at the Opening Ceremony on Thursday 20th May.
In addition, high profile national speakers from government and industry included:
- Elizabeth Broderick, Sex Discrimination Commissioner, Australian Human Rights Commission
- Peter Holmes à Court, Chairman of White Bull Holdings, Co-owner (with Russell Crowe) of the South Sydney Rabbitohs
- Moya Dodd, Board member Football Federation Australia and Vice-President Asian Football Confederation
- The Hon Kate Ellis, Federal Minister for Sport
- Justin Holdforth, Head of ABC TV Sport and Events
- The Hon Michael Kirby, former Justice of the High Court of Australia
- Kate Palmer, CEO Netball Australia
The Conference Ambassador Programme was launched and is spear-headed by the legendary Cathy Freeman who will attend the Opening Ceremony and several other fine female athletes from a wide range of sports.
The event began on Thursday 20 May with an Opening Ceremony featuring an all-female indigenous performance and a keynote address by Ms. Rachel Mayanja and the Governor General.
The International Working Group on Women and Sport (IWG) is an independent coordinating body consisting of representatives of key government and non-government organisations. It aims to be a catalyst for the advancement and empowerment of women and sport globally.
For further information on the 2010 conference and future conferences please visit: http://www.iwg-gti.org/
2009 Women's Sport Conference
Women's Sport: Inspire - Lead - Succeed
As a key stakeholder of women's sport and women in sport, vicsport held the inaugural ‘Women's Sport: Inspire · Lead · Succeed Conference in 2009, designed to stimulate thinking via presentations from leaders in sport and business.
Funded by the Department of Planning and Community Development (Sport and Recreation Victoria), the conference aimed to provide participants with a range of strategies to take back and apply to their organisation, as well provide opportunities to identify key focus areas to assist vicsport in setting the agenda for Women's Sport in Victoria for the next 5-10 years.
vicsport has been supporting and advocating in a leadership capacity for women's sport and women in sport since May 2008 and believes this conference certainly fits within your line of interest.
The conference was held on the 27th October 2009 at Caulfield Racecourse. At the conclusion of the day's activities, a cocktail party was held for conference participants to continue to mingle and exchange ideas. The conference covered a wide range of topics and strategies, including but not limited to:
- developing successful cultures in sport
- managing workforce flexibility in the 21st century
- business communication and negotiation
- managing crisis situations
- challenging the delivery of sport
- ‘Respect and Responsibility' research and initiatives.
The conference was very significant for women's sport in Victoria and assisted in raising the profile of women's sport and women in sport, as well as closing the gender gap. Attendees at the conference, both male and female, represented a large cross-section of both the sports and business sector.